I opened my fridge the other day and saw a wall of bright, sunny, yellow. My CSA had arrived and it was full of yellow veggies of all shapes and sizes. Yellow tomatoes, yellow peppers, yellow squash, yellow onion, even yellow fleshed potatoes. When faced with such a monochromatic set of circumstances, don’t back away! Embrace it! I decided to make the happiest, sunniest ratatouille you’ve ever seen. I decided to serve it tapas style in my little cast iron sizzle plates. Not only was it pretty, it was even tastier than it looked.

Wanting to complement this sunny delight, and the tapas theme, I decided to add a complementary color to dinner- fiery red shrimp. At dinner, we were transported to the heart of Spain. The colors of the Spanish flag on the table, the heat of the afternoon sun shining through the window, rich red wine, and a Movie on the TV (ok, maybe not that last part).

Wanna get away for the evening? Here’s the menu to transport you.

Sunny Ratatouille

• 1 yellow pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 small yellow squash, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1/3 c yellow tomatoes, diced
• ¼ yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp herbs de Provence
• ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small cast iron skillet or oven proof sauté pan, add oil and heat the skillet. Once hot, add the pepper, squash, tomatoes, onion, herbs, salt, pepper and garlic and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and move to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot. Serves 2.

Shrimp & Sausage Tapas

• 3 oz Longaniza, crumbled (*)
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• ¼ tsp hot smoked paprika (add more if you want it spicier)
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 tsp sundried tomatoes
• 1/3 lb shrimp

In a cast iron skillet or oven proof sauté pan, stir together oil, tomato paste, paprika, and garlic. Heat he oil mixture and allow it to sizzle a bit (1 mintues). Add the sausage and stir until cooked (about 2-3 minutes). Add the shrimp, toss in the sausage mixture, and cook until just pink (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve with toast. Serves 2.

(*) Longaniza is a Spanish sausage similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguica.