Cooking 4 the Week

Charcutepalooza: Whole Wheat Pasta with Braised Cabbage & Duck Prosciutto

2011-01-16T09:43:00.005-05:00

Trying something new here, since I don't have time to pull together full recipes for you right now, but this dish was so good that I had to share. The hazelnut breadcrumbs are gilding of this lily, but they are quick to make and really add a great textural contrast to this dish.

This was good people, really really good. The whole time we ate we made yummy noises. (There may have been some grunting.)

If you don't have duck prosciutto at hand, sub in a great ham (country ham would be fabulous), cooked bacon, or traditional prosciutto (domestic would ok).

So here you go, step-by-step:

Brown one large onion, sliced thin, in a large skillet.

Add about 1/2 of a savoy cabbage, sliced thin, and about 1/2 cup of water. Cook over medium heat until cabbage is softened.

Add two large dollops of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of salt.

Stir once or twice and cook until it looks like this. Add a little water if the skillet gets too dry; you want things to stay semi-soupy. When it's done to your liking, grind in a crap-ton of black pepper and turn off the heat until the pasta is ready.

Meanwhile, cook up about half a pound of whole wheat spaghetti.

When the pasta is cooked to your taste (I like whole wheat pasta to be just this side of underdone, because it will finish cooking in the skillet *and* because when it overcooks, it gets soggy), reserve a cup of the cooking water (that's the mug is for: to remind me to save some water) and drain the pasta.

Toss the pasta into the skillet and turn the heat back on. Stir and toss the pasta together with the cabbage, adding some cooking water if it's too dry.

Fold in about 1/2 cup of duck prosciutto, slivered.

Serve in warmed soup plates, topped with hazelnut breadcrumbs.

To make the breadcrumbs:

Put a handful of hazelnuts into a mortar.

Crush them and toss them into a small pan with an equal portion of panko or fresh breadcrumbs. Drizzle in some olive oil and toast over medium high heat until browned and crispy.

Charcutepalooza: Month One

2011-01-15T08:02:00.007-05:00

So, over New Year's my friend Mrs. Wheelbarrow and new friend Yummy Mummy had a spark that grew into a massive meaty conflagration: Charcutepalooza! We're going to take on various charcuterie projects over the course a year. With my major project on deck: y'know, opening a restaurant, I'm going to do my best keeping up but don't think I'll be able to do every project.

You can get on board too! Check out the Charcutepalooza page for information on how to get started.

In month one we made duck prosciutto. I purchased whole ducks and broke them down for the breast meat (oh yes, on Twitter the breast jokes were never-ending). I made confit from the legs with the fat rendered from the carcasses.

The prosciutto making was the easy part: you bury the breasts in salt night, then rub them with spices, then hang them for 7 days. Done!

For me the biggest challenge was finding a spot in the house that had the right combination of temperature (50-60 degrees) and humidity (70% ish). My prosciutto ended up a little dry and I'm sure it's because of the humidity level (too low).

I rubbed two of my breasts with white pepper and the other with a fennel-black pepper-coriander mixture. To be honest, I didn't taste much of a difference between the two. Next time I might try heavily crusting it with black pepper for a more pastrami-esque experience.

So far, we've eaten our prosciutto alongside a citrusy fennel salad and over the top of a chickpea soup. For the soup, I tried crisping the prosciutto, and for me this wasn't super successful: the prosciutto got saltier and lost a lot of its nuanced flavors.

Next month: Pancetta!

So it's been a while ....

2010-11-04T07:44:00.004-05:00

Sorry folks, vacation, family and business have taken my attention for the last few months. But I am so excited to tell you about why I haven't been posting: My husband and I are opening a restaurant!

Enzo Restaurant & Bar is something we've been planning for a long time. We'll be sharing our passion for great food with our community. We'll be serving dishes inspired by Northern Italy but interpreted back through New England's seasons and ingredients. Imagine if your grandmother came to Massachusetts from Genoa and had to prepare meals for her family. She'd use what she had available to her locally to make the dishes of her homeland.

Ciao for now!

Use Your Booty: Barley Salad with Burrata

2010-09-04T06:24:00.006-05:00

I meant to to get this post up before this holiday weekend started. This salad is a great healthy, vegetarian, colorful side dish that goes well alongside grilled meat. It also improves with age - so you can make it a day or two ahead. I fancied it up with a large chunk of burrata cheese - feel free to omit it if you prefer.

Black Barley Salad with Burrata

Serves about 8-10 as a side dish, makes a generous 4-6 main course servings.

I liked the richness added by the burrata - if you don't have any at hand, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese or ricotta salata would be great. Or go dairy-free and toss on slices of hard-boiled egg.

1 cup uncooked black barley or 4 cups cooked barley (or pearl barley or "regular" barley - this salad would also work with farro or wheatberries)
2-3 small zucchini, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
2 handfuls purslane leaves
1 small onion, sliced into thin rounds
red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
8 ounces burrata, left whole (preferred) or torn into shreds

Cook the barley, if needed: pick through the uncooked grains to remove any stones or bits of twig or chaff. Place in saucepan and cover with water by two inches and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add a healthy pinch of salt and cook until the grains are tender. This will take from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the grain you're cooking and how old it is. Add more water as needed to keep the barley covered.

When the barley is cooked, drain it in a colander and set aside to cool.

Toss half of the cooked barley with the vegetables. Add more barley until you have the vegetable/grain ratio you like. (You may not use all of the barley. Any leftovers can be frozen for future use.)

Sprinkle the salad with red wine vinegar and a healthy glug or two of olive oil. Season to taste with more vinegar and oil and salt and pepper. Top the salad with burrata and serve.

This Summer, I am chronicling my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) experience. My CSA share is from Arrowhead Farm, a farm based in Newburyport, MA. Each week, I am posting about what was in my share and what I'm doing with it. By way of full disclosure, I won my share through a raffle and am not paying for it. However, Arrowhead did not know I was entered in the raffle, and I received no special consideration because of this blog. I paid for my livestock share. A full set of all the photos I've taken of this share is here.

The Porchetta Project

2010-08-27T12:10:00.005-05:00

I have been dreaming of porchetta lately: a big roast of pork, redolent of rosemary and garlic and wrapped in crispy, crackly pork skin. This is a dish that's easy to get if you live in Italy, or near the eponymous shop in NYC, but up in my neck of the woods, not so much.

So what's a girl to do but take this porky problem into her own hands? Technically I needed what's called a "long middle" (a pork loin with the belly still attached), but my favorite pork supplier Tim Rocha at Kellie Brook Farm let me know that might be a tough cut for him to get. So, I decided to cobble together Frankenpig from a loin, some fatback and a skin-on belly.

I made a rub of rosemary, garlic, black pepper and salt to use for seasoning the roast and got to work assembling the beast: I laid the belly out and rubbed it liberally with half of the seasoning. I laid the loin over it and rubbed on the other half of the seasoning. I took the fatback (I did trim it down as it was really thick, so it ended up with a piece that was about 1/3 inch thick ) and laid it over the top.

I then did a ridiculously poor job of trussing this amalgam into a cylinder. I put it onto a rack on a sheet pan and left it in the fridge for for a day, to let the rub's herbiness perfume the meat.

Since the roast was so thick (almost 10 inches) I took it out of the fridge an hour before I started roasting it. I followed the basic instructions that Molly Stevens used in her porchetta project. I put the roast into a 475-degree oven on a roasting rack on a sheet pan and let it crackle away for 30 minutes (this will create A LOT of smoke; turn off the smoke detectors first). Then the oven went down to 325-degrees and the porchetta roasted away for another 3 hours.

I popped into the oven every now and then and basted the skin with the fat that was accumulating in the pan. I also siphoned off a lot of this fat as it rendered. This was a necessary chore as a lot of fat rendered off: nearly 2 cups.

While this wasn't my perfect porchetta: it was a little too fatty, the loin on the ends was a little dry and the skin wasn't crispy all the way around. But, holy moly, it was a delicious. The skin that was crisped up was super crunchy and toothsome. The rosemary and garlic flavor permeated the meat and made for a great flavor. While the roast was resting, I roasted potatoes on a sheet pan with some of the rendered fat. We enjoyed our porchetta and potatoes with a fennel salad.

Two days later, we had an amazing sandwiches of gently-warmed porchetta, tomatoes and Swiss chard salad for dinner. Nom nom.

Changes for next time:

Remember to score the skin before you truss the roast - very very hard to score skin without cutting through the trussing twine.
Don't put the rub on the outside of the roast. I did and it started scorching up right off the bat.
Trim back a little more fat from the roast: a had a double layer of fat on the top (the loin fat against the back fat was too thick a layer).
Roll the roast during the skin-crisping stage to make sure that all the skin gets exposed to the heat.

Use Your Booty: Grilled Sausage Sub Platter

2010-08-16T08:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I asked Dave what he wanted for dinner and he sheepishly asked for sausage and pepper subs. I'm not a huge fan of this type of sandwich (and he knows it): the roll is always too big and fluffy, overshadowing the filling; the filling needs to be inserted perfectly, otherwise everything slithers out the back end when you take a bite; and frankly, I like to eat with a knife and fork most of the time.

So this was a great compromise: we took the traditional insides threw them all on the grill and served it all on a platter with fresh tomatoes, olive focaccia and some spicy kale (not in the picture) on the side.

I made garlic oil and brushed it on the peppers, onions and eggplant prior to grilling. I'll admit the eggplant is not traditional, but I love grilled eggplant and it stretched the sausage so we had enough left over for another meal. The peppers and kale came from my CSA and the eggplant from the farmstand down the road. The tomatoes were a gift from the lovely ladies at The Herb Farmacy (a fellow farmer's market vendor).

A note about the sausage: This sausage was INCREDIBLE. I got it from Tim Rocha at Kellie Brook Farm. His booth is two over from mine at the farmers' market, so I was able to do some shopping in between customers. I bought a pound each of his hot Italian and chorizo sausages. Last night we grilled the hot Italian sausage. It was everything you want sausage to be: fatty enough so it didn't try out on the grill (even though we had a fiery flareup or two), good seasoning (not too salty, just enough heat), and deep porky flavor. Seriously, we sat at the table, chewing the meat and saying over and over how good it was.

Tim raises Berkshire hogs and the flavor is just great: rich and porky with just enough fat (although it is a leaner breed than some other heritage breeds). In addition to Newburyport, MA, Tim also sells his meat (pork, chicken, veal) at markets in Portsmouth, Exeter and Hampton, NH.

Use Your Booty: Quick Pasta Dinner

2010-08-16T06:58:00.001-05:00

What can I say? I'm a sucker for an egg and some crispy crumbs. If you've been reading this summer's posts, this dish may look a little familiar, but it's a nice go-to for when you don't know what's going on the dinner table. I boil some pasta, make a quick sauce of sautéed vegetables and top the plate with a poached or fried egg and some crispy bits. The crispy crumbs add a nice textural contrast to the plate.

This plate was: linguine and a sauce of bacon, chunks of plum tomato, and shreds of Swiss chard and onion. I drained the pasta (I lifted it out of the pot with tongs), and added it right to the skillet containing the sauce. Then I poached the eggs right in the pasta pot. In the meantime, the crumbs were toasting in the toaster oven with a little olive oil.

Dinner in about 15 minutes!

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I Introduce: Purslane!

2010-08-14T10:31:00.001-05:00

When I stopped by to make my CSA pickup on Friday, I got an added treat: Purslane! Purslane has always been eaten in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries and has recently become a greenmarket darling. The nice thing for you and me is that purslane is also a weed. If your farmer doesn't spray his crops, ask if you can pick some purslane - as it's seen as a weed, he'll likely be thrilled to have you do it. Heck, if you have a yard, you've probably got some growing around the margins - purslane likes slightly bare, sandy soil.

When you get your purslane home store it, wrapped in a dishtowel, in a plastic bag. Before eating it, wash it well. Purslane grows really close to the ground so it can be super-sandy. If the stems are thin and not too fibrous (they should snap easily - like a fresh green bean) you can use them. If the stems are tough or stringy, strip the leaves from the stems and just use them.

I like using purslane fresh in salads like this one here. It's a succulent leaf that holds up well to citrusy dressing and chunky partners like this summer squash. I chopped my bunch of purslane into 1/2" lengths and tossed it with sliced summer squash, chopped jalapeno and a lemon dressing.

In addition to using it fresh, you can quickly sauté the stems and leaves with garlic and chili. I have also pickled purslane stems and they're a great addition to a sandwich (use a dilly bean recipe).

Grilled Goat Striploin

2010-08-14T08:19:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday, the farmers' market was hopping! So much so, that I sold out of all of my baked goods with 30 minutes left to go before the closing bell. I took the opportunity to do a little shopping.

Riverslea Farm sells lamb and goat meat as well as wool products. I picked up two pieces of what they called goat "strips". After looking at the meat I figured out, I think, that this was the same cut as tenderloin: the muscle fibers ran the long way along the meat and the cut was shrouded in silverskin, line a tenderloin.

I trimmed the silverskin from the meat and then rubbed the meat with a spice paste made from:

3 cloves garlic
15 fenugreek seeds, toasted and ground
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

We let the paste flavor the meat while the grill heated. We grilled the meat for about 4 minutes a side and dinner was done.

I made sure we cut the meat across the grain and it was wonderfully tender. Surprisingly, the flavor of the meat wasn't as strong as I expected it to be. I'm not sure if that was a function of the cut, the age of the goat at slaughter, or both.

CSA Booty - Week 13

2010-08-14T06:07:00.002-05:00

Be sure to check out Use Your Booty: Show Your CSA Box Who's Boss for ideas about how to manage your CSA vegetables.

In this week's share I picked up:

6 ears of corn
2 pattypan squash, 2 yellow squash
1 head of cabbage
Cherry and plum tomatoes
4 Anaheim chile peppers
1 bunch of broccoli
A whole pile of kale - picked my own!
1 bunch of Swiss chard
A bunch of basil
A whole mess of purslane (more to come on this!)

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

I think I'm going to make a pudding with the corn.
The cabbage is going most likely become another slaw, maybe with the broccoli.
The plum tomatoes will get roasted and eaten either on pasta or perhaps on bruschetta.
I have two avocados ripening on the counter, so I'll like make chile rellenos with the peppers and spiced greens with some of the kale.
The cherry tomatoes have already gone into tomato pie.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

Half the corn was steamed and eaten hot with butter. Yum. The other half went into a salad with a few other vegetables.
I stuffed the Anaheims with Monterey jack and some thinly sliced onions. They went into a skillet and got all silky soft.
The cabbage made a slaw with a few other vegetables.
I fried some of the zucchini and the rest went into the corn salad.
I made this gorgeous tomato rarebit to test for Food52 with great tomatoes I had.
The plum tomatoes went into a pasta sauce with Swiss chard, onions and bacon.

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I Introduce: Tetragonia!

2010-08-13T06:15:00.002-05:00

Tetragonia, or New Zealand spinach, is a green that you may find at the famers' market this summer. It's gotten very popular with farmers and shoppers because it doesn't bolt (go to seed and turn bitter) like spinach when the temperature rises.

Tetragonia is not a member of the spinach family, but it tastes a lot like it. The leaves are slightly succulent - not quite as juicy as your Mom's jade plant, but still. As a result, when you buying it, you should make sure the leaves are bouncy/crispy without a hint of wilty softness.

To prepare it for cooking, strip the leaves from the stems and wash them well. Sauté like spinach; I like mine with lots of garlic and a splash of lemon or vinegar. Not that Tetragonia has quite a bit of oxalic acid in it (like spinach and chard do), so your teeth may get that sandy feeling after eating it. It's also why I don't like eating tetragonia raw: I find the oxalic acid sandiness is diminished when the vegetable is cooked. Also, because oxalic acid isn't super-great for your liver in general, don't go eating this stuff at every meal.

Use Your Booty: Box Car Willie and Friends Rarebit

2010-08-13T05:26:00.003-05:00

For the recipe for this delicious bowl of comfort, you're going to have to head over to Food52. This rarebit was an Editor's Pick in the recent heirloom tomato contest. Those of you familiar with rarebit will wonder where the toast is. Just think of the tomatoes as the toast and go happily on your way. I recommend you have some bread on hand to sop up the gorgeous tomatoey-cheesiness that will be in the bottom of the dish.

I used a combination of tomatoes: a big beefy type, a few cherries and a stripy saladette number - no idea of the names of any of them. A note of warning: the tomatoes will be insanely hot when you pull the dish out of the oven. As painful as it will be to wait for them to cool, it will be less painful than the scorched mouth you'll have otherwise.

Cooking Class: Yes We Can Can!

2010-08-12T06:23:00.010-05:00

Last week I ran a canning workshop at the gorgeous Jewett Farms Studio in Newburyport, MA. We had a great group of students join us for this class. We made: Blueberry-Lemon Jam, Plum Chutney, Quick Pickles and Personalized Dills.

First off, everyone was put to work chopping up plums for the chutney. I demonstrated a basic technique for cutting up onions and a quick way to cut clingstone stone fruit from its pit. After the chutney simmered down to a thick consistency (about 90 minutes), it was ladled into pint jars and processed in a boiling water bath.

Next, we started the blueberry jam. This jam has whole lemon slices in it and they provide a nice bitter/sour note to the jam. I used my enormous skillet (18"!) and was able to fit four pounds of berries into its wide embrace. The berries and lemons bubbled away and when the hot mixture reached set (220 degrees Fahrenheit) we pulled the jam from the heat and ladled it into 4 oz. jars. Jams don't have to be hot water processed, but for safety's sake and to ensure a seal, we processed our jam for 10 minutes.

While everything simmered away, the class turned its attention to our last two pickles. I demonstrated a quick julienne technique (a way to cut thin strips of vegetables) and put everyone to work julienning a mountain of carrots and two ginormous daikon radishes. These vegetables were salted and left to sit to exude some liquid.

Finally everyone dressed their pickles to their taste (with Japanese chilies and Korean thin pepper strings) they were dressed with a rice wine vinegar/sugar brine and left to pickle at room temp. These pickles need to be eaten within a week or so.

Finally the dills: The class cut up enough cucumbers to fill their jars - some went for spears, others for chips. Everyone seasoned their pickle jar to taste with garlic, dill, mustard seed and chilies. After topping with brine, the cukes went in for processing.

At the end of the day, everyone went home with 2 4oz. containers of jam, a pint of chutney, a pint of dills and a pint of quick Asian-style pickles. I'd say that's a pretty good haul for three hours of class time!

I was honored to have two of my fellow Food52istas join me in class. Thanks Midge and Sagegreen for visiting!

See the full set of photos from class starting here.

CSA Booty - Week 12

2010-08-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check out Use Your Booty: Show Your CSA Box Who's Boss for ideas about how to manage your CSA vegetables.

In this week's share I picked up:

9 ears of corn
3 zucchini
1 head of cabbage
1 cucumber
A lotta tomatoes
A whole mess of Anaheim chile peppers (I used three of my choices to make sure I got enough for us for dinner)
5 jalapenos
I had more options in "pick your own" but didn't have time, so I had to pass on some flowers and greens. Boo.

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

We've already eaten half the corn - steamed with butter. Yum.
I stuffed the Anaheims with Monterey jack and some thinly sliced onions. We ate them last night with the corn.
The cabbage could become sauerkraut but is more likely to become a slaw.
I think I'll make fritters with the zucchini and pickle some of the rest.
I'm have to make this tomato rarebit to test for Food52 and plan on using the great heirlooms I picked up.
I'll turn the plum tomatoes I got into a simple pasta sauce.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

I made a green lasagna with the amaranth, kale and onions
We made a super delicious stack of BLTs - my bacon comes from North Country Smokehouse, it's amazingly smoky and really makes the dish.
We enjoyed a lovely plate of green pasta with tomato sauce and burrata.
I am confident that I have a stash of leftover vegetables waiting in the fridge that I'll need to address later today.

Use Your Booty: Pasta Verde with Tomato Sauce and Burrata

2010-08-06T06:10:00.004-05:00

After making that green lasagna on Tuesday I still had some leftover pasta dough. So I wrapped it up and left in the fridge to await future use (or the compost bin). Tonight I made a quick tomato sauce with the remainder of our CSA tomatoes (mostly cherry tomatoes) and decided to roll the rest of the pasta and have it for supper.

As an aside: I got this Kitchen Pasta Rolling dingus for Christmas (thanks Mom!). If you like fresh pasta I can't recommend the purchase (or gifting, if you are so lucky) of of these more highly. A hand cranked machine isn't that hard to use, but this motorized roller makes pasta making so much faster.

I rolled the pasta and turned it into corzetti (or croxetti), a hand-stamped round pasta from Genoa, Italy. That there is my corzetti stamp, purchased on our trip to Genoa a few years ago. And down there, is a tray of corzetti ready for boiling. For those playing along at home, I rolled my to "6" on the pasta roller - this is a thicker setting (the thinning setting is "8") about what I would use for linguine.

Burrata is a cheese made of mozzarella wrapped around fresh cheese curd. If you can't find it, a few slices of fresh mozzarella and/or a scoop of fresh ricotta would be a satisfactory substitute.

So, no recipe today, just the idea for you:

Make a fresh tomato sauce: I used about 1 pound of tomatoes (coarsely chopped) and 2 cloves of garlic, sautéed together until the tomatoes broke down and got saucy. I didn't seed or skin my tomatoes, but probably should have (the cherry tomatoes seeds and skins were a little tough). Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Boil up some fresh pasta (about 3-4 ounces per person).

Sauce the pasta with the sauce and top the dish with a few slices of burrata.

Use Your Booty: Lasagna Verde

2010-08-05T04:07:00.001-05:00

I admit it, I had blog envy. I saw this gorgeous post on radicchio lasagna over at AuthorJane's Cooking from the Farms series and got lasagna on the brain. She had gotten her radicchio through one of her CSA memberships. I didn't have radicchio, but have a lot of greens so I decided to use my bunch of amaranth and half of my kale.

I'm going to give this recipe to you in several steps (pasta, filling, bechamel, assembly) because each component can be made ahead and/or used as its own dish. Make sure each component is well-seasoned and delicious on its own before layering it into the lasagna.

This looks like a lot of steps and components, but from start to finish I pulled this dish together in 45 fast-paced minutes (not counting baking time). It would have been even easier had I had a stash of cooked greens in the fridge like I usually do.

Pasta Verde

I made a green pasta for my lasagna. If you don't want to make your own pasta, skip this step and use Barilla No-Boil lasagna noodles.

Makes about 1 pound of pasta

4 cups tender greens (amaranth, spinach, chard leaves, etc.)
2 eggs
pinch salt
approximately 2 1/4 cups (about 10 ounces) flour

In a saucepan of boiling water, cook the greens until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the greens and run cool water over them to cool them off. Squeeze as much water out of the greens as you can.

Put the greens into the bowl of a food processor with the eggs and salt. Process until the greens are very finely chopped. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour into the processor bowl and process, pulsing, to pull the eggs, greens and flour into a dough. The dough will come up onto the blade of the processor and roll around. Feel the dough and it will likely be sticky, add about 1/4 cup into the bowl and process a little more.

Pull the dough out of the bowl and knead the dough, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the countertop. The dough should be soft, smooth and supple. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside until you're ready to roll it out.

After the dough has rested for 20 minutes, it's ready to roll.

Sautéed Greens

Makes about 3-4 cups of greens

olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
10-12 cups of greens leaves, coarsely chopped (kale, amaranth, chard, spinach, collards, etc.)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat sauté the onion in olive oil until softened. Add the greens and a pinch of salt to the skillet and continue to cook, stirring and tossing the greens to wilt them down - this will take about 10 minutes. If the skillet seems too dry, add a 1/2 cup of water and keep cooking. After the greens are wilted, add the garlic and vinegar to the pan and sauté for another 5 minutes.

Set aside to let the greens cool.

Bechamel Sauce

Makes 4 cups

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then add the flour. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir in the flour making sure it's well blended. When the flour has started to turn golden, add a splash of milk. Stir the milk in well with the spatula. Whisk in the rest of the milk in 1 cup increments.

Bring the bechamel to a gentle boil, whisking frequently. Season well with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Set aside. If making aside, cover the surface of the bechamel with a piece of waxed paper.

Lasagna Verde

Note that I don't pre-boil my fresh pasta noodles in this dish, the pasta stays much softer this way. For more firm pasta layers, parboil the noodles for 1-2 minutes before layering them into the dish.

1 recipe green pasta or 1 pound Barilla no-boil noodles
3-4 cups cooked greens
8 oz mozzarella, shredded (I used the little mozzarella balls called perlini)
3 ounces parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish and cover the bottom of the pan with a few spoonfuls of bechamel.

Roll the pasta in a pasta roller (I like to roll as I assemble because it's so much easier to just put the sheets straight into the pan), rolling each new layer of pasta as you need it.

Stack ingredients up in the pan to make three layers in the lasagna. Each layer contains: 1 layer pasta, 1 layer greens, mozzarella, grated parmesan and about 1/2 cup of bechamel. The final and top layer is pasta, bechamel and parmesan. Make sure the entire surface is covered with bechamel.

Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. Take off the foil and broil the top to brown the cheese.

Let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Sweet [and Sour] Tomato Chutney

2010-08-03T18:01:00.005-05:00

This was, by far, the most loved item on the menu from last week's Indian cooking class. Many dishes had fans, but everyone thought this was just great. Even better, it's super easy and can be made way ahead. I used canned tomatoes, but you could substitute peeled fresh tomatoes if you wish.

We enjoyed this chutney with chicken and shrimp dishes, but I think it would just fabulous alongside goat cheese on a cheese tray or spread onto roast pork or beef sandwich. This chutney would pair well with multiple flavors (it doesn't necessarily taste "Indian"). The slivered almonds are not something most people expect, but they add a nice contrasting texture. If you're allergic to almonds, pine nuts would be a satisfactory, albeit more expensive, alternative.

Sweet [and Sour] Tomato Chutney

From Madhur Jaffrey's Introduction to Indian Cooking

Makes about 2-3 cups

1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
2" x 1" x 1" piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes (I used Muir Glen tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons slivered almonds

Purée the garlic, ginger and about a third of the vinegar (enough to keep things moving) in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Put the paste from the blender, and all the other ingredients except the raisins and the almonds into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is superthick (Madhur says it should be like honey, mine was chunkier and thicker than honey).

Stir in the almonds and raisins and simmer 5 more minutes.

Taste for salt and sugar and adjust to taste. It may smell like it's too acidic, but give it a taste anyway - add a little sugar if things are too puckery.

Cooking Class: Indian Dishes at Home

2010-08-03T04:00:00.000-05:00

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of leading a class in Indian Cooking at home. This is one of many classes I've been teaching at Jewett Farms Studio's gorgeous Newburyport location.

The class enjoyed some whole wheat samosas, stuffed with spiced potatoes, while I demonstrated the rest of the menu:

Whole-Wheat Samosas

Vegetables with Cilantro Chutney

****

Chicken Tikka Masala

Shrimp with Whole Spices

Smoked Eggplant (Eggplant Bharta)

Spinach with Fresh Cheese (Sag Paneer)

Moong Dal

Basmati Rice

Chutneys & Relishes

****

Fresh Fruit

Chicken tikka masala and Shrimp with spices: ready for dinner

Some of the spices we used at dinner (rear plate) and a selection of dals (lentils and beans)

We had a huge group of students (fifteen!) and everyone seemed to have a great time. Check my website for future classes: we have a canning workshop scheduled for the 7th and a Farmer's Market dinner for the 13th.

Pouring "tarka", hot spiced oil, over the dal

At the dinner table

Welcome!

2010-08-01T02:39:00.001-05:00

Hello Boston Globe readers and Food52ers and everyone else! (Regular visitors might find this article in The Boston Globe and this Food52 profile interesting.)

Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to browse around. To help you find your way, here are a few posts you might find especially interesting:

Use Your Booty: Show Your CSA Box Who's Boss
A review of the steps I take to make sure that I get the most out of my weekly CSA pickup.

Labor Day Coolers
A quick method for aguas fresca, fruit drinks that will help keep you cool through the dog days of August.

Fast Grilled Ribs

This is the most popular post on this blog. These ribs are not the BBQ-style you might be expecting, but they're a quick, flavor-filled, gnaw on the bone experience.

Steak, Caveman-Style The second-most popular post on this site: our method for producing dirty steak, or steak grilled directly on hot coals.

Just Plane Food
The third-most visited post on the site: a discussion of packing TSA-friendly food for satisfying in-flight dining. Note: the post was written back in 2007, so the rules are wee bit more lenient these days. I'll be taking a trip in September and plan to update this post to meet the new requirements after we're back.

Use Your Booty: Orecchiette with Chard, Sausage and Ricotta

2010-07-31T07:59:00.002-05:00

This meal was inspired by a dish I used to make a long, long time ago. It was called Rigatoni alla Buttera. It's a hearty plate of pasta, sauced with ricotta (or cream) and tomato and studded with peas and chunks of sausage.

Dave begged for some meat on the dinner plate (we've been eating a LOT of all-veggie dishes), so I pulled out the last of some pork sausage I made in my last sausage-stuffing binge (time to pull out the grinder again I guess). I also had a half container of ricotta in the fridge, so it was logical to try to pull a dish together using that too. I had to add some vegetables to the pan so I used Swiss chard (you can sub in spinach, kale or any other green you have on hand) and sliced raw onions.

To add a little crunch I made a handful of big breadcrumbs by cubing stale bread and pan frying them in olive oil.

Orecchiette with Chard, Sausage and Ricotta

2-3 servings

8 ounces Italian sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces orecchiette pasta (substitute shells if you can't get your hands on orecchiette)
1 bunch Swiss chard, cut into bite-sized pieces
12 ounces ricotta
1 small onion, sliced into paper-thin rings
1-2 handfuls big breadcrumbs

In a large skillet, sauté the sausage over medium-high heat until cooked through and browned.

While the sausage is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the orecchiette to al dente. Right before the pasta is done, add the Swiss chard into the pasta pot to wilt it down. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water to use in the sauce (I usually put a coffee cup in my colander to remind me to save a cup of water.)

Put the pasta and chard back into the pasta pot with the ricotta, sliced onion and sausage. Stir everything together, adding a little pasta water to loosen up the sauce and make it creamy. Taste and add salt & pepper as desired. Just before serving, stir in big breadcrumbs.

CSA Booty - Week 11

2010-07-31T07:40:00.004-05:00

If you're just stopping by - be sure to check out Use Your Booty: Show Your CSA Box Who's Boss for ideas about how to manage your CSA vegetables.

This week's share was made up of:

1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch kale
1 bunch amaranth
1 bunch of broccoli
2 boxes of onions (one yellow, one red)
Lots of tomatoes: big red beefsteak types, plum tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
I cut a big bunch of parsley
I cut 6 beautiful zinnias

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

The Swiss chard will be sautéed down and dressed with olive oil, lemon and chili flakes and served on bruschetta and/or wrapped in prosciutto (thank you, Alice Waters for the prosciutto idea)
I am in a pasta-making mood, and this gorgeous lasagna on my friend Jane's blog has spurred me to act: lasagna verde, made with amaranth (in the pasta and filling) and kale (filling)
BLTs are in my future, methinks
I think I'll make a batch of oven-roasted tomato sauce with some more of the tomatoes
The parsley is the main ingredient in salsa verde and I think I'll make a batch to sauce something grilled
The broccoli is probably going into a pasta salad with some tomatoes and herbs

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

I've put the zucchini and squash in a sauté with some fresh corn
The kale's was sautéed with a lot of garlic
The broccoli was paired with more kale and some Israeli couscous and topped with a fried egg and some tomatoes
We ate the tomatoes in a panzanella with last week's bok choy and lettuce and some of the onions and green beans
Some of the chard became a ricotta-sauced dish of pasta and sausage

Use Your Booty: Panzanella con Verdure

2010-07-31T07:32:00.004-05:00

No recipe, just an idea for you to play with.

Here's another version of Panzanella. This once had bok choy (sautéed), green beans, tomatoes, lettuce and oat cheese. I made a sherry vinaigrette to dress it and showered it with torn basil.

Drink of the Week: Sun Gold Tomato Martini

2010-07-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

I tried making quite a few variations of a sun gold tomato martini last summer. What challenging research projects I give myself!

Before this most recent attempt, I have made these all as muddled drinks, that is, I've crushed the tomato in with the gin, shaken the drink and then strained the tomato out. Delicious, but sorta bloody Mary-ish. In this version, I made sun gold tomato gin by steeping crushed tomatoes in gin and straining it through a coffee filter. This made for a drink that was the essence of tomato without any of the heaviness of tomato juice.

Even better, I can stockpile bottles of tomatoey sunshine to enjoy in the cold winter.

Sun Gold Tomato Martini

Prepare the gin by steeping crushed sun gold cherry tomatoes (slightly overripe ones are perfect) in gin. Just put the tomatoes in a jar and cover them with gin. Let steep for three-four days. Strain the liquid through a coffee filter into another jar.

To make your cocktail, combine in an iced mixing glass:

3 ounces tomato gin
1 ounce dry vermouth (Dolin is great if you can find it)
2 dashes orange bitters

Stir until very well chilled and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh sun gold cherry

tomato if you have one.

Use Your Booty: Show Your CSA Box Who's Boss

2010-07-28T06:41:00.008-05:00

What a well-fed and inspiring summer I've been having! I've been getting produce from my CSA for nearly three months now. I have made some gorgeous meals, like this dish of seared gnocchi and pea tendrils. I have also made some rather pedestrian dishes: sautéed kale anyone?

In the last few weeks I've also been dealing with a lot of stress about how to use all these vegetables. I'm really busy these days. I have a number of great clients who keep me busy during the week and then on weekends, I'm a baked goods vendor at my local farmers' market.

No matter how tired I am though, the idea of wasting any of this gorgeous produce is really distasteful to me. So here are a number of tips I've developed to help me get through the remainder of my CSA's growing season with a relatively clear conscience (at least with respect to wasting food!).

Make your CSA part of your weekly routine: Make a date with yourself to do your pickup and put things away when you get home. When my pickup's been a rushed affair I enjoy it less and am more likely to put things away in a slapdash manner.

Pack your booty up properly: To me, there's litte that's more depressing than pulling out a bag of produce only to find it's wilted, soggy, slimy, etc. I have made the process packaging my produce part of my CSA pickup experience. This really saves time when I'm searching for dinner ingredients. When I get home from the farm, everything gets wrapped up in a way that makes things easier for me later:

Bunches of greens are loosened up (if there's a rubber band holding a bunch together I cut it off) and wrapped in a dish towel and then bagged in an open plastic bag (like in that picture there, see?). This also makes the greens take up less space.
Any non-edible parts of the vegetable are cut off - for instance carrots tops are tossed directly into the compost bin.
I put similar items together: scallions and herbs go into one bag, carrots join beets and turnips in one bag, lettuces are all bagged up together.

Put together a recipe box: It's handy to have a collection of meal ideas to use as inspiration for your cooking. You don't need to be working directly from recipes; I use a list of go-to meals (frittata, tart, pasta with vegetables) in combination with recipes I pick up on the internet and in magazines. I use my computer to keep track of my meal ideas, but a binder or notepad might be just fine.

Make a meal plan: Make meal planning part of your CSA pickup process. Use your collection of recipes to put together a list of what you're making in the next few days. It doesn't have to be super detailed, but I find it very comforting to know that I'm planning on a frittata, a tart, a pasta dish, sides for a grilled chicken, etc. I also use this meal planning time to note any holes in my pantry so that I can pick up additional vegetables and ingredients at the farmers' market or supermarket.

Cook down your greens ASAP: We've gotten pie after pile of greens this summer, so I've made pan after pan of sautéed greens.

Greens with garlic, greens with ginger, greens with chilies, greens with spices, etc. Cooked greens can go into pasta, a frittata, on a sandwich, on bruschetta. Cooking greens down is easy and it can be done ahead of time. Plus cooked greens take way less space in the fridge than raw greens.

Soup is your best friend: I agree that when it's 90 degrees outside, the last thing you want is a hot, steaming bowl of soup.

There are some nice chilled soups you can try (like lettuce soup, gazpacho or vichyssoise). I also make soups and put them into the freezer for use on colder summer nights or in the fall. Soups are great sponges for a 1/4 cup of this and a handful of that.

The freezer is your other best friend: Don't get me wrong, pickling and canning are great, but on a hot day, and when you're in a hurry, there is nothing simpler than throwing something into a Ziploc and then into the freezer. Most vegetables do need to be cooked prior to freezing, so I'll usually blanch or sauté my vegetables and then put them into LABELED and DATED Ziploc bags and squeeze all the air out. Tomatoes don't need to be pre-cooked: I core them and throw them right into bags. When they thaw later, the skins will slip right off. Most important: keep a list of what you've put into the freezer so you don't forget what's in there.

Don't take it if you don't want it: CSAs are a great way to try new things, but if you know you aren't going to use those tomatoes or that Swiss chard don't bring it home. Most CSAs give their uncollected produce to shelters or soup kitchens, so the produce won't go to waste. That said, if a vegetable is new to you, try it at least once before you give up on it.

What are your tips for managing your CSA share? I'd love to hear from you.

CSA Booty - Week 10

2010-07-26T06:01:00.001-05:00

This week's share was made up of:

Beefsteak tomatoes
1 bunch of bright lights chard
1 bunch of kale
1 quart of green beans of amaranth
Summer squash and zucchini
Sun gold and red cherry tomatoes
Broccoli
Onions

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

I've already used the zucchini and squash in a sauté with some fresh corn
The kale's been sautéed with a lot of garlic
The broccoli's going into a simple salad like this one again
We ate the tomatoes in a panzanella with last week's bok choy and lettuce and some of the onions and green beans
I'll use the chard in a pasta dish with last week's amaranth and some more onions

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

I made a Genoese green bean and potato salad with pesto (beans, pesto made with Week 8's basil)
We enjoyed a version of fattoush made "BLT style"
We made a gorgeous tart with tomatoes and chard
I have absolutely no idea what I did with the rest, but I do think a fair amount of it is still in the fridge and being cooked this week!

Drink of the Week: Flat Tire

2010-07-23T12:25:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of the Sidecar and its variations. Traditionally made with lemon juice, brandy and Cointreau, I thought pineapple would be an interesting twist on the recipe.

My pineapple was super sweet, so I needed to add some lemon juice back in to the recipe, but I recommend you hold back the lemon juice until you've tasted the drink without it then add a squeeze if you need it.

I called this cocktail the Flat Tire because I thought that's what your sidecar would have after you hit a spiky pineapple with it.

Flat Tire Cocktail

In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle 4-5 cubes of pineapple until it looks very juicy. Add ice to the mixing glass and add:

1 ounce brandy
1 ounce Cointreau

Shake well. Taste for acid, if things seem to sweet, add a squeeze of lemon juice. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a pineapple slice.

Use Your Booty: Easy Vegetable Tart

2010-07-20T05:45:00.002-05:00

So here's a savory tart made with the tart dough recipe that I used to make the fruit tart.

I pulled the filling together while Dave made the crust. He's never made any kind of pastry before, and he put the dough together quickly and pressed it into the tart shell.

I tossed together some CSA tomatoes, cooked Swiss chard and cubed goat cheese (Middletown Tomme) from West River Creamery. I crumbled a leftover savory shortbread over the top of the tart - next time I think I'll use chopped nuts or shredded parmesan over the top.

So nice to have another quick weeknight recipe on hand. In the time it took to preheat the oven, we made the tart crust and put together the filling. The tart takes about 35-40 minutes to bake, so a really delicious, elegant dinner is on the table in about an hour.

Use Your Booty: BLT Fattoush

2010-07-19T19:41:00.004-05:00

I really like bread salads. They're a great way to showcase fresh vegetables. Panzanella is the bread salad that I make most often; it requires a hearty, rustic loaf, which I don't always have on hand. Fattoush is a bread salad made with fried or toasted pita bread. Traditionally fattoush is pita with parsley, tomato, onion and herbs.

I actually wanted to make BLT sandwiches for dinner, but had so sandwich-suitable bread in the kitchen. I did have a bag of pita chips left over from an event earlier in the week, so I decided to use them as the base for a fattoush salad. The devilled eggs are definitely a non-traditional garnish as is the addition of bacon.

The fattoush formula is very adaptable to whatever's in the pantry. It's a great "sponge" for bits of leftover cooked and raw vegetables. I like the pita to be about 1/3 of the total salad, but you should feel free to find your own perfect ratio of pita to vegetables.

No recipe today, just a guide:

BLT Fattoush

For each person you're serving, combine in a large bowl:

2 handfuls of torn lettuce leaves
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped tomato
1-2 slices of cooked bacon
a few slices of very thinly sliced onion
1-2 handfuls pita chips, crushed lightly

Dress generously (the chips will soak up a lot of dressing) with a lemon or red wine vinegar-based vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

Use Your Booty: Green Bean and Potato Pesto Salad

2010-07-18T18:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a red-letter day vegetable-wise: our first green beans of the season and the first corn! The corn needed no embellishment other than a gentle enrobing of butter, and I turned the beans into a salad. I had fresh pesto on hand from last week's basil so I prepared a Genoese-inspired potato and green bean salad.

Green Bean and Potato Pesto Salad

Serves 3-4

I didn't have any on hand, but this salad would even better with the addition of a handful of toasted pine nuts or walnuts added in at the end.

4 handfuls green beans, stem ends cut off, beans cut into 2" lengths (I used both green and yellow beans)
3 medium-sized red-skinned or Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/2" dice
1/4 red onion sliced thin
1/4 - 1/2 cup pesto
salt and pepper
red wine or sherry vinegar

This is a little fussy, but you really need to cook the beans and potatoes separately to ensure they are cooked properly.

Fill a large bowl with very cold water.

Put a large saucepan of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Salt the water well (2-3 healthy pinches). Put the beans in the water and boil for 2-3 minutes until they are bright green and tender. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer the beans out of the boiling water and into the bowl of cold water. When cool, transfer the cooked beans to a mixing bowl.

Since I used yellow beans too, I then repeated this step with the yellow beans.

Bring the water back to a boil and then cook the potatoes until tender, about 7-10 minutes. Transfer the potatoes out of the boiling water and into the bowl of cold water. When cool, transfer them to the bowl with the beans.

Add the onions to the beans and potatoes.

Stir in the pesto, adding enough to sauce the vegetables well. Taste and add salt & pepper to taste. If the salad tastes a little flat, add vinegar, a few drops at a time, until the flavor is right for you.

Amanda Hesser's Peach Tart

2010-07-18T15:47:00.011-05:00

Except I didn't make a peach tart. Instead, I made a fig and blueberry tart. I was turned on to this recipe by my friend Lynn. She told me how her young son (like 10 years oldish?) made these tarts himself.

See, these are his in the oven:

This is not meant to be intimidating. This recipe is super easy and super adaptable. Use the fruit you have on hand and you'll be fine. It's fast too - I had the tart ready to go in the oven before the end of the oven's preheat cycle.

I'm going to use this tart recipe in a savory application too: I'll fill the tart shell with chopped fresh tomatoes, cooked Swiss chard and goat cheese. Will let you know how it goes.

I don't normally post other people's recipes, especially when I don't own the cookbook (a situation I'm about to remedy), but this recipe is all over the interwebs, so I'm a little more comfortable posting it.

Fruit Tart

Based on Amanda Hesser's recipe for Peach Tart from Cooking for Mr. Latte.

Makes 1 tart (I used an 8" tart pan, but I think you could use a 9" or 10" pan - you can see my crust was sorta thick, which I prefer)

1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces) flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) olive oil
2 tbs (1 ounce) milk

Fruit or other filling of your choice - I used about 3 cups of fruit but a lot depends on the size of your tart pan

3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
2 tbs flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs (1 ounce) cold butter

Preheat the oven to 425.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together. Combine the dry with the wet. It'll become a dough, right under your fingertips - I promise. When the tart dough has come together, press it into the tart pan. Make sure you press it in evenly, so the crust is evenly distributed across the bottom and sides.

Fill your tart with the fruit or other vegetables you've prepared.

In a small bowl, use your fingers to combine the sugar, salt and butter. Pinch and rub until you have a crumbly sugar mixture. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the tart. (Obviously, omit this step if you're making a vegetable tart.)

Bake the tart until crust if well browned and the fruit is cooked and bubbly. This took me about 40 minutes in my oven.

Enjoy!

CSA Booty - Week 9

2010-07-18T14:55:00.003-05:00

This week's share was made up of:

Tomatoes
1 bunch of bright lights chard
1 bunch of kale
lots of green and yellow beans
1 bunch of amaranth
1 small box of onions
2 small boxes of sun gold cherry tomatoes
2 heads of bok choy

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

I think I'm going to make this kale pasta again - it was really good and super easy to put together. I'm out of pancetta, so I'll make it with bacon. (Wanted to do this last week but didn't.)
I'm going to try a Mexican recipe of chicken in amaranth sauce (it uses both the green and the grain which is sorta neat) with the amaranth greens. (Wanted to do this last week but didn't.)
Some of the tomatoes already went into a fattoush salad (post to come).
The onions are going to be added into many dishes: they are super thinly sliced and raw in various dishes.
I'm going to pickle some of the beans.
Some of the beans are going to be a Thai-style green bean salad.
The chard. Hmm again. Maybe a greens pie again - that 'twas delicious.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

And another busy week. We ate the callaloo I made and froze last week.
I made pesto from the basil.
The kale went into kale pesto.
I started getting desperate toward the end of the week and sauteed up the kale and amaranth to use in dishes.
I made a broccoli stirfry with carrots to have alongside a Vietnamese-caramel marinated grilled chicken.
I know I made more than this, but I have no idea what!

CSA Booty - Week 8

2010-07-09T15:22:00.001-05:00

This week's share was made up of:

Plum tomatoes
2 bunches of bright lights chard
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of amaranth
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of basil
1 bunch of spring onions
2 bunches of broccoli
Parsley, chives and rosemary
a lovely lily stem - so fragrant

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

I think I'm going to make this kale pasta again - it was really good and super easy to put together. I'm out of pancetta, so I'll make it with bacon.
I'm going to try a Mexican recipe of chicken in amaranth sauce (it uses both the green and the grain which is sorta neat) with the amaranth greens
The lettuce is either going to be a salad (maybe), but I didn't make lettuce wraps last week and I think I might want to this week.
The basil is going into pesto to sauce some trofie pasta I bought last week. Hello Genoa!
The onions are going to be added into many dishes: they are super thinly sliced and raw in various dishes.
I think I'll make a quiche with the broccoli and some of the chard.
The rest of the chard ... hmm ... maybe Swiss chard tacos? I might take some of the larger leaves and use them as a wrapper for fresh fish on the grill.
I'll just slip those tomatoes in here and there for color and flavor.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate from the CSA last week:

This past week was super busy, so I decided to stock the freezer with a few soups to tide us over for future weeks: the lettuces all went into lettuce soup and the amaranth into callaloo. Each batch yielded 3-4 servings of soup.

The kale went into pasta with kale and pancetta - make this pasta (pictured left), it's a great use for kale and because you slice the leaves thin, the kale isn't as assertive as it can be sometimes.
The tomatoes went alongside a burger (with some grilled lettuce and chard pickles), into breakfast hash and a tomato salad we served with grilled mackerel.
The broccoli was turned into a salad along the lines of this one from the NY Times.
The spring onions were sliced thin and shredded over and it various dishes, like the pasta dish, the burger and the tomato salad.
The chard went into a frittata with some leftover pasta, peas and goat cheese.
I have to confess that I didn't get to the bok choy in time and it went into the compost bin. Made me sad to waste it, but it's the first vegetable from the CSA I haven't used, so I think that's pretty good.

Use Your Booty: Kale Spectacular

2010-07-09T09:03:00.002-05:00

As a service to my blog readers and fellow CSA members, here's a wrapup of the ten kale recipes I've got on this blog.

Kale pesto
Chickpea, kale and butternut squash salad
Pasta with kale & pancetta
Bruschetta with kale & white beans
Ribollita
Torta d'Erbe
Sri Lankan Greens
Braised Kale (scroll down for the recipe)
Cream of Arugula Soup (Kale variation in the recipe)
Beans & greens

Use Your Booty: Pasta with Kale and Pancetta

2010-07-09T08:43:00.004-05:00

What a great way to use up kale. Plus, put enough crispy pancetta on top and you've got a chance at winning over kale-haters. From start to finish, this dish took less than half an hour to pull together.

Pasta with Kale & Pancetta

Serves 6-8

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
2 bunches kale, leaves pulled from the stems and cut into thin strips
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (if you only have thick-cut pancetta, cut it into small cubes)
1/2 of a small onion, sliced into super-thin strips
1 egg, beaten, optional
parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
sherry vinegar

Boil the spaghetti in a large pot of salted water. When the pasta is almost cooked through (just still a tiny bit chewy) add the kale to the pasta pot. When the pasta is cooked to your taste, drain the pasta and kale, reserving a cup of the cooking water (to make sure you don't forget this part, put a coffee mug in the colander to remind you to scoop out some pasta water).

In the meantime, sauté the pancetta in a skillet until it's crisp. Set aside.

When the pasta ia cooked, dump it back into the pot, add in the sliced onion, and stir in a little pasta water. Add in the beaten egg, if using, and keep stirring, adding more pasta water if needed to make a saucier consistency. Stir in a handful or so of parmesan cheese. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste (I like this dish peppery).

Portion the pasta into soup plates and top with crispy pancetta. Drizzle a few drops of vinegar over the top. Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Galette

2010-07-05T17:03:00.000-05:00

I do a ton of baking for my clients, but recently I feel like I'm been too busy to do any baking for us! Last night I wanted a tart for dessert and I had some gorgeous cherries from Arrowhead Family Farm and some black raspberries from our yard.

The crust in this recipe is a Flo Braker recipe from Baking With Julia. It's a great addition to your baking repertoire and works well in sweet and savory applications. Make sure you give yourself time to let the dough chill - I didn't and pushed it: the results were fine, but the dough was a lot more challenging to work with than it should have been.

Substitute any mixture of fresh fruit that you have on hand. You can layer the fruit daintily into the crust or just tumble it in like I did. If your fruit is super juicy, you can put a tablespoon or two of breadcrumbs or cookie crumbles into the crust before you add the fruit.

Fresh Fruit Galette

Serves 4-6

1 recipe cornmeal galette dough (below)
1 1/2 - 2 cups cut up fresh fruit - I used a mixture of yellow and red cherries and black raspberries
1-3 tablespoons sugar (depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
1 tablespoon butter

On a lightly floured surface, roll the galette dough into a 12" circle (it's okay if it's not a perfect circle, galettes can be "rustic"). Transfer the round of dough to a parchment-lined or non-stick baking sheet.

Stir the fruit and sugar together and spoon the fruit onto the center of the dough, leaving a 3-4" margin of dough. Dot the fruit with the butter.

Lift the dough up and over the fruit, forming a pleated edge (see the picture up there).

Bake for 20-30 minutes until fruit is juicy and the crust is nicely browned.

Cornmeal Galette Dough

From Flo Braker in Baking with Julia

3 tablespoons yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup ice water
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal - I like a coarse-grind cornmeal, but you can use a finer grind if you don't want a crunchier crust
1-2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

Whisk together the yogurt and water, set aside in the fridge so it stays cold.

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt together. Toss in the butter and cut the butter in (with your fingers, 2 knives, a pastry cutter or in the food processor - your choice) until you have a mixture that looks like like cornmeal with some pea-sized pieces in it.

With a rubber spatula, fold in the water/yogurt mixture. If the dough seems too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together. Wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or so at a minimum. The dough freezes really well, so make a double or triple batch and freeze the dough for later.

Make This Please: Scallop Roll

2010-07-05T12:48:00.002-05:00

The lobster roll is a staple of the summer dining menu: chunks of lobster meat cloaked in mayonnaise, and accompanied by chopped celery and herbs. When Dave asked for a scallop roll for dinner he was thinking of what we see at the clam shacks around here: deep fried, breaded scallops in a hot dog bun. Somehow I had a brain fade and thought lobster roll instead. Happy accident.

I dressed chunks of cooked scallops with mayonnaise, whisper-thin slices of onion, chopped parsley and scallions and a squeeze of lemon juice. The scallops then got spooned into a butter-grilled hot dog bun.

I cut the richness of the scallop roll by serving it with a lemony slaw and some sun gold tomatoes.

CSA Booty - Week 7

2010-07-03T06:28:00.001-05:00

This week's share (week SEVEN? Wow Summer is starting to fly isn't it?) included:

1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch amaranth
1 bunch kale
1 small box of tomatoes - yay!
2 lettuces
2 bunches of broccoli
2 bunches of spring onions
1 bunch of bok choy

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

The lettuces are going to be used as wraps for pork larb (a salad of ground pork and herbs).
The tomatoes are going into either a salad or a quick tomato sauce for fresh pasta.
I have a bushel of lettuce that I'll turn into lettuce soup.
I'm pickling the spring onions and using the long scallion-like leaves as scallions.
The kale will be turned into a white bean and kale pesto spread.
I'm going to use the amaranth to make callaloo again.
The broccoli will be steamed and sauced with lots of garlic, anchovy and parsley.
Bok choy becomes a stir fry (with last week's still unused bok choy).
I'll probably make some sort of tabouli-ish salad with the chard.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

Kale-wrapped lamb patties (ugly, but delicious) (kale, lamb)
Beet carpaccio (beets, onions from CSA share and beets from Farmer Bob)
Sri Lankan amaranth (finally!) (amaranth), c urried cauliflower (cauliflower from Farmer Bob) and radish pickle (radishes from Farmer Bob, onion from CSA share)
Pea risotto (peas, pea greens) with bacon & egg
Pickled Swiss chard stems (Swiss chard) - that's them over there
Beet green, tomato and bacon sauté with seared gnocchi
Salads

Use Your Booty: Torta d'Erbe

2010-07-02T06:29:00.005-05:00

In Italian cuisine, a torta is a pie or tart. This one is a greens pie with a yeasted dough crust. For those of you afraid of pie crust, a yeasted dough might be a nice gateway pastry: you can't overwork the dough like you can with a short crust, the dough provides a firm case for the filling and doesn't get soggy like a pastry crust can.

To make for easy assembly, make the dough when it's convenient for you and after it rises, punch it down and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the tart. Make your filling ahead as well - a warm filling will make the dough harder to work with. I made my tart in a free-form gallette style with a pleated top but you could easily make your tart in a tart, cake or pie pan if you wish.

Torta d'Erbe

Makes 1 large tart, 6-8 entrée servings

1 recipe yeasted tart dough, below
4-6 cups cooked, chopped greens (I used kale and Swiss chard in this tart)
4 ounces mozzarella, cubed
1 ounce parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
red wine vinegar
2 eggs, beaten
1 egg for egg wash
sesame seeds for garnish

Combine the greens, cheeses, and olives. Combine well and taste. Add salt & pepper to taste. If you think the greens need more acidic brightness stir in a few drops of red wine vinegar. When you're happy with the seasoning, stir in the 2 eggs.

On a lightly flour surface, roll the tart dough into a large circle (about 18"), sprinkling with more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough onto a greased baking sheet or into an 11" tart pan.

Evenly spread the filling onto the dough, leaving a 4" margin if you're using a baking sheet and over the entire tart pan if using a tart pan. Lift the dough up and over the filling, pleating the dough to layer it evenly across the top of the tart.

Beat the other egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the egg wash over the tart. Sprinkle the tart with sesame seeds.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes until the crust is well browned. Check the underside of the tart - if it's not browned well, bake the tart for another 10 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yeasted Tart Dough

Makes enough for one large tart

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup room temperature water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
13.5 - 18 ounces (3-4 cups) flour
3 ounces butter, at room temperature OR 1/3 cup olive oil (I like the butter version best)

Stir together the yeast, sugar and water. When the yeast is dissolved in to the water, stir in the salt, egg and half the flour. Stir well to form a stiff paste (use a mixer with paddle attachment if you wish). Stir in the butter (the dough will soften back up). Keep adding more flour until the dough is dough-like.

Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead, adding more flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Knead until the dough is tender, shiny and smooth, about 10 minutes of contemplative kneading. It shouldn't be sticky. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap

Let dough rise for about 1 hour, until doubled. Form tart as above, or if you aren't ready to make the tart, press the dough down to deflate it, recover and put the dough in the fridge until you're ready to make the tart.

You can freeze the dough for a week or so: put the dough into a ziploc bag, press out the air and freeze. Let thaw in a cool place for 6-8 hours.

Use Your Booty: Pickled Swiss Chard Stems

2010-07-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Swiss chard is two vegetables in one? You're probably very comfortable using the leafy part of the green, but if you're throwing the stems away, you're losing a major part of this vegetable.

I use the stems in soups or quiches. Treat the stems like celery when cooking them - they benefit from a little extra time in the sauté pan and should be cut the short way into thin slices, to reduce stringiness.

I recently found this recipe for pickled chard stems on the NY Times T magazine blog. I'm not generally a fan of sweet pickles (à la bread and butter pickles), but these are just super. Even better, they're ready to eat in a hour or so.

Pickled Chard Stems

Adapted from a recipe by Peter Meehan and the chefs at Gramercy Tavern

Yields about 1 pint

The stems from 1 bunch of Swiss chard
1 thyme sprig
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
2 cups rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
pinch each of fennel seed, peppercorns, mustard seed
couple slices of beet

Cut the chard stems into even lengths, cutting any really thick stems in half lengthwise as well. Put the stems and the thyme sprig into a heat safe jar that just holds the stems (I used a quart canning jar, but should have used a pint jar).

Bring the water, sugar, salt, spices and beet to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the hot brine into the canning jar: it should cover the stems completely. If not, boil up a little more.

Let the pickles cool and then refrigerate.

Use Your Booty: Sri Lankan Greens

2010-07-01T05:37:00.003-05:00

With all the green, leafy bounty I've been getting from my CSA, I'm surprised it's taken this long to get this recipe onto our table and into this blog. The recipe comes from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, which, by the way, is a great resource for recipes for vegetables that are new to you.

I used amaranth in this version, but you could use cabbage, KALE, chard, KALE, mustard, KALE, spinach - you get the point. The coconut is a nice touch: don't be fearful that your dish will taste like a pina colada, there's just a wee bit.

We enjoyed these greens on a plate (that's them in the top of the picture) with some curried cauliflower, a radish pickle some seriously hot hot sauce and basmati rice.

Sri Lankan Greens

Serves 4

olive oil
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 jalapeno, sliced into thin rings (for lots of heat) or just slit lengthwise (for a wee bit of heat)
1-2 bunches of greens, leaves stripped from stems and cut into thin strips - enough to yield about 8 cups of greens
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2-3 tablespoons shredded coconut (I have used unsweetened coconut from the health food store and sweetened flake coconut from the supermarket - both work fine, you can also use fresh coconut if you have it)

Saute the onion and pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the onion starts to brown - about 5 minutes.

Add the greens, salt and turmeric and stir. Let the greens start to wilt down. If the greens appear too dry add a little water to the pan. Cover and turn the heat to low.

Braise the greens for 10 - 20 minutes (softer greens like spinach will be tender sooner than tougher greens like kale).

When the greens are tender, stir in the coconut - taste for salt and adjust seasoning to taste.

Use Your Booty: Beet Carpaccio

2010-06-30T06:36:00.005-05:00

This is one of the recipes (barely a recipe) that is great for summer - it's super fast, easily adaptable and is a nice, cooling addition to a meal. Carpaccio is traditionally a dish of very thinly sliced or pounded beef, garnished with olive oil, onion and capers. It's been adapted in recent years, to be a dish of thinly sliced something (scallops, zucchini, seared lamb, etc.).

Fresh beets are a great ingredient to highlight in this way. I thinly sliced two types of beet: Chioggia (those are the bullseye ones) and red beets. I laid the slices [in a somewhat slapdash manner, I'll admit] onto a plate with some thin slices of baby onion, drizzled them with chive vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper and a few onion flowers.

That's it. I like to dress the vegetable carpaccio dishes a few minutes before we eat them, so the vegetables can soften up a little in the oil and vinegar.

CSA Booty - Week 6

2010-06-26T18:02:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, this weekend has been nutso.

Week six's CSA share was:

1 bunch amaranth
1 head of lettuce
a pint of peas (we were supposed to PYO, but there wasn't a whole lot out there to P)
a bunch each of green (curly) and red kale
1 bunch of Swiss chard
a bundle of bok choy (2 heads)
2 bunches of beets
1 bunch of spring onions
I clipped some basil and parsley
a dozen eggs (this was an add-on not included in the share)
I also got more beets (Chioggia - also known as candy cane beets because they have concentric red and white circles in them when you cut 'em through), a cauliflower, a cabbage and some radishes from my neighbor at the farmers' market.

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

An Indian-type dinner with Ceylonese-style amaranth (steamed with onion, coconut and turmeric), curried cauliflower and a quick radish pickle, all served over steamed rice.
Bok choy stir fry with glass noodles
Pea and pea greens (still have some from a few weeks back) risotto
Beet "carpaccio" with the Chioggia and red beets
Pickled chard stems (really looking forward to this one)
I'm going to stuff the chard leaves with something and bake or steam them (not sure yet)
Borscht (again, it's been on my list to make and keeps getting pushed out) with beet greens
I think the kales will become a savory pie of some type - with herbs and garlic and cheese

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

Chickpea, butternut squash and kale salad (kale)
Steamed amaranth greens served over steamed amaranth grains (amaranth)
Grilled romaine salad (romaine)
Lettuce soup with peas (lettuce, peas)
Sautéed mizuna served with a pork chop from my livestock share, brown rice, mozzarella and garlic scape pesto (mizuna)

Use Your Booty: Chickpea, Kale & Butternut Squash with Tahini Dressing

2010-06-25T05:39:00.005-05:00

Ah kale, I do love it, but it certainly seems like kale and I are going to have to become good friends for me to survive this CSA. Fortunately, that's not really hard to do: First, my CSA is growing nine types of kale this season. Second, kale is pretty versatile - it can be used in so many different ways: bruschetta, a hearty soup, pesto, etc.

This salad's original recipe did not include kale, but since it's such a natural partner to chickpeas and butternut squash, I thought everyone would play nice together. The tahini dressing is nice on its own over roasted vegetables, lamb burgers, or as a dip for vegetables.

Chickpea, Kale and Butternut Squash Salad with Tahini Dressing

Serves 2-3 as an entrée salad, more as a side.

The original recipe, from Moro Restaurant, is here on Orangette, Molly Wizenberg's lovely blog. The recipe is super adaptable: make it work with what you have in the fridge. If you have leftover cooked squash or sweet potatoes, this is a great way to use it.

Enjoy this salad warm, as we did, or cold. If you're going to have it cold, add the dressing right before serving.

olive oil
2 cups of cubed butternut squash or sweet potatoes
1 bunch kale, stripped off stiff stems and cut into bite-sized pieces or thin strips
2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed)

Dressing

1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Sauté the squash with a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the squash is tender. Add the kale to the pan and sauté until wilted, adding a little water to help it steam through. Cook until kale is wilted down, about 5-7 minutes. Add the chickpeas to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the dressing: Whisk together all the dressing ingredients except the oil and salt & pepper. Whisk until the dressing looks smooth and creamy. Add a little water if it seems too thick. Whisk in the smaller amount of olive oil. Taste the dressing: if it's too sour add more olive oil. Taste again and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. Whisk in a few drops of water if it still seems too thick; it should the consistency of heavy cream.

Divide the salad among plates and drizzle with dressing.

Use Your Booty: Amaranth x2

2010-06-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

One thing that's been so great about this CSA is that I'm getting to cook with some ingredients that are new to me. A part of my pickup has been amaranth greens. I've sautéed them and made soup from them. This week I thought it would fun to pair sautéed amaranth greens with steamed amaranth grains. Here they are together in their uncooked state.

Cooking amaranth, the grain, is easy. Rinse the grain by swishing it in a bowl of water and then straining in a very fine strainer (I actually had to line mine with cheesecloth, because the holes on my strainer are so tiny). Then you bring the grain, water and a pinch of salt to simmer, cover and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the amaranth steam in the covered pot for another 10 minutes.

I used a 1 to 1.5 ratio of grain to water to cook my amaranth. (One cup grain to 1 1/2 cups water.) I ended up with a pot full of something that reminded me of polenta, but with the grains clearly defined and still pleasantly crunchy (just a little bit). If you've made amaranth grain before I'd love to hear how you cook it. Locally, you can find amaranth grain at The Natural Grocer on High Street in Newburyport. I've also seen it in Whole Foods Markets and other health food stores.

Use Your Booty: Grilled Romaine

2010-06-21T19:44:00.004-05:00

Here's another public service post to help you use up your bountiful basket of lettuce. Did you know you can grill lettuce? Romaine is your best bet for grilling - the floppy looseleaf lettuces just get soggy and well, floppier. Use those in lettuce soup or salads.

The method is easy. If your romaine head is really large (too much for you and your dining partners to consume in one sitting), peel off the outer leaves, reserving them for salads or sandwiches or some such thing. Then cut the head in half through the core. If the head is large, cut it into quarters.

Drizzle the cut sides of the lettuce with olive oil or a vinaigrette of your choice. Grill, cut side down, over medium-high heat. When the lettuce has grill marks and is gently charred on the edges, it's done. This will take about 3-5 minutes depending on the heat of your grill, the amount of oil you use and the size of the lettuce heads.

Before serving, drizzle the lettuces with a little vinaigrette or just drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and squeeze lemon over the top.

This is a great side dish for grilled dishes. We enjoy it with grilled meat or seafood and a grain salad on the side.

Use Your Booty: Lettuce Soup with Spring Peas

2010-06-21T03:38:00.001-05:00

The idea of lettuce soup may make you cock your head to the side and go "huh?" but do give this soup a try. If you're in a CSA you'll probably be buried in lettuces shortly and this is a nice alternative to yet another green salad. I used all green lettuces because I think red lettuce might have turned this soup's color a little muddy.

I garnished the soup with steamed peas, a few pea tendrils and some mint and chives. I served our soup chilled; it was so insanely hot and humid today, the idea of hot soup was painful.

Lettuce Soup

Serves 2-3

A few thoughts on this recipe:

Serve it in mugs for sipping - it was super splashy to eat out of a bowl
Next time, I'm going to add a potato or two to the pot to provide a little more body to the soup. The version was refreshing but I think a little more richness would be nice.
If you're serving this cold - make sure it's super cold: in the fridge overnight is great. I made it the day we ate it, so I poured the soup in to a ziploc bag and left it in the freezer for two hours.

1 onion, diced
olive oil and/or butter
1 medium potato, optional (see above), cubed, peeled, if you wish
1-2 large heads of lettuce, ribs and leaves coarsely chopped (14-16 cups - that is NOT a typo) - I used a combination of lettuces: oak leaf, buttercrunch, green leaf and romaine
2 cups chicken broth or water
salt and pepper
garnishes: herbs of your choice (mint, chives and summer savory would be nice), cooked peas, cream, creme fraiche

Sweat the onion, over medium-low heat, in a stockpot in a little butter or olive oil until softened, about 5-10 minutes.

If using the potato, add it to the pot with the chicken broth or water and simmer until the potato is softened. If you're not using the potato, add the broth or water to the pot.

Add the lettuce to the simmering liquid and cook for 5-10 minutes, until lettuce is wilted down and softened - adding a little water the lettuce needs it to cook down. Purée the soup in a blender in batches, let the blender run for a while to really break down the lettuce as it's more fibrous than you might think. Add cold water to the blender if needed to help the blending along. I strained the soup to get rid of some of the larger fibers that didn't break down. If you don't do that your soup will like be a little chunkier than mine was. It will still taste good though.

Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

If serving cold chill the soup down until it's super cold. Check the seasoning again and add more salt as needed.

The lettuce will have a little more bitterness than you might expect - add a pinch of sugar and/or a squeeze or lemon to counteract that if needed.

Serve in bowls or mugs and garnish with herbs, fresh peas and/or a drizzle of cream or creme fraiche.

CSA Booty - Week 5

2010-06-20T06:24:00.001-05:00

Week five's CSA share was:

1 bunch amaranth
2 quarts of peas (pick your own) - I only got 1 quart because no time to pick and they took pity on me and handed me a pre-picked quart - I have to remember to make time for Pick Your Own when I go for my pickup so I can take advantage of this benefit.
1 head red lettuce
1 head green lettuce
1 bunch kale
1 bunch mizuna
1 bunch spring onions
1 bunch onion scapes
1 bunch red mustard
I clipped some basil, Thai basil and parsley
and my share also included that gorgeous pot of flowers ( I will not be eating that)

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

Lettuce soup topped with fresh spring peas and pea tendrils (the tendrils are from last week's box). Yup soup made with lettuce. I have SO MUCH lettuce in the fridge that I have to find a method of mass utilization for the bushel of lettuce I have on hand (I also have lettuce from a few other farms too - LOTS of lettuce)
Mustard greens tabouli
Ceylonese-style amaranth (steamed with onion, coconut and turmeric) served over steamed amaranth grains (clever huh?) with a fresh onion chutney
Butternut squash and chickpea salad with kale
The mizuna will go into a quiche with some goat cheese and many herbs.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

I made this amazing dish with gnocchi and vegetables (pea tendrils)
We had a wilted mustard green salad alongside some great grilled steak from my livestock share and topped my shoestring fries with parsley and thyme (mustard greens, beef, herbs)
I used greens and onion scapes and mustard greens in a lunchtime rice noodle stir fry (greens, onion scapes, mustard greens, herbs)
Bruschetta! With kale and white beans. (kale)
I made my first callaloo soup. Yum. (amaranth)
Prepared a really pink pasta dish with my beets. (beets and beet greens)

Use Your Booty: The Big Pink Pasta

2010-06-17T20:14:00.004-05:00

There's a restaurant near my mom's house in New Jersey called The Big Pink Pasta. I am certain that this dish has never been on their menu. The orecchiette turns this gorgeous lurid pink from the cooked beets. I wanted to put pine nuts on this dish, but ended up using walnuts because my brand new very expensive bag of pine nuts was rancid. Gak.

Orecchiette with Beets

Serves 3-4

When I have nice fresh bunch of beets handy I like to use both the beetroot and the greens in same dish if I can. If you don't have beet greens, use spinach or Swiss chard. I use this method to cook my beets. I cut them into small cubes before cooking.

12 oz orecchiette pasta (shells make a good substitute)
6-8 cups beet greens, cut into strips
2 cups cooked, cubed beets
4 oz feta cheese
olive oil
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (or pine nuts)

Boil the pasta in salted water. Put the cooked beets into a colander in the sink.

When the pasta is almost done, use a coffee mug to scoop out some of the starchy pasta water. Drop in the beet greens and they'll wilt down. Strain the pasta and greens into the colander (over the beet cubes - see you heat them up this way. Clever, ya?)

Dump the pasta and beets back into the cooking pot. Stir in the feta cheese and drizzle a little oil in to the pasta. Add a little cooking water and stir gently. If the pasta seems too dry add a little more water. Sprinkle in most of the nuts, reserving a few for garnish.

Taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Spoon the pasta into soup plates and sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top.

Use Your Booty: [Far From Authentic] Callaloo

2010-06-16T13:33:00.006-05:00

I'm slapping all my disclaimers up at the front of this post. I'm sure that if you have ever eaten callaloo, a Trinidadian/Jamaican/Caribbean stew of amaranth leaves you will tell me that my version is just wrong. And I'm sure you are right. I used several recipes I found online as guidelines for this soup and then just threw them all aside and put this together.

Callaloo is also another name for the amaranth plant, so don't get confused when you're poking around online or in your Caribbean cookery books. Amaranth is also a grain - it's the seeds of the plant. Amaranth (the grain) is a really nice side dish and you should seek it out in your local health food store.

Introductions and disclaimers aside, this soup was yummy, regardless of what it's called. If you don't have amaranth greens at hand, baby spinach or chard would be a good substitute.

[Not Quite] Callaloo

Serves 4 to 6, as a main dish if served with rice, as a starter if served solo

olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound) or the same amount of butternut squash, cut into small cubes
1 large bunch amaranth greens, about 1 pound - enough to yield 10-12 cups loosely packed leaves, leaves stripped from the stems
1 can (15 oz) coconut milk (NOT light coconut milk)
1 habanero pepper or 1-2 tablespoons of Caribbean-style hot sauce
2-3 sprigs thyme

Sauté the onions over medium-high hear with a little olive oil in a small soup pot or large saucepan until the onion is softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for a minute or so, until fragrant.

Add the sweet potatoes and greens to the pot. Pour over the coconut milk and 2 coconut milk cans of water. As the soup starts to simmer, stir the greens into the liquid, add the habanero pepper or hot sauce. Simmer the soup until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Remove the thyme sprigs and habanero (if using). Use an immersion blender to break up the greens and sweet potatoes - don't aim for a smooth purée, leave things a little chunky.

Check for salt and pepper (you'll need fair amount of salt, but add a little at a time to ensure you don't oversalt).

Serve over rice with a few wedges of lime and some hot sauce for folks who like things spicy!

Use Your Booty: Bruschetta with Kale & White Beans

2010-06-15T20:01:00.006-05:00

Let's get one thing out the way right up front: broo-SKET-a, not brooshetta. Feel free to tell your waitress.

Ok then, that said, let's move on to the recipe.

Bruschetta is a great way to use up slightly stale rustic-style bread (like this kind of bread). Slice it thickish - I like between 1/2" - 3/4" thick. Grill or broil it, rub with garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Top with sautéed vegetables and eat like an open-faced sandwich. I like this version a lot. You might think beans and bread is a lot of starchiness, but the beans add a lovely creaminess to the dish without adding fat.

Kale & White Bean Bruschetta

Serves 2

This is easily doubled, tripled or quadrupled. We eat it for dinner, but if you cut the bread into smaller pieces it would be a nice first course or nibble for a summer party.

2 ounces pancetta, cubed or bacon, chopped (optional)
olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 big bunch kale, leaves removed from the stems and coarsely chopped or torn (you need a lot of kale - it really cooks down)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (about 1-1.5 cups cooked beans)
4 slices rustic-style crusty bread (you know what you'll eat, so the number of slices will depend on the size of your loaf)
1 clove garlic

In a large skillet, cook the pancetta or bacon (if using) until it's crisp and browned. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside. If the pan is too dry (or if you didn't use the meat, or if you don't want to cook in bacon fat) add enough olive oil to generously film the bottom of the pan.

When the oil is hot, add the garlic. When it just starts to color, add the kale to the pan (it will sputter - watch out for flying oil droplets!). Stir the kale as it wilts and softens. If it starts to stick add a little water to the pan. When the kale is wilted down and softened, add the beans and heat them through. Add salt and pepper to taste, remembering that if you're using pancetta or bacon they will add salt to the dish too.

Meanwhile heat your grill or broiler. Brush the slices of bread with oil and grill or broil, turning once until browned and toasty (I like mine on the brown side of incinerated, whereas Dave prefers his a little more tan/blond). Rub the slices of bread with the other clove of garlic. Place the bread on dinner plates and drizzle with a little more oil. Top the bread slices with the kale & bean mixture and sprinkle the pancetta over the kale. Drizzle with a wee bit more oil (you don't want this plate dripping with oil, so use a teaspoon or two per drizzle).

Mangia!

Use Your Booty: Gnocchi with Pea Tendrils

2010-06-14T06:01:00.004-05:00

Again, no recipe, sorry 'bout that. But I thought I'd walk you through how I put this dish together. The CSA provided me with a pot of pea tendrils, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. Then I pulled a bag of gnocchi from the freezer and I remembered this salad and decided to use the same treatment on these gnocchi.

I pulled a container of chicken stock from the freezer and decided to reduce it for the sauce. Then to bulk up the dish, I picked up the one little kohlrabi a farmer at the market gave to me and put some carrots on the cutting board too.

So here's the dish: I reduced 2 cups of chicken stock to about 1/3 cup. I julienned the kohlrabi and 2 carrots and a little onion and sauteed them to soften them up. I transferred the vegetables to the chicken broth reduction and them seared off the gnocchi. When the gnocchi were browned I added 2 handfuls of pea tendrils, some mint, scallions, parsley and the kohlrabi leaves (cut into chiffonade). They wilted right down and I was ready to plate.

The plate: I put the vegetables into the bottom of a soup plate, and topped them with the gnocchi and herb mixture. I drizzled the chicken broth reduction around the gnocchi and then, and this really made the dish shine, I dropped a few drops of Banyuls vinegar over the top. The vinegar really brought the flavors together and took this dish from good to phenomenal.

Use Your Booty: Wilted Greens Salad

2010-06-14T05:34:00.003-05:00

I had heard from many former and current CSAers that a major part of my share would be greens, both bitter and salad. Well this share is no different. Fortunately, I adore greens (chard, kale, collards, mustard, etc., etc.) and cook with them all the time. One atypical treatment I like, especially in the summer, is wilting.

I wilt greens with heat all the time, but this method just uses salad dressing. You know how when you dress a salad, it gets all soft and wilty if you let it sit? That's basically what you're doing here, except the stiffer greens like chard or mustard respond well to this treatment: they don't get all slimy like lettuce would.

For this salad, I took a bunch of mustard greens, stripped the leaves from the stems, rolled 'em up and cut them into a chiffonade (fine strips). Then I tossed the greens with too much dressing (a basic olive oil and lemon vinaigrette) and let them sit. After about 20 minutes, they're all wilty and soft, sort of like they'd been cooked. We ate this salad alongside some great beef from our Arrowhead livestock share and a big bundle of shoestring potatoes.

I left this version very simple, but this salad is very nice if you add (after wilting) julienned carrots, peppers or cucumber, scallions or other herbs. And it's really nice if you add toasted pine nuts or pistachios to provide a contrast to the soft, smooth greens.

The one problem with this method is that the greens will continue to wilt and release moisture, so just drain off any liquid if they release too much and everything seems soggy.

Drink of the Week: Pegu Club

2010-06-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

A fun thing about classic cocktails is the history behind them. The Pegu Club was a watering hole in Rangoon, then the capital of Burma (now the city of Yangon in Myanmar). The house cockail was a blend of gin, orange curaçao, lime juice and bitterses (is that the plural of bitters?).

There's a lot of discussion about this recipe (check this thread at eGullet if you doubt me). I decided to follow David Wonderich's recipe. It results in what I'd call a "bracing" drink. It's a perfect quaff for Rangoon-hot summer day.

Pegu Club Cocktail

Combine in an iced shaker:

2 oz gin (I used Plymouth)
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz orange curaçao (I used Grand Marnier)
dash of Angostura bitters
dash of orange bitters

Shake until well-chilled and the shaker is frosted over. Strain in to a cocktail glass. The mint leaf is a non-traditional garnish, but I thought it looked purty.

CSA Booty - Week 4

2010-06-11T08:44:00.003-05:00

Week four's CSA share was:

1 bunch of amaranth
1 pot of pea shoots
1 bunch of onion scapes
1 bunch of mustard greens
2 bunches of beets
1 bunch of kale
1 bundle of rhubarb

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

The amaranth is going into callaloo, a Trinidadian soup traditionally made with amaranth (callaloo) leaves, chilies and coconut milk
The beets are for borscht, hot or cold, depending on the weather
The rhubarb will become a chutney to be served with some pork chops (see below)
The kale will go alongside those chops
The mustard greens are getting sliced thin and are to be served as a salad
Not sure yet on those pea shoots - maybe in a stirfry, maybe over some poached eggs ... hmmm. They're in a pot, so I can cut what I want and let the rest keep growing.

Also this week I picked up my livestock share. This is a one time pickup and as it is a "mixed" share, I got beef, lamb and pork cuts. For those who are curious, my share totaled 13.5 pounds and contained:

a huge rib steak (ribeye-ish)
a beef short rib section (1 3/4 lbs.)
pork chops
pork kebabs
bacon
ground beef
ground lamb
bulk pork sausage
breakfast sausage
lamb sausage

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

I made kale pesto (kale)
I stuffed squid tubes with mustard greens and chickpeas (mustard, onions)
We dined on a luxurious Swiss chard gratin (chard, beet greens)
I quick pickled the beets and sautéed the amaranth and used them on a Niçoise-style salad (beets, amaranth, chive blossoms, lettuce)
The herbs and chive blossoms were sprinkled over salads and dishes as garnishes.
The lettuces went into a lot of green salads.

Use Your Booty: Star [Shell]Fish

2010-06-11T08:10:00.004-05:00

After a week of CSA cooking I had only a bunch of mustard greens left in the fridge. The original plan was to toss them in a pasta sauce. Then, on a whim, I went to Eastman Fish Market up in Seabrook, NH. Eastman's is run by the Carolyn and Ed Eastman. Ed's a fisherman and he is out on the boats while Carolyn runs the shop and CSF. I forgot my camera so I don't have a pictures for you of their cute seafood market ... soon, I promise.

In addition to all the gorgeous fish in the case, Carolyn was also stocking fresh squid from off Cape Cod. So I picked up some to make for dinner. I have to confess that I wasn't 100% thrilled with the stuffing I made for them, but I like the idea so I wanted to share it with you anyway.

I stuffed the tubes with a mixture of the squid tentacles, chickpeas, mustard greens and lemon zest. Next time I'll try adding some chopped olives or capers - the dish needed a little more zip.

What you've really got to try is the polenta business that's underneath the squid tubes. Take soft polenta, top it with kale pesto and some crispy onions (made with my CSA onions). The contrast between the creamy polenta, the kale and the crispy onions was addicting (in fact I had the leftovers for breakfast this morning).

For crispy onions, slice your onions (or shallots perhaps) super thin. Toss with Wondra flour and then fry in 3/4" of hot oil until brown and, well, crispy. I tossed in a few parsley leaves right at the end (there will be a lot of sputtering). Drain and toss with a sprinkle of salt.

Use Your Booty: Swiss Chard Gratin

2010-06-11T05:53:00.006-05:00

Menu and meal planning is a great habit to develop. There's something very freeing about knowing what's being made for dinner; it take a lot of pressure off. That said, there are nights when I don't want to be handcuffed to my menu plan. So I always give myself permission to cheat and go of plan.

The other night's plan was for an Indian-inspired dinner of chard and chickpeas, rice and chutneys. The night was drizzly and cold and I wanted us to have something creamy and decadent. I put the call out on Twitter for ideas for a decadent and luxe Swiss chard option. In less than 10 minutes, I had enough inspiration to pull together this meal. I had a block of smoked cheddar cheese from West River Creamery and it was a great addition, not too smoky and just rich and creamy enough.

Swiss Chard Gratin

Serves 2-3 as an entrée, 4-6 as a side dish.

We ate this gratin as a main course, but it would make a great side dish. For a lighter option, use chicken or vegetable broth for some or all of the milk and/or cream.

1 large bunch Swiss chard, leaves cut off the stems, stems reserved
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup cream (or use milk)
1/2 cup cheese or your choice, grated (I used parmesan and smoked cheddar)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (panko or fresh homemade - don't use the fine ones you buy in tubes at the supermarket)
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the chard leaves into bite-sized pieces. Chop the stems crosswise into 1/2" pieces. Over medium-high heat, sauté the stems and the onion in a little olive oil in a skillet. when the stems and onion have softened, about 8-10 minutes, add the chard leaves and continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, until the chard leaves are wilted and soft. Set aside.

Make a white sauce: Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and stir in the flour. Cook, over medium heat, stirring for a minute or so, until the roux starts to color - it should turn light tan. Splash in about 1/4 cup of milk, stirring to smooth the sauce out. Add the rest of the milk and the cream, stirring after each addition to smooth out the sauce.

Bring sauce to a simmer and let simmer until the sauce is the consistency of light cream. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. (Hold back a little on the salt as you'll be adding salty cheese.)

Stir the white sauce into the cooked chard. Stir in the cheese. Taste for seasoning again, adding salt and pepper as needed. Pour the chard mixture into a gratin dish (I used a 9" gratin dish).

In a skillet, toast the breadcrumbs in a little olive oil until just browned. Top the gratin with the toasted crumbs.

Heat the gratin the oven until bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Use Your Booty: Kale Pesto

2010-06-08T11:19:00.004-05:00

This week's CSA pickup included a smallish bunch of kale. I knew when it cooked down it wouldn't be enough for side dish on its own and I already had soup on the menu. So I thought a pesto would be nice thing to try. I found a few kale pesto recipes on the internet and most of them asked for the kale to be boiled for 10 minutes or so to soften and tame it. That seemed like overkill to me so I decided to just do a quick blanch with a boiling water rinse instead.

So, this picture above doesn't really really do this pesto justice. You can eat it on crostini, stir it into pasta (with a few spoonfuls of pasta cooking water) or a fritatta or use it as a sandwich spread or dip (thinned with some yogurt perhaps). Or you can use it in a totally swellegant presentation like that one, over there ---> and dazzle your friends and family.

Kale Pesto

Yields about 1 1/2 cups

You can use other nuts (I think pistachios would be great), but I liked the flavor of the walnuts against the kale. I didn't add any cheese to mine, but if you wanted to enrich this pesto with it, I would add a few tablespoons of grated pecorino romano.

This would probably work with collards too, but I wouldn't use chard or spinach - the leaves are too soft for this treatment.

1 small bunch kale (to yield 4-6 cups loosely packed leaves)
1 clove garlic
handful of walnuts (about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper
red wine vinegar or lemon juice
olive oil

Strip the leaves from the kale stems and them in a colander or large strainer (if the leaves are large you can tear them into smaller pieces so they fit into the colander). Bring a quart of water to a boil. Pour the water over the kale leaves.

You'll see their color turn nice and bright and their volume will diminish a lot.

Press the kale to make sure it's not super soggy - a little moisture is okay. Put the kale into your food processor with the garlic and walnuts (leave out the cheese if you're using any). Pulse to form a paste - you might need to add a little water back in to keep things moving.

When the pesto looks nice and pesto-ish taste it and add salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. You can also add cheese now if you're using any. Give the pesto a glug of olive oil to enrich it a little. Pulse and taste again - the pesto will probably need more salt and acid than you might think.

CSA Booty - Week 3

2010-06-04T07:40:00.005-05:00

Week three's CSA share was:

1 bunch of beets
1 bunch of kale
1 wee bunch o' onions
2 heads of heads of lettuce: romaine and green leaf
1 bunch of amaranth (woo hoo!)
2 bunches of chard
1 bunch of mustard greens

I am super-excited to see the amaranth. That's it over there <--- . If you're familiar with amaranth at all, it's probably the grain. The flowers of amaranth produce little, little, little seeds that can be cooked like quinoa: steamed is traditional. The greens can be eaten be raw but are best treated as a cooked green - think spinach. It's not a vegetable we ever see in supermarkets and rarely at farmers' market [in this neck of the woods anyway].

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items:

I'm going to use the amaranth on its own, in a simple sauté, to make sure we can appreciate the flavor of it.
I'm going to cook the chard leaves and beet greens with chickpeas and Indian spices. We'll eat it with rice and a fresh onion (from the wee bunch o') chutney.
The beets will be steamed and served with hard boiled eggs, olives, chunks of Mrs. Wheelbarrow's home-preserved tuna and lettuce in a Niçoise-esque salad
The mustard will be stir-fried with some smoky bacon, garlic and ginger and served with brown rice.
I'm going to make white bean and chard stem soup that will be topped with a kale & parsley pesto.
The lettuce wil be salads, yet again - still not tired of fresh salad.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's what we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

Orzo pasta with arugula and chive blossoms (arugula, chive blossoms)
Panzanella verde (bok choy, lettuce, baby shallots)
Kimchi (Chinese cabbage)
Iron skillet pizza (from this great recipe at Food52) topped with arugula and sausage (arugula)
Pork sandwich with broccoli rabe (broccoli rabe)
The herbs and chive blossoms were sprinkled over salads and dishes as garnishes.
The lettuces went into a lot of green salads.

Use Your Booty: Panzanella Verde

2010-06-04T06:48:00.001-05:00

Panzanella means "little swamp". Most traditionally it's made with tomatoes and fresh mid-summer vegetables (like this one I made a few years ago), but it's nice to play with that tradition and use spring vegetables to make a green version.

This time I used a large portion of lettuces, boy choy, baby shallots and marinated feta from West River Creamery. I made a lemon dressing (heavy on the mustard) and used some thick slices of no-knead bread.

Last Tuesday's Panzanella Verde

2-3 generous servings (two of us ate all of this in one sitting)

3-4 thick slices of hearty bread
2 heads bok choy, cut in half lengthwise
1 bunch baby shallots or 1 bunch scallions
4 cups torn lettuce leaves
2 ounces cheese, cubed or shredded
handful of herbs: parsley, basil, thyme, chives, chive blossoms, etc.
1/4 - 1/2 cup salad dressing of your choice

Heat the grill. Drizzle the bok choy, shallots and bread with a little olive oil. Grill the vegetables until they are charred and just starting to soften. Grill the bread on both sides until it is browned to your taste (I like mine pretty toasty).

Cut the shallots and bok choy into bite-sized pieces. Cut the bread in to large croutons. Toss the bread, vegetables, lettuce, herbs and cheese together. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine. Use a generous amount of dressing - you want to moisten the bread cubes with it.

Use Your Booty: Cabbage-Chive Kimchi

2010-06-04T05:55:00.005-05:00

I really have grown to love kimchi. For those not familiar with it: kimchi is a Korean fermented pickle of cabbage (usually napa cabbage), flavored with onion, garlic and CHILIES. Think of it as a spicy Korean sauerkraut. Out here in the hinterlands, it's close to impossible to find kimchi in any local market, so you've gotta make your own. Fortunately, kimchi is very easy to make and when I saw Chinese cabbage in my last CSA pickup I knew it was destined to become kimchi.

The only special ingredient you need for kimchi is Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru - you'll note that it's not technically a powder, it's more flaky).

You can find it in Korean markets like Hmart or order it online. It's not very expensive and a one-pound bag will last you through many batches of kimchi. If you can't find it Aleppo pepper makes a hotter, more expensive kimchi. Or use paprika for color and cayenne for heat (this is 100% non-traditional of course).

This is a basic recipe, based on the great recipe and How2Heroes video by Alex Lewin. I've modified it down to yield a smaller quantity and I used chives instead of scallions. Try different vegetables and feel free to adjust the heat level (this makes a moderately spicy kimchi) and the amount of garlic and ginger to match your taste.

Basic Kimchi

Yields about 1 pint

1 pound Chinese cabbage
1 cup water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tennis ball-sized onion
4 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup Korean hot pepper powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 bunch chives, cut into 1" pieces

Cut the cabbage into strips and then bite-sized pieces. Dissolve the salt into the water and add the cabbage pieces. Let the cabbage rest in the brine for 4-8 hours (overnight is ok).

When the cabbage has finished brining (it will have lost most of its volume), drain the brine off, rinse the cabbage in cold water and squeeze it dry. Put the cabbage into a bowl while you make the pickling paste.

Puree the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor, adding enough water to make a paste. Add in the sugar and pepper powder and puree. Scrape the paste out the processor and into the bowl with the cabbage. Add the chives. Stir the paste and the cabbage together until they are well combined. Pack firmly into a glass jar and cover loosely with a lid (the cabbage will start to ferment and you want the gases to be able to escape). Alternatively, use a plastic container and cover the surface of the kimchi with a piece of parchment or waxed paper.

Let the kimchi ferment on the counter for 12-24 hours. When it tastes right to you (I like about 16 hours of room-temperature fermentation), but the kimchi into the fridge. Keep it loosely covered as it will continue to ferment.

As the kimchi ages (over several weeks) it will get funkier and more sour. Use the "fresh" kimchi as a condiment on sandwiches or a side dish with grilled meats. The sourer product is great in soups and stirfries. I love using just a little kimchi, finely chopped, in cole slaws.

Use Your Booty: Orzo with Arugula and Chive Blossoms

2010-06-03T11:56:00.002-05:00

This is another non-recipe recipe, but that's the way market meals tend to go, isn't it?

We ate this dish hot, like a pasta main course, but it would be pretty great at room temperature as a pasta salad too. Don't skimp on the chive blossoms: they're pretty and they taste great!

Orzo with Arugula and Chive Blossoms

Serves four as an entrée and six as a side dish

1 pound orzo pasta (substitute another small pasta shape if you can't find orzo)
2 bunches arugula, rabe, chard, mizuna, spinach (after the leaves are stripped off the stems you should have 6-8 cups of loosely packed leaves - I used some finely chopped Swiss chard stems too - those are the reddish bits you see)
a dozen chive blossoms (or 1/4 cup of mined chives)
1/4 ounce parmesan cheese, finely grated
high quality extra virgin olive oil

Strip the greens leaves from their stems and then chop the leaves. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the greens in a little olive oil until they are wilted and softened - about 5 minutes or so. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in plenty of salted water until it's cooked to your preferred doneness. before draining the pasta, reserve about a cup of cooking water.

In the skillet, combine the drained pasta, the parmesan cheese and enough pasta water to sauce things up. Stir in the chive blossoms and taste for salt and pepper. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the pasta and serve.

CSA Booty - Week 2

2010-05-28T06:14:00.004-05:00

Week two's CSA pickup included some repeats from last week (not surprising) and a few new items.

This week's share was:

2 heads arugula
2 heads broccoli rabe
2 heads bok choy
1 head Chinese cabbage
2 heads lettuce
bunched baby shallots
cutting herbs: basil, Thai basil, parsley, thyme, chives (I took mostly the blossoms)
Eagle-eyed readers will notice that I'm missing an item in my list. I got distracted taking pictures and didn't realize I'd shorted myself until I got home. Ah well.

So here's what I think I'm doing with these items this week:

Arugula is going to get sautéed with some of the shallots and served on a pizza tonight along with some homemade sausage.
The broccoli rabe will be sautéed down with a ton of garlic and served on a roast pork sandwich.
The bok choy will be a side dish for some kind of brown rice-bedded stir fry, most likely with carrots, celery and more of those shallots.
I'm going to make kimchi out of the cabbage - I love kimchi and it's super easy to make.
... and the lettuce goes into salads.

So how'd I do with last week's haul? Here's we ate (and what CSA items were used) last week:

Greens soup (broccoli rabe, arugula)
Bok choy stir fry (bok choy)
Swiss chard tabouli (Swiss chard) - this was going to be chard leaves stuffed with tabouli, but the dinnertime showed up much sooner than expected.
Beet quiche (beets, Swiss chard)
Rhubarb caramels, rhubarb syrup
The herbs and chive blossoms were sprinkled over salads and dishes as garnishes.
The lettuces went into green salads.

Use Your Booty: Bok Choy Stir Fry

2010-05-27T13:44:00.003-05:00

Two gorgeous heads of bok choy were in my CSA box. There wasn't enough to feed the two of us, plus enough for lunch leftovers, so I stretched it into a rice noodle stir fry. To the bok choy I added 4 carrots, cut into rough julienne; a 1/4 head of cabbage, shredded; scallions and cilantro. Then I topped the whole deal with a fried egg.

This Summer, I am chronicling my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) experience. My CSA share is from Arrowhead Farm, a farm based in Newburyport, MA. Each week, I am posting about what was in my share and what I'm doing with it. By way of full disclosure, I won my share through a raffle and am not paying for it. However, Arrowhead did not know I was entered int he raffle, and I received no special consideration because of this blog.

Use Your Booty: Beet Quiche

2010-05-27T06:41:00.001-05:00

I grabbed a wee little bunch o' beets with my last CSA pickup. There were too few to use as a main dish, or even a side. Somewhere in the mists of memory, I remembered reading a recipe for a beet quiche. So that's what I made.

I cooked the beets until tender, sliced up and sautéed the greens and then combined them and a healthy handful of grated parmesan all into a standard quiche recipe. I made two smaller "quichelets" instead of a large one.

Dinner was a quiche served [cold, because it was crazy-hot here] alongside a ginormous salad (made with CSA lettuce). I included herb leaves and chive blossoms too.

This Summer, I am chronicling my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) experience. My CSA share is from Arrowhead Farm, a farm based in Newburyport, MA. Each week, I am posting about what was in my share and what I'm doing with it. By way of full disclosure, I won my share through a raffle and am not paying for it. However, Arrowhead did not know I was entered int he raffle, and I received no special consideration because of this blog.

Use Your Booty: Swiss Chard Tabouli Salad

2010-05-26T05:53:00.004-05:00

Did you know that Swiss chard is actually two vegetables in one? You use the leaves like spinach and cook them down, or simply slice them and serve them raw. The steams are edible too and since they'll make up a large part of the bunch, it's best to use them. Cut the stems into small pieces and sauté. You can add them to soups, salads or bake them into a quiche.

This salad is a play on tabouli, the Middle Eastern parsley and bulgur wheat salad. I used sautéed Swiss chard leaves and stems as a substitute for the parsley and topped each serving with a few slices of ricotta salata.

Swiss Chard Tabouli Salad

Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 or more as a side dish.

This is great made a day or two ahead.

2 cups bulgur wheat, medium or fine texture
2 bunches Swiss chard
2 tomatoes, diced
1-2 lemons
olive oil
6 ounces ricotta salata, farmer cheese, or feta

Cover the bulgur with boiling water and let it steep. Depending on the texture, it will take between 20-40 minutes to soften. Add a little more water if the wheat soaks it all up. When the wheat is tender, drain off any remaining water, squeezing the wheat to make sure it's not soggy.

Trim the chard stems from the leaves. Cut the stems crosswise into 1/2" pieces. Cut the leaves into thin strips. Sauté the stems in a little oil over medium-high heat until just starting to soften. Add the chard leaves and continue to sauté until the leaves are wilted.

Stir the chard and tomato into the wheat. Squeeze lemon juice over the salad and add a good glug or two of olive oil as well as some salt and pepper. Stir and taste. Add more lemon, oil or salt as needed (remembering that you're adding a salty cheese at the end).

If you're serving this a main dish, it's nice to lay slices of cheese across the dish. If it's to be a side dish, crumble the cheese into the salad so it's evenly distributed.

Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and some edible blossoms if you have them (I used chive and broccoli rabe flowers).

This Summer, I am chronicling my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) experience. My CSA share is from Arrowhead Farm, a farm based in Newburyport, MA. Each week, I am posting about what was in my share and what I'm doing with it. By way of full disclosure, I won my share through a raffle and am not paying for it. However, Arrowhead did not know I was entered int he raffle, and I received no special consideration because of this blog.

Tegame alla Vernazzana

2010-05-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

In October of 2008 we traveled to the Italian region of Liguria. One of the best things we ate on that trip (and we ate a lot of great things during those two weeks) was a dish called Tegame alla Vernazzana. We (well, I) ordered it by mistake, and what a happy mistake it was. We were served a gorgeous dish of anchovy fillets stewed with slices of yellow potato and tomatoes. The whole thing was laced with a rich, fruity olive oil and sprinkled with parsley. We scraped the plate clean, using all the bread we could to get every bit of that tomatoey-olive oily-fishy sauce.

After doing a little research it looks like "tegame" is a word for a covered baking dish. Vernazza was the town where we ate it. I guess the English translation of the

dish's name is "baked dish from Vernazza" - super descriptive. Working from the picture we took of our meal and a little web research, I pulled together this version.

In Vernazza our dish was made with fresh anchovies (see how nice and shiny they are?), but they are hard to find over here. In fact it's hard to find fresh sardines either. I decided to use canned sardines in my version. This also makes it a year-round dish, as opposed to a seasonal one. (An aside: For those who haven't ever tried a fresh anchovy and are thinking of the fillets found in cans, fresh anchovies are a totally different thing. They are oily, but no more than salmon. Their flavor is gently fishy, not strong at all and they are fabulous grilled, fried, sauteed or stewed. If you see them at your local fishmonger, snap 'em up.)

Here's my version of the dish. I hope to get back to Vernazza to try this dish again, but in the meantime, this will have to do.

Tegame alla Vernazzana

Serves 3-4

This dish was very good the next day, gently reheated. I added a splash of water to rehydrate the sauce.

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes or another buttery, boiling-type potato
good quality olive oil
2 cups chopped tomatoes or good-quality canned whole tomatoes, toran into pieces (I used Muir Glen)
2 cans sardines in olive oil
1 cup white wine
dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 350.

Slice the potatoes into thick slices: about 1/2" thick. Simmer the potatoes in a pot of salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes.

In a casserole or baking dish with a lid (mine is an 10" braising pan), start layering the ingredients: glug a healthy dollop of olive oil into the pan. Lay in half the potatoes, half the tomatoes and all of the sardines. Season with salt and pepper and healthy sprinkle of oregano. Lay the rest of the potatoes and then the tomatoes over the top. Sprinkle more oregano over the dish and pour in the white wine.

Cover the dish and put it in the oven until the dish is hot and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve in a soup plate, drizzled with more olive oil.