Gabrielle Hamilton's Soft Zucchini with Harissa, Olives and Feta

When my beloved told me yesterday that we had to turn the clocks back this morning, it hit me like a small sack of lemons in the gut. But I haven't prepared!, I howled. I'm not ready for this to be the last time we still see daylight at 5:00 pm until next spring! But that's how it goes: one minute, you're tearing down a linden-perfumed street on a bicycle without a jacket, and the next thing you know, winter's knocking on your door. Don't worry, he said. November in Berlin is awesome. It's gray all the time.

He makes me laugh.

Now the time of panades and stews is upon us. We start making the Christmas cookie dough next week (it ripens on the balcony for a month), and Stollen isn't far behind. This year, I'd really like to make a proper English fruit cake and soak it in whiskey for at least a little while. There's apple butter to be made for presents and more yeast doughs to work on. Plus, I'm working on a potato dumpling recipe and goodness knows, you can't eat those on a regular basis as long as there are more than 6 hours of daylight available to you each day.

(I've grown soft, you see. 15 years of living on the East Coast of the United States has made me weak. Give me another couple years up here in this latitude and I'll be back to where I was when I was 12, giddy about the fact that I used to wake up in the dark and eat dinner in the dark. Who needs daylight, anyhow? Vitamin D is for suckers!)

I suppose at a certain point, then, we'll have moved on to sliced fennel salads or endive and blood oranges, staples of the winter table that somehow manage to balance all that heavy weight with some plain, sharp, bitter flavors. But until then, and as long as I'm still finding good, firm, fresh zucchini at the grocery store, I'll be making this salad which, in one soft green nudge, supplanted the carrot-harissa-feta salad of the summer (we seriously ate it all. Summer. Long).

This salad, well, it was love at first bite. Groan. What an idiotic expression, I know. But how else do I explain how hard and fast I fell for it with just one forkful? Imagine: zucchini steamed until soft and sweet as sweet can be, a spicy, garlicky dressing, the sharpness of olives and feta, the grassiness of olive oil and parsley. All in one bite, together.

It's Gabrielle Hamilton's recipe and was published in the first Canal House cookbook. With that kind of pedigree, it's no surprise, then, that it turned out to be so addictively delicious. We ate it for dinner one night with a few slices of bread, the kind of dinner that follows a rather biggish lunch, when you're not hungry for much, but you need something in your belly before bedtime. It was spectacularly simple; a riot of colors and textures in the bowl; a one-bowl salad that was far, far more than the sum of its parts.

You know when you start eating something and it sort of explodes in your mouth and your eyes widen and it's just so incredibly delicious and you try to put a figure on just what exactly is making the dish so darn perfect but you can't, so you take another bite and another and another and before you know it, in the blink of an eye, you are fighting rather unattractively to get another portion on your plate before someone else eats it and then you're wiping out the salad bowl with bread and eyeing your plate rather nervously - how did it empty so fast? - and scheming to make it again tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, too?

That is what this salad is like.

Soft Zucchini with Harissa, Olives and Feta
Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a light dinner with bread
Note: I've made a few small changes to the original recipe (using ground caraway, for example, as well as steaming the zucchini instead of boiling them, and using much less olive oil).

1/8 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons harissa paste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 zucchini, sliced into thick rounds
Handful Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 to 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled feta
Small handful parsley leaves, chopped

1. Put the ground caraway, lemon juice, harissa and olive oil in a serving bowl. Crush the garlic clove through a garlic press and add to the bowl. Whisk to combine.

2. Fit a vegetable steamer in a pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil. Steam the zucchini until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. They should not be falling apart. Add the zucchini to the serving bowl and gently toss with the harissa vinaigrette while still warm.

3. Dress the zucchini with the olives, feta, and parsley. Serve immediately.

Comments

[oisin]

this looks great. where do you get your harissa here in town?

[Sasa]

If you figure out how to toughen up quick, let me know - this is my second Austrian winter and the dread has set in in the pit of my belly...But this salad does look delightful, I'll be needing a warm replacement for the carrot salad ^_^
Here's to the power of dumplings - I just went to Knoedelwochen at a local restaurant and ate Griessknoedel Suppe, Knoedel Teller with 4! Types! of Knoedel and then Marillen Knoedel and Heidelbeeren Topfen Knoedel for afters. Oof.

[Ona]

Looks and sounds totally delicious! Harissa + caraway = genius. Will try this once markets are open again on Tuesday.

(Really love your blog by the way - your spirit and personality really shine through in your writing, and all the food seems to be exactly what I feel like eating!)

[bellini]

I sigh at the loss of warm sun on my face and reading my favourite book or magazine at "my" beach, by I am appeased by this delicious salad.

[Luisa]

Oisin - So far I have found it at Karstadt's basement grocery store and at Bellwinkel on Güntzelstrasse (I liked the brand there better). I'll bet Galeries Lafayette and KaDeWe have it, too...

Sasa - wow! That is some serious Knödel eating. The Austrians know what they're doing. :)

Ona - thank you! That is totally lovely to hear.

Bellini - that's the spirit!

[petoskystone]

what sort of cookie dough needs to ripen for a month? more importantly, where do you get the will power to leave it be for a month?

[char]

looks and I'm sure tastes amazing!!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
HUGS
Char.x

[sonya]

Ugh. I too have been trying to ignore the impending time change - such a bleak thought. But this salad sounds like a really lovely way to counter the darkness. Gabrielle Hamilton's food is spectacular. Happy baking!

[la ninja]

that first paragraph hit so close to home it's not even funny (swap small sack of lemons for anvil.)

salad looks good, though. I'm really into my last pear and plum recipes of the season, though. holding on to them for dear life :)

[Suzy (Foodie in Berlin)]

My toddler's favourite zucchini dish (and mine) goes something like this. Fry a clove of garlic in olive oil, add coarsely grated zucchini and salt and pepper generously. About a minute later, squash all the zucchini to one side - so it doesn't turn brown and overcook. Add some white wine, bubble away to half. Add some cream. Bring the zucchini back in from the side of the pan. Toss with pasta and serve with a generous grating of Parmesan.

[Molly]

Well, thank my lucky stars. Just managed to wrangle two final zucchini from our market yesterday, with no notion whatsoever save QUICK!! GRAB THEM BEFORE THEY'RE GONE!!Ahem.

Sometimes fate comes dressed in feta and olives. So be it.

[Robin (Hippo Flambe)]

Sadly our zucchini is already all gone for the year. However this salad looks to tempting for me to wait until next summer. I will have to come up with a winter substitute. A winter version will be made here soon.

-Robin

[Stephane]

I live in Anchorage, Alaska AND I just got done taking a course of 50,000 IU of vitamin D. A N D this follows on the heels of a presumed summer (our 2010 summer was very rainy)! :P

Lovely salad; going to try it tonight!

[Maria]

Waw, harissa-carrot-feta salad has been my dinner for most of the summer. I will definitely try this one!

Thanks for sharing

[Denise @ Chez Danisse]

The days are growing too short too fast... I'm not sure how I've lived this long without tasting harissa paste. This just might be my intro.

[jenny]

a post worth waiting for! ;) looks super-yummy. and I have all but the harissa in my fridge right now!

I'm with you on the time change, except ... except ... isn't it at least somewhat comforting to know that the shortest day of the year comes in december? so it's all uphill after the holidays! :)

[Ginger]

The salad looks amazing and while I know I will be making it soon, I am a little sad to know it won't be from local zucchini. The last of that was lightly sauteed with a little mint and feta not that long ago.

However, your mention of holiday baking has my hoping you might be planning on posting a recipe for Stollen, or the whiskey soaked fruitcake. The recipe for cardamon pistachio cookies you shared last year was a huge hit at my house.

[cupcake]

The olives and feta look sooo yum!!
cupcake
www.thefamily-table.blogspot.com

[Victoria]

Even with a small garden (two zucchini plants), I had lots of the beautiful vegetable this summer. Unlike some, I didn't get sick of it, especially once I found a recipe for zucchini parmesan in Marcella's Italian Kitchen.

This sounds delicious. I finished the end of my own zucchini this weekend, but my farm stand upstate may still have some, so I will check it out next weekend.

Have you read Gabrielle Hamilton's account of what she does on Christmas Eve, which is in the newest Canal House Cooking? It is totally delicious! I can't wait to hear what you think about it.

Luisa, Walter and I moved offices after ten years in the same place this week. We are no longer in Chelsea; we have gone to Wall Street. How different is that? We had lots of stuff to move upstate. When we were picking up a Budget Truck to rent at 7 am on Saturday morning, we met the most adorable couple. She is a modern dancer, and he is a musician. They are moving to Germany - not too far from Berlin - where she is joining a dance troupe. I gave them your site and said you would be a good source of ideas for adjusting to the move.

[Jen]

I was just telling a friend this morning that this cold afternoon sunshine isn't going to last, even in Ohio, and that just when lunchtime rolls around you will see the sun start dipping behind the buildings, fleeing the cold, until it scarcely comes out at all because of the gray clouds of late December and January that always set in. This friend is from California and is only starting her second winter here in Ohio. She's all bundled up in 55 degree weather, so I don't think she's mentally prepared for what's to come when it dips another 30 degress. But at least we have our loved ones to hold us close and keep us warm!

[Kathryn]

I too am very curious about the ripening cookie dough? will you share? sincerely, kathryn

[Delishhh]

Not a fan of olives but LOVE harrisa. Nice recipe.

[PastryCraft]

Try a fruitcake this year! My mother and I make my grandmother's recipe every year (soaked in port or red wine - I prefer port. The recipe calls for the not-so-nice colored fruits, but I use dried apricots and cherries in their place. The fruitcake ripens for 3-4 weeks. Absolutely lovely! It's almost time.

And you reminded me about stollen - one of my favorites. I knew there was a reason I just picked up 5 pounds of almond paste.

[bunny]

Nice and simple, with a bit of edge. Harissa's like putting a little blast of Morocco sun into this grey November day.

[The Rowdy Chowgirl]

Mmm...this salad looks like a last taste of summer.

[waitingforagnes]

Huzzah! A perfectly timed reason for the zucchini seeds I've just flung in the garden. Ditto on the thanks for the stollen reminder, too. Australian Christmas might not seem like very stollen-friendly weather, but I lurve it with a passion.

[bunnysdaughter]

No no no no no, MOM - - - NO MORE ZUCCHINI!!!!

[gemma]

If you are going to make a good english christmas/fruit cake... i would steer well clear of whisky. I recommend brandy instead. My mum starts making hers in September at the latest and it is SOOOOO good. mmmm. On a separate note... cannot find harissa out in long island to save my life but at least our clocks didn't go back yet!
x

[me @{Life or something blog}]

beloved you say! do tell more! {I am sure I am not the only curious one} your happiness shines through your post. YaY you!

[Honeybee]

Thank you for sharing this before the zucchini are all gone! I made it last night and the husband and I both absolutely loved it, too! I used cumin instead of caraway - really nice with the harissa, too!

I used to love the extra hour of sleep that comes with the turning back of the clocks but it's so not the same with a baby... ;-)

[Heather]

Gak! I need to know what kind of cookie dough ripens for a month!

[Sonia]

Berlin sounds like England then, Grey, followed by more grey! I like the sun (when we get it!)
Recipe looks gorgeous as always.

[The Food Hunter]

I might try serving this as an appetizer over bread. Thanks for a great idea.

[Keri]

Oh my! This is lovely... I'll be eating it for as long as we have zucchinis, although I'll bet that if you tossed roasted cubed winter squash in the same dressing it would be delicious too. (I think I'll try that with the kabucha that's loitering on my counter now.)

[Luisa]

Petoskeystone and Kathryn - it's an East Prussian gingerbread that ripens for a minimum of two to four days and up to many months!

Jenny - it would be if I didn't live so far up north - January and February and March are so dark and gray here....sob!

Ginger - I hope to!

Victoria - no sweat! I'll be happy to give them whatever info I have.

Gemma - I need your mom's recipe! Just emailed you guys... :)

[UrMomCooks]

This is exactly what I am looking for! Unbelievably zucchini is still pouring in from the garden and this is a lovely treatment that takes us into fall! Looks wonderful!

[pinky black]

love love love this recipe. i hate winter for it makes my tongue a little numb for food. but i love to try this one out. i like it a little heavy. ill have it as a dinner with black rice.gives me the strength i need for a lazy winter.

[Natasha]

Do you mean caraway or cumin? They are confusingly called the same thing in French, but they definitely aren't the same thing, and I would have thought that caraway would be a strange flavour to add to the harissa and garlic (also I've never come across ground caraway, but perhaps I'm just showing up my ignorance here. Please put me right!). I make this all the time with carrots and my whole family is addicted to it too.

[Jessica]

I'm attempting to learn to cook, and I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration!

[Luisa]

Natasha - I mean caraway, the seeds that are often put in rye bread or in braised red cabbage. (Does carvi say anything to you? Some dictionaries say that is the French term for caraway.) You can also use cumin, or a combination of the two.

Jessica - you're welcome! I'm so happy to hear it!

[jodye @ 'scend food]

I've yet to try harissa, but I want to so badly. This sounds like a wonderful recipe to use it in, I'll surely be making this soon!

[Mikaela Cowles]

This recipe is another example of why olives should be given a special place in the world of food. What wonderful description you gave. I can’t wait to try it.

[macarons]

I love Zucchini and Feta!!!!...Great choice of ingredients on this salad! Looks awesome

ryan

[Kathleen]

I have a bazillion pattypan squashes from my CSA; I've never really eaten them, so I don't know what they taste like. Do you think they'd be good in this recipe?

[Luisa]

Kathleen - I happen to really dislike pattypan squashes, so I'd say...No!! Don't sully this lovely recipe with them! But that's my biased opinion... :)

[Natasa]

Any ideas what I could use instead of harissa? I cannot find any where I live:-(

[Rocky Mountain Woman]

We turn the clocks back this weekend...sigh.....I hate driving to work in the dark....

maybe this lovely salad will help.

[PastryCraft]

I've found a few recipes for homemade harissa. Actually better tasting than the store bought. Just Google it.

[Luisa]

Natasa - you could make your own (here's a recipe I tried a few years ago: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2008/08/harissa.html), but something tells me if you can't find harissa where you live, you also won't find the chiles you'd need to make it. The thing is, it's kind of a tough thing to replace. You could make the salad with just the various spices, lemon and olive oil for dressing, and I'm sure it'd taste nice, too, just different. How about ordering it online?

[Laura]

Luisa, ho appena scoperto il tuo blog tramite Orangette. Ho letto con molto piacere il post di Settembre, e mi ha portato il ricordo di pranzi estivi passati lentamente, con pigrizia, in compagnia di cari amici. Nonostante la California sia molto simile alle Marche e alla Toscana non c'e' la stessa cultura di pranzi domenicali, mi mancano molto. Le canocchie sono le mie preferite, mia mamma le fa sempre quando sono a Venezia (se sono di stagione).

La casa di tuo nonno (sara' sempre sua, anche se tua mamma ci vive ora ;o) sembra idilliaca, e posso quasi immaginarla chiudendo gli occhi.

Buona fortuna con il libro e se hai bisogno di un'altra persona che prova le tue ricette, fammi sapere, adoro cucinare.

Un caro saluto dalla California, vado a leggere un altro po' del tuo blog.