The Boston Globe - 11.09.2019

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 The Boston Globe G7

Here’s a good one: Sitting at a
small Italian restaurant’s bar in
the North End, spilling red pep-
per flecks, and the owner bring-
ing out a dust vacuum in front
of my plate. I never ate there
again.

HowcouldtheBostonfood
sceneimprove?The trend to-
ward large restaurants versus
small, neighborhood, family-
owned — I’d like there to be
more of that. I think it’s hard to
do anything really special in a
300-seat restaurant.

Howhastherestaurantscene
changedsinceyoufirstarrived
inBoston?I moved here in

2001. It’s completely different.
      There are so many more op-
      tions. It’s just bigger!

NamethreeadjectivesforBos-
tondiners.Enthusiastic, des-
perate for anything different,
and loyal.

What’s the most overdone
trendrightnow?Probably ta-
cos. Everyone is opening a taco
bar. Or an oyster bar.

WhattypeofrestaurantisBos-
tonmissing?I don’t know if
anything’s missing, but I’d like
to see more mom-and-pop
shops. I think there’s too many

uGETTINGSALTY
Continued from Page G1

Irish pubs! I think everything is

here, but what’s the quality?

Whatare you reading?I’ve

been so busy with the opening

that I’ve been doing more au-

dio. I’ve been listening to a lot

of TED talks. I can listen on my

commute. The one I like the

best is “Sleep Is Your Superpow-

er.” It talks about the difference

between the quality of work you

can put out on four or five

hours sleep versus seven or

eight.

How’syourcommute?I live

three miles from work. I live in

Somerville. It can take any-

where from 15 to 50 minutes

depending on the day. I take

Ubers; I take the T. If the Or-

ange Line is running properly, I

can get to work in 30 minutes.

What’stheonefoodyounever

wanttoeatagain?I’m not a big

olive guy. Greek food isn’t really

my thing.

What’syourmostmissedBos-

tonrestaurant?That’s easy! Er-

baluce.

Whowasyourmostmemora-

blecustomer?Boy, so many. I

could give you 100 names.

There’s been a lot of them, and I

still have great relationships

with many. I was a bartender

for many years. There was a

very Southern gentleman, Rolo,

with a heavy Southern drawl,

and he was funny. He made me

laugh, and he only ate steak!

This was at Blu at the Sports

Club/LA, when Dante [de Mag-

istris] was the chef.

Ifyouhadtoeatyourlastmeal

inBoston,whatwoulditbe?

Currently, as it stands, I have to

give tribute to Jeff Nace at Nep-

tune Oyster. I’d eat everything

there. It’s still the best lobster

roll in town.

Kara Baskin can be reached at

[email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@kcbaskin.

He loves Neptune Oyster and misses Erbaluce

‘Idon’tknowif

anything’s

missing,butI’d

liketoseemore

mom-and-pop

shops.Ithink

...everythingis

here,butwhat’s

thequality?’

ANDY KILGORE

on the Boston dining scene

GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2008

A lobster roll at Neptune Oyster, one of Andy Kilgore’s

favorite places to eat.

tian, which involves layers of thin-

ly sliced tomatoes, zucchini, and

yellow squash baked together.

Fresh tomatoes go into simple fish

stews with Atlantic hake (part of

the codfish family, but less well-

known than cod) and skillets full

of vegetables with corn kernels

and plenty of herbs. They’re also

halved, brushed with olive oil, and

grilled flat sides down until they

soften but don’t collapse. And best

of all, they’re the topping for open-

faced tomato sandwiches on

whole-grain toast, with a generous

smear of Hellman’s mayo (the

taste of my childhood), a sprinkle

of salt and pepper, and sometimes

a drizzle of olive oil. If I lived in a

warm climate, that would be my

lunch every day. Here it’s my lunch

until early fall.

I gave up canning and pickling

and freezing a decade ago, when I

thought nothing of putting up a

bushel of this or that on a Septem-

ber weekend. But I still want sum-

mer tomatoes in the freezer. I save

them for the darkest days of win-

ter when they bring sunshine to

my kitchen. Not in sandwiches, of

course, because frozen tomatoes

can only be used in cooked dishes,

but to pots of minestrone or bean

soups or braised whole chicken.

There is a way to freeze toma-

toes in which you hardly lift a pin-

kie — without coring or cutting

them, spread them in a rimmed

pan of any sort in one layer, freeze

until solid, then pack in plastic

freezer zipper bags. In the indus-

try, this is known as Individually

Quick Frozen or IQF, and it’s the

reason frozen peas and blueber-

ries pour out of the bag. When you

want to use them, remove what

you want, let them sit on the coun-

ter for 45 minutes, then core, peel

with a paring knife to guide you,

and chop.

If you’re looking for a more in-

tense taste, roast the tomatoes

briefly first. Halve them, pack

tightly in a baking dish, sprinkle

uWHATSHE'SHAVING

Continued from Page G1

with olive oil, salt, and pepper,

and tuck a few basil leaves here

and there for flavor. Roast in a

500-degree oven, uncovered, for

20 minutes, or until the skins start

to shrivel. Cover with foil and

leave to cool. Then pull off the

skins and pack the tomatoes into

zipper bags.

One of the secrets to freezing

produce is to make bags that sit

flat so you can stack them and

they won’t take up much space.

Tomato coulis is a thin puree of

tomatoes that’s also ideal for the

freezer. Core and cut them into big

pieces. At this point, you can sim-

mer them for 15 minutes with

salt, pepper, and a few basil leaves

and push the mixture through a

strainer. Or you can skip the sim-

mer, puree them in a blender, and

skip the straining too. In either

case, stand a freezer bag in a

pitcher and fill the bag halfway.

Squeeze out as much air as possi-

ble, seal the zipper, and lay the

bags flat on a tray for freezing.

When they’re solid, stack them.

Use coulis in long-simmered

soups.

More tips: Many farm stands

give you a good price on half-bush-

els of tomatoes, which isn’t that

much fruit when you get it home

and spread them on the kitchen

counter. If you can find plum to-

matoes, they’re pulpier than the

big rounds and ideal for cooking,

especially for sauces. Farm stands

might also offer tomato “seconds,”

those with blemishes. Cut them

away and the rest of the orb

should be fine.

Of all the canning and freezing

projects you might be admiring

with envy on Instagram, tomatoes

are the easiest. Try the one where

you freeze them whole. There’s lit-

tletodoandit’ssosatisfying.Ev-

ery time you open the freezer door,

you’ll see the red rounds tucked in

for the winter. It’s a beautiful

sight.

Sheryl Julian can be reached at

[email protected].

Summer warmth

for a winter’s day

SHERYL JULIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

For a more intense taste, roast the tomatoes briefly first, with

olive oil and basil leaves.

Think of sheet-pan dinners as modern
casseroles. Everything goes onto one pan,
you slide it into the oven, and you’ve got a
pleasing, easy, weeknight meal. Put those
local tomatoes and zucchini still in the
markets to good use in this chicken din-
ner. Slather bone-in breasts and the vege-
tables — tomatoes cut into halves, zucchi-
ni into thick spears — with a mixture of
fresh and dried herbs spiked with lemon
and mustard. Bake them together for
about 40 minutes while you do something
else.
Combine concentrated dried herbs,
which can be potent, with fresh ones, to
add some complexity. The plentiful
amount of herbs here gives this dish fla-
vor — and then some — even though they
turn olive green in the oven’s heat. If you
hold back some of the herbs, you can
brighten the finished dish with them be-
fore serving. Olives and capers provide an
extra punch.
To please the white-meat-only crowd, use
chicken breasts (the bones keep them
juicy), but you can substitute thighs, or a
whole cut-up chicken. Lately, due to poul-
try breeders’ response to demand, chick-
ens breasts are in the humongous catego-
ry and one large breast might feed two
moderate appetites. After dinner, you can
probably expect to tuck at least some
chicken into the fridge. One easy supper.
Leftovers for lunch. Can’t beat that.

SALLY PASLEY VARGAS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

THE CONFIDENT COOK

GOOD FOOD AND KITCHEN KNOW-HOW

Sheet-pan chicken, tomatoes,

and zucchini bake into

an easy weeknight meal

Sheet-pan chicken with zucchini, tomatoes, and herbs

Serves4

Olive oil (for sprinkling)

BY SALLY PASLEY VARGAS | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

½ cup finely chopped mixed fresh oregano, thyme, parsley, and rosemary

3 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (3 to 4 pounds total)

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 medium zucchini (1¼ pounds total) cut into thirds and quartered

lengthwise

4 small (2½-inch) tomatoes, halved crosswise

‚ cup pitted Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons drained capers

1.Set the oven at 425 degrees. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Oil a rimmed

baking sheet.

2.In a bowl, combine the chopped fresh herbs, dried oregano, and dried thyme.

3.In another bowl, combine the mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Add 6

tablespoons of the herb mixture; reserve the remaining herbs for garnish.

4.Set the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and sprinkle both sides with salt and

pepper. Set the zucchini spears and tomato halves around the chicken. With the

back of a spoon, spread the chicken and vegetables with the herb mixture. Sprinkle

with olives and capers.

5.Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle

of the chicken breasts registers 165 degrees and the vegetables are tender when

pierced with a skewer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the remaining herbs.

Sally Pasley Vargas

ARLINGTON

CAPITOL THEATRE

204 Massachussetts Ave. 781-648-4340

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BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON(R)3:00,

5:15, 7:30

LUCE(R)7:40

TEL AVIV ON FIRE(NR)4:15

THEPEANUT BUTTER FALCON(PG-13)

2:45, 5:00, 7:15

WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE(PG-13)

7:00

YESTERDAY(R)4:30, 7:20

BOSTON

SIMONS IMAX THEATRE

New England Aquarium, Central Wharf

617-973-5200

58 DIG

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OCEANS: OUR BLUE PLANET(NR)10:00,

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HIDDEN PACIFIC 3D(NR)11:00, 4:00

TURTLE ODYSSEY(NR)12:00, 3:00

AUSTRALIA'S GREAT WILD NORTH(NR)

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BROOKLINE

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290 Harvard St. 617-734-2500

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BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON(R)11:45,

2:15, 4:30, 7:15, 9:30

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON(PG-13)1:45

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LEXINGTON VENUE

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BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON(R)4:00,

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THE FAREWELL(PG)7:00

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SOMERVILLE THEATRE

55 Davis Square 617-625-5700

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9:55

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