My husband Bryan and I split a lot of our time between our home base in Austin, Texas and Venice, California, where some of our dearest friends and family dwell. Gjelina restaurant, on Abbott Kinney, has always been one of our favorite destinations. We strive to eat seasonally, and the way this new american cuisine is prepared and presented is very inspiring. On our last visit, I purchased Chef Travis Lett’s cook book “Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California” and have since tagged every summer dish and added their ingredients to my shopping list.

We are officially in the season of summer squash and tomatoes. With the heat bearing down on us with momentous might, our farmers market trips have us buying up a bag full of these abundant gourds and a vine of sweet cherry tomatoes, before they rapidly disappear from the vendors’ tables. This grilled summer squash recipe would be a fabulous side dish served warm and would make excellent outdoor grilling fare for the upcoming Fourth of July.

We always tweak a recipe to make it our own, not that you need to revise Travis’s work, but below is our rendition.

Grilled Summer Squash with Cherry Tomato Confit and Za’atar

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1lb mixed summer squash, cut into 3/4 in thick slices

1/4 cup coconut oil

pink himalayan salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp za’tar

1/2 cup cherry tomato Confit

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill. (Or set your carbon steel DeBuyer pan over high heat, as we have done.)

Meanwhile, on a baking dish, spread out the squash slices in a single layer and drizzle with half the coconut oil, turning to coat both sides. Season with salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature until grill is ready.

Put the squash slices on the hottest part of the grill and cook until seared on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until well seared on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. (If using De Buyer, it really only needs 3 minutes on each side) The squash should be cooked through, but not mushy.

In a large bowl, gently toss the grilled squash slices with the Za’atar, cherry tomato confit, vinegar, and mint.

Transfer to a serving platter. Serve warm.

Both the za’atar and cherry tomato confit recipes produce plenty more than what is called for in this dish. Just store in an airtight container in the refrigarator for up to 2 weeks. We have added them to several dishes, used them as bread dipping oil, created a eggplant parmesan that featured them prominently - the possibilities are endless. We will be sure to blog all the ways we use these on a future post.

Za'atar

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup dried thyme

1/4 cup dried oregano

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

2 tsp ground sumac

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt

In a small frying pan, over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds just until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Finely grate the garlic into a small bowl and add the thyme, oregano, toasted sesame seeds, lemon zest, sumac, and olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Cherry Tomato Confit

Makes 4 cups

2 pt cherry tomatos, stemmed

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 tsp salt

3 fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare a large bowl with ice-water.

Use a paring knife to score a small x in the bottom of each tomato. Plunge the tomato into the boiling water for 20 seconds, and immediately transfer them to the ice water bath, until all the tomato have been blanched.

When the cherry tomatoes have cooled, remove them from the water. With your fingers, gently slip the tomato out of their skins and place them in a single layer in a baking dish. Por the olive oil over the tomatoes and add the garlic, basil, salt, and thyme. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until the oil is but the tomatoes remain vibrant and whole. Let cool completely.

{notes on ingredients: I used fresh summer squash and cherry tomatoes on the vine from Sunday's Hope Farmers Market. The basil, mint, and thyme were snipped from our urban herb garden. All the dried herbs, spices, sesame seeds and olive oil came from my favorite bulk section located at Central Market.}