Summer Squash & Tomato Relish

Wine & Dine Wednesday a bounty of the season dish that works in many ways—Summer squash & tomato relish. Tonight I am serving it nestled next to a piece of roasted salmon and basmati rice. It would be swell on a toasted baguette for an appetizer. Add feta and tossed in with pasta for a quick supper. The farm stands on the island last weekend had the prettiest Summer squash and the first of the PNW season tomatoes. They were the driving force for this incredibly easy dish. Here goes.

Slice the zucchini aka Summer squash medium thin. Add them to a big skillet where the best extra virgin olive oil is warmed up on medium high heat. As chef Gabrielle Hamilton likes to say, I like to weep the veg. Let a good amount of salt rain down over all. Stir. Let the coins start to sizzle a bit. Then flip. You want them to get a bit of color. Then add whole small cherry tomatoes. Add another glug of olive oil. Plus another good rain of salt. Stir. Once some of the tomatoes start to open turn the heat to medium and add a few cloves of finely minced garlic. Stir in. With the side of a wooden spoon, push down on some of the tomatoes to break them so they release their magical juices. This is when the liquid gold starts to happen. You also want some of the tomatoes to remain whole, as I quite like the look of them intact. Keep stirring as the juices from the zucchini and the tomatoes and the garlic start to marry. Truly, could not be simpler but the result is incredibly tasty and it is a dish you will make time and again this time of year when produce is looking so out of this world and is abundant. Enjoy!