Panzanella

This week's box contained:

• Yellow Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Spigariello
• Strawberries
• Lettuce (traded for more spigariello)
• Walla Walla Onions
• Cucumbers
• Padron Peppers

With a left over loaf of bread and some capers on hand, and the tomatoes and cucumbers in this week's box, we had to go for panzanella, Italian bread salad.

The potatoes (which were gorgeous) and a few of the onions made a fine, and quick, adapted version of the Spanish tapas classic: patatas bravas, that worked out really well.  Here's the recipe:

1 pound yellow potatoes, baked but still firm
1 small Walla Walla onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon piment d'Espelette (can substitute hot paprika)

Cut the potatoes into a large, irregular dice and coarsely chop the onions.  Add to a saute pan over medium high heat with salt, olive oil and piment d'Espelette; toss frequently to mix in the seasonings and to ensure even cooking.  Once nicely browned, top each serving with spoonful of crème fraîche; enjoy.

 The strawberries were eaten out of hand, the spigarello added to lentil stew, and the padron peppers left for pizza later in the week.

Summer Italian Meal

This week's box contains:

• Padron Peppers (traded for more russet potatoes)
• "Walla Wallita" Onions
• Gold Chard
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Melons
• French Breakfast Radishes
• Russet Potatoes

Lots to love this week, especially given the swap for more baby russet potatoes.  Don't get me wrong, the Padron peppers are fantastic; just not something I want to eat week after week...

I decided to to go with an Italian theme.  Last night's dinner included:

• Insalata Caprese with burrata
• Focaccia with Onions, Genovese-style
• Potato Gnocchi with Gorganzola
• Sorbetto di Melone al Pepe Nero
• Arancello 

The recipe for the focaccia is from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan ~ a must have for anyone who loves Italian food.

Potato Gnocchi

Adapted from La Cucina Italiana, May/June 2001 by J. McKimmie

Place 2 1/4 pounds of potatoes with the peel still on in a 3-quart pot. Add cold water to cover and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook until tender. While the potatoes are still hot, pass them through a ricer onto 1 3/4 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour. You can peel them first if you like. Cool the potatoes to room temperature, then combine the potatoes and flour until a dough forms, helping yourself with a dough scraper.

Add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg for flavor, and gather into a dough. Add 1 egg only if the dough fails to come together (adding eggs makes gnocchi less delicate). Cut the dough into 8 pieces, roll each into a finger-thick log, and cut into 1/2" pieces with a sharp knife or a dough scraper; you can line up 2 logs to speed up the process. Roll each of the gnocchi over a fork, a grater, or a gnocchi paddle to obtain grooves. The gnocchi are ready to cook.

Here's a really simple video on how to roll the gnocchi:


Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Drop in the gnocchi and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Stir the gnocchi once very gently with a slotted spoon, being careful not to crush them in the process.

When the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon to a heated serving bowl. Remove the gnocchi little by little as they are ready. Continue adding gnocchi to the bowl as they rise to the surface, draining them well first with the slotted spoon.

Cook's Illustrated has a great video on the entire gnocchi making process; their recipe varies from the one listed above.

 

Fresh Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Roasted Tomatoes

This week's box contains:

• Padron Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Bianco di Maggio Onions
• Red Chard
• Cantaloupe Melons
• Summer Squash
• Romaine Lettuce Hearts (traded for more turnips)
• Baby White Turnips

More squash...

Half of the tomatoes and all of the Bianco di Maggio onions were roasted, then blended to make the roasted tomato sauce served over fresh fettucine pictured above. Salt matters in this dish (ok, well, always) and we opted for Maldon Sea Salt.  The fettucine was made from the dough left over from the zucchini ravioli we made today for future use.  I found a recipe for Shredded Zucchini with Garlic and Herbs in The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop, which we used as the ravioli filling.  An adapted version of this recipe is included below.  We plan to serve these with a simple sauce, likely an aglio e olio.

Shredded Zucchini with Garlic and Herbs
Serves 4

2.5 pounds zucchini, shredded
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 small garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
3 tablespoons basil, finely chopped

Shred the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater or in a food processor.  Toss with salt and place in a colander to drain.  Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the onions till translucent; add garlic and stir till fragrant.  One handful at a time, squeeze the extra liquid out of the zucchini and add to the onions and garlic.  Cook the zucchini, stirring frequently, till relatively dry.  Set aside to cool

For the ravioli, follow the recipe and instructions here.  We froze the ravioli on quarter sheet pans well dusted with flour.  For service, bring a pot of water to boil and cook till the ravioli floats, 5-7 minutes.  Drain well and toss with the sauce of your choice.

The Padron peppers were eaten out of hand after a quick saute in olive oil and a hearty sprinkle of salt.  The cantaloupe will end up as popsicles and the chard as a foundational ingredient in Meyer Lemon Risotto.  The turnips will hold, along with some potatoes from last week, perhaps for roasting.

Eggplant Caviar

Roast Eggplant & Garlic for Eggplant Caviar

This week's box contains:

• Red Potatoes
• Strawberries
• Mixed Tomatoes
• Summer Squash
• Red Gem Lettuce
• Red Beets
• Nadia Black Italian Eggplant
• Chives

More squash.  This is the part of CSAs that gets tough.  Eating seasonally, especially when dependent on one farm, can be repetitive.  Tonight we're going to try Pasta with Zucchini and Mint as a main course, served with Eggplant Caviar and herb ciabatta, made with this week's chives plus some basil and rosemary we had on hand.

Ciabatta

As usual, the strawberries will be frozen for smoothies.  My tried and true smoothie recipe is as follows:

Breakfast Smoothies
Serves 1

1c frozen fruit
1c low fat, unsweetened soy milk
2c water
2 scoops Vega Smoothie Infusion

Add all ingredients to the Vita-Mix and blend well.

The potatoes were added to a Tempeh Curry. Later this week I plan to make the following with the beets and tomatoes:

• Beet, Citrus and Avocado Salad
• Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula
• Wheat Berry and Tomato Salad

Moroccan Carrot Ravioli with Harissa and Preserved Lemon

This week's box contained:

• French Tarragon (traded for more chard)
• Gold Beets
• Costata Romanesco Summer Squash
• Strawberries
• Chard
• Mixed Cherry and Saladette Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Spinach

Lots to love here, though we are buried in carrots and summer squash.  As a result, I did a healthy amount of Googling, finding quite a few interesting recipes.  The beets will be roasted, tossed with cider vinegar and salt, and eaten straight-up.  I found a couple of recipes I plan to try with the squash and spinach:

• Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake
• Spinach and Zucchini Soup

The strawberries will be frozen for smoothies and the chard made into Chard and Ricotta Ravioli with White Wine Butter.  The tomatoes will be made into Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta for a nice lunch in the California sunshine.

For the carrots, I found the most amazing fusion recipe: Moroccan Carrot Ravioli with Lemon Zest and Harissa on Food Bridge.  In reading the full post, I decided to make a few changes, noted in my adaption below.

Moroccan Carrot Ravioli with Harissa and Preserved Lemon

Pasta

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons water, adding more as needed to reach the desired dough consistency
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons harissa

Combine the flour and salt in the food processor; pulse a few times. Whisk the eggs, water, olive oil, and harissa together in a small bowl. While pulsing the machine pour this mixture in a continuous stream and continue running the machine until the dough begins, to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Form into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Filling

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into disks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons preserved lemon peel

Preheat the oven to 425°. Toss the carrots with the olive oil and season with salt. Cover with foil and bake until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, combine roasted carrots, ground cumin, and harissa; process until smooth.  Stir in egg yolk refrigerate until ready to fill the raviolis.  Can be made 1-2 days in advance.

Sauce

1/3 c olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped very fine
generous pinch of aleppo pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Combine the olive oil, garlic, and aleppo pepper in a small saucepan. Turn on heat to medium low and allow to cook until the garlic turns a pale gold; do not allow to brown.

Assembly

A demonstration of how to roll the dough and fill the ravioli can be found here.  At a high level:

1. Knead the dough at the widest setting on your pasta machine.
2. Flour the dough and run through the machine at progressively smaller settings.  Stop when you reach the desired thickness; thinner is better.
3. Brush the dough well with an egg wash.
4. Using a pastry bag or a small spoon, drop the filling down the center of the sheet of pasta, spaced several inches apart; roughly one scant tablespoon filling per drop.
5. Fold the dough over the filling, aligning the long edges with one another.
6. Using your hands, press between the drops of filling, pressing as much air out of the ravioli as possible.
7. For half-moon shaped ravioli, use a round cookie cutter, cut the ravioli and place on a floured baking sheet, making sure the edges are well closed.
8. Refrigerate till ready to cook.  Ravioli can be frozen for up to one month.

Bring a pot of water to boil, add a handful of salt, and boil the ravioli for 2-3 minutes.  Drain, toss with the prepared sauce, and top with chopped cilantro.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Moroccan Carrot Ravioli with Lemon Zest and Harissa on Food Bridge

A Trio of Seasonal Cannelloni

This week's box included:

• Romaine lettuce
• Summer squash (zucchini)
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Strawberries
• Yellow potatoes
• Oregano

We've actually got quite a backlog going, especially with the zucchini and carrots.  With zucchini in mind, I started digging through cookbooks for a recipe that would help work through that backlog.  Happily I stumbled upon a series of recipes for cannelloni, whose fillings cover several of this week's vegetables; the cookbook: Simple to Spectacular: How to Take One Basic Recipe to Four Levels of Sophistication by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman.

Tonight's menu:

• Hearts of Romaine with Dijion Vinaigrette
• A Trio of Seasonal Cannelloni
• Braised Carrots with Capers (from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan)

Recipe for the cannelloni included below. Other ideas on getting through this week's box included:

• Zucchini: Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Bread 
• Carrots: Baked Carrot Oven Fries
• Potatoes and Greens: Skillet Potatoes with Greens, adding some Field Roast sausages
• Broccoli: Noodles with Stir-Fried Tofu and Broccoli
• Strawberries: eaten out of hand
• Oregano: dried for future use

A Trio of Seasonal Cannelloni
Adapted from Simple to Spectacular by Jean Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman

One pound fresh pasta dough (to be shared across the following fillings), shaped into 4 x 6 inch rectangles, boiled for ~3 minutes, then cooled in a ice water bath.  Pat dry before filling.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Prepare fillings and fill cannelloni as described below.  Bake until golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.

Potatoes and Arugula

1/2 pound potatoes
salt to taste
1.5 T extra-virgin olive oil (evoo)
1 clove garlic, minced
red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 pound arugula, trimmed, washed and dried
1/2 c freshly grated pecorinio Romano
1/2 c stock

Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, drain and set aside. Sauté the garlic, salt, and pepper, till garlic begins to color; add 2/3 of the arugula, stir for a few minutes, then cover and remove from heat allowing to steam for 5 minutes.  Chop the remaining arugula with the sautéed arugula.  Add potatoes, olive oil, and 1/2 the pecorino; mash and mix well.  Stuff 1/3 of the cannelloni shells, placing them in a single layer in a baking dish, such as an oval gratin.  Drizzle with stock, a bit of olive oil, and the remaining cheese. 

Greens and Herbs

2 T evoo
1 pound spinach, trimmed, washed and dried
1/4 pound arugula, trimmed, washed and dried
1/2 pound mesculun, , trimmed, washed and dried
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh basil, 10 leaves, chiffonade
egg yolk
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c stock

Sauté the spinach, arugula, mesculun and garlic in 1 T evoo until the greens are tender, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool, then finely chop. Stir in the basil, egg yolk, 1/2 the Parmesan, and the nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stuff 1/3 of the cannelloni shells, placing them in a single layer in a baking dish, such as an oval gratin.  Drizzle with stock, a bit of olive oil, and the remaining cheese.  

Scallops and Zucchini

1 T evoo
1 zucchini, washed, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 T fresh thyme1/3 pound scallops, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 c cream
2 T butter
2 t fresh lemon juice
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c stock

Sauté the zucchini, a large pinch of salt, and 1/2 the thyme in olive oil over medium high heat till just tender. Toss the zucchini mixture with the scallops and cayenne. Stuff 1/3 of the cannelloni shells, placing them in a single layer in a baking dish, such as an oval gratin.  Drizzle with stock and a bit of olive oil.

Deglaze the sauté pan with the cream, 1/2 water, and the remaining thyme; simmer till reduced to 1/4 cup.  Lower the heat and whisk in the butter; season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

This week's box contained:

• Yellow Potatoes
• Lacinato Kale
• Baby Arugula
• Summer Squash
• Fresh Garlic
• Chives
• Strawberries
• Broccoli
• Carrots

The potatoes were immediately turned into a potato salad from Epicurious, Warm New Potato Salad with Grainy Mustard.  Very easy to pull together with fantastic flavor.

The chives and the squash, which is the first of what I'm sure will be *many* batches this year, served as our 4th of July appetizer: Garlicky Zucchini Bruschetta from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop and Ann Straton.

The rest of the menu included:

• Chilled Watermelon-and-Cucumber Soup
• Grilled and Roasted Beets
• Grill-Roasted Cauliflower
• Grilled Asparagus

All of the linked recipes are from the New York Magazine and all three were winners.  I would recommend slightly reducing the cooking time on the beets and cauliflower.

As for the rest of the box, I'll likely sauté the kale and arugula with a bit of salt, olive oil, and garlic.  The strawberries were cleaned and frozen for smoothies and the garlic and carrots will be used as recipes require.  The broccoli is slated for Warm Broccoli and Barley Pilaf for dinner one night this week.

Limoncello, Arancello, and Pompelmocello: Mashes Ready for Testing

It's been three months since we set the Limoncello, Arancello, and Pompelmocello mashes to rest. Today I tested peels from each to see if the mashes were ready. Simply bending a peel allows you to check its rigidity; when the peel "breaks" in half easily, the mash is ready. Here's a look at the peels and the infused Everclear from each batch:

Lemons

 

Oranges

Grapefruit

The lemon and grapefruit peels broke easily, while the orange peel did not break at all.  All three of the batches were full flavored, but light in color.  I've decided to let them sit a while longer.

The final steps, once the mashes are ready, is to combine the infused Everclear with a simple sugar, filter (or not), then bottle.  You can find the full recipe here with some tweaks on the mash prep here.

Favas, New Potatoes, and Dill

This week's box contains:

• Strawberries
• Lettuce (swapped for more dill)
• Baby Spinach
• New Potatoes (Yellow)
• Carrots
• Dill
• Fava Beans
• Red Scallions

Perhaps needless to say, but a near perfect box this week, excepting the lettuce of course.  I love this time of year.

One of my all-time favorite recipes is dill-walnut pesto. With two bunches of dill on hand, and a great set of complementary vegetables, we're all set. The strawberries will be frozen for smoothies and the dill promptly converted to pesto to be served with the remaining vegetables.  I'll sauté the spinach, baby carrots, and favas, and will roast the scallions and new potatoes.  Nothing else required, except perhaps a glass of wine.  Dill can be tricky in pairings, so best to stick with a Sauvignon Blanc, Soave, Marsanne, or Viogner depending on the accoutrements; lean towards Marsanne or Viogner if adding salmon to the mix.

If you've not dealt with favas before, take a look at this blog entry.  They are a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

[Herb of your Choice]-Walnut Pesto
... makes 25 - 2 tablespoon servings
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 bunch herb of choice, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mellow barley miso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, adjust salt and pepper and use or freeze.

Mother's Day Brunch

 

This week's box contains:

• Strawberries
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Green Kohlrabi
• Cardoons
• Lettuce (swapped for more cardoons)
• Baby Carrots
• Baby Spinach
• Chantenay Carrots

Not surprisingly, it contains a lot of spring vegetables.  With Mother's Day this weekend, we're planning brunch as follows:

Soup of Pureed Cardoons

Spinach and Snap Pea Risotto
Salmon Sous Vide
Sauteed Baby Carrots
Strawberry Shortcake

I will roast the kohlrabi, the sole remaining vegetable from the box, later this week.

First Box of 2011 Season

Today's the first day of our 2011 CSA season.  There really is nothing like a fresh box of produce direct from the farm once a week.  If you've not tried a CSA subscription, we highly recommend you do.  For those new to the idea, here are some tips:

• What is a CSA?
• Getting Started with a CSA
• Find a CSA in Your Area

This week's box contains:

• Baby Carrots
• Cilantro
• Purple Top Turnips
• Loose Spinach
• Calcot Onions
• Winter Density Lettuce
• Delicata Squash
• Collard Greens
• Baby Leeks

By item, here's my plan:

Baby Carrots
Lightly steamed and tossed with butter and salt as a simple side dish.

Cilantro
Cilantro chutney.  I'll pick up some pre-made samosas and serve with the chutney.  Here's a great video with a recipe and demonstration ~ note the serious blender. Note, this can be frozen, which is really handy.

Purple Top Turnips
I'll roast these with truffle salt (this stuff is magic).  They are very small, so I'll trim the greens, halve them, toss with olive oil and salt, then roast for 15 minutes or so at 425 degrees.

Loose Spinach
I found a recipe for spinach "brownies" to try with my 5 year old goddaughter, who's with us for the weekend.  These are not the "sneak spinach into chocolate kind", but rather a savory bar made from spinach and cheese.

Calcot Onions
These look like big green onions.  No idea what I'm going to do with them.

Winter Density Lettuce
I am not a salad fan.  To the office it goes for sharing with an interested co-worker.

Delicata Squash
No idea, maybe some soup with the onions?

Collard Greens
If time permits, I'm going to try the Collard Wraps with Lemon Herb Crudite from BluePrintCleanse.

Baby Leeks
Braised with cream, an all time favorite.  Here's a good recipe: Leeks with Cream and Tarragon from Orangette. A friend just gave me a copy of Molly's book, A Homemade Life. Can't wait to read it.

Good Cookies Gone Bad, Bad Cookies Redeemed

I'm on staycation this week and thought I'd make our favorite cookies:

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts and Orange

Makes 4 1/2 dozen

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
zest of one orange
2 large eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips (60% cacao or higher)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Mix the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, orange zest and orange extract in a larger bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture slowly, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment-covered baking sheets.

Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Adapted from the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

I pull batch one out of the oven and they were completely flat ~ no discernible rise.  I'd realized when mixing up the batter that I accidentally put the salt and baking soda into the butter mixture and thought that was it.  On to the next batch of dough; same problem.

After double-checking my adaption of the recipe with the original, I realized I had done one thing different this time ~ weighed the flour instead of measuring it.  Per the package, 1/4c is 30g so I added 270g of flour.  That was the problem.

I was fortunate to stumble onto a blog entry on just this issue, Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies, at the Cooking for Engineers site. Michael Chu's analysis in this article says it all.  The key takeaway was that I needed more flour ~ about 80g more.

Additional flour added, the next batch was a significant improvement.  This really is a fantastic cookie!