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I love my food, but more importantly I love the food I can find right here. There’s nothing like farm- and dock-fresh seasonal ingredients for the beginnings of a great meal, and with that in mind I set off last month to our very own Farmer’s Market of Hilton Head Island at Honey Horn with the goal of selecting ingredients for a fresh, local dinner for under $50. I found seafood, artisan breads, cheeses and pastas — all from local farmers and merchants. I even found new things I’d never seen in a grocery store, such as casevs cheese, cue and eight ball squash. In short, I found more than enough to work with, so let’s get cooking! (Each recipe serves at least four.)
Photo / Rob Kaufman
Bruschetta With Casevs On Pappon
Casevs is like feta cheese in texture, and its herb concentration makes it really tasty. The slightly salty casevs works well with the sweet balsamic vinegar and plum tomatoes.
Ingredients
3 ½ ounces of casevs cheese
4 slices of a hearty country bread (like Pappone)
6 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into ½ dice
2 tablespoons of sweet Vidalia salad onions, minced
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Mix tomatoes, onions, parsley, balsamic vinegar and about 4 tablespoons of oil together in a medium bowl. Let sit for one hour. Preheat broiler. Brush bread slices with a little olive oil. Broil until golden on one side. Let cool. Spread a layer of cheese on each piece of bread. Top with tomato mixture.
Fettuccini With Lowcountry Shrimp and Squash
This fresh, colorful dish is loaded with shrimp, parsley, thyme and lemon.
Ingredients
1 - 1 ½ lbs. fresh shrimp, peeled and de-veined
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp fresh thyme
3 each of cue and eight ball squash, halved and then cut into ¼-inch slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup white wine
6-8 plum tomatoes, halved, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice
Olive oil
½ - ¾ lb fettuccini pasta
Juice of 1 ½ lemons and peel of one lemon
1 tsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Start a large pot of water boiling for the pasta. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Sauté shrimp until they begin to turn pink. Add white wine; continue until the shrimp is just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon. Lower heat and add, squash, tomatoes, thyme, red pepper flakes and garlic to skillet. Sauté to blend flavors. Cook 7-10 minutes or until the squash begins to cook but stays crunchy. Add shrimp and keep warm. Cook pasta until al dente, drain well and return to pot. Add shrimp, lemon juice, peel and parsley toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Peach and brandy sauce
With this sauce, the nice chunks of firm, fresh pieces make all the difference. Peel the peaches over a large bowl to catch every bit of juice you can. There are two dangerous things about this: how good it tastes and igniting the skillet.
Ingredients
6-8 peaches, peeled, pitted and quartered
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
3 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp brandy
Melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat in a large skillet until the sugar dissolves. Add peaches and vanilla; continue cooking until the mixture bubbles a little. Stir to coat the peaches. Add the brandy, stand back and ignite using a long lighter or match. Cook until the flames die down and the sauce is syrupy. Serve over vanilla ice cream or just about anything else.
DINNER FOR $50
Castra Rota Gourmet Foods: Pappone bread ($6) and Casevs cheese ($6)
FraLi Gourmet: Pasta ($5)
Benny Hudson Seafood: Shrimp ($11.99)
Rest Park Farm: Squash ($6)
Spanish Wells Produce: Tomatoes ($5.50)
Back to Nature: Peaches ($5)
Grand total: $45.49
