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

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.

Grilled Pizza

This week's box contains:

• Strawberries
• Romaine Lettuce (traded for more agretti)
• Red and White Mixed Turnips
• Parsley
• Mystery (shelling peas)
• Leeks
• Agretti
• Red Orach

It's a gorgeous day in Silicon Valley.  We have plans to meet friends later today to grill pizzas and enjoy the sunshine.

Grilling pizza is a tricky, but rewarding, process.  The pizzas that result from this method are beyond compare.  Here are two toppings made from this week's box, but let your imagination run wild.  Instructions on grilling pizzas can be found here.

Two Grilled Pizzas

Lemon-Garlic Agretti with Fresh Chèvre
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 bunch agretti, cleaned and chopped in to bit-sized segments
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
juice and zest of one small lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
red pepper flakes to taste

Saute shallot and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add agretti and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add salt, wine, lemon juice and lemon zest, cooking till liquid is evaporated.  Set aside.

Spread agretti evenly on prepared pizza crust, top with dollops of chèvre and return to the grill.  Cook till heated through.  Serve with Sauvignon Blanc.


Mushroom-Leek Pizza
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 recipe white bean purée (below)
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 T olive oil
1/2 pound white button mushrooms, sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 large leeks, or several small, cleaned and sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
parsley, finely chopped

Soak the dried  porcini in hot water for 30 minutes or more.  Remove from soaking liquid and finely chop; set aside.  Porcini can be gritty, so take care to discard any undesirable pieces.

Heat half the olive oil in pan over high heat; add white mushrooms and sear, stirring as little as possible (you're after the carmelization).  Cook till golden brown and the liquid released by the mushrooms as evaporated.  Add the porcini soaking liquid (avoiding any grit from the mushrooms) and simmer till the pan is nearly dry.   Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to the pan along with the leeks and salt and pepper to tasted.  Cook for 3 minutes till the leeks begin to soften.  Add the garlic and porcini, cover, and cook till leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine to deglaze the pan, cooking till pan is nearly dry.  Remove from heat.

Spread prepared crust with white bean purée and top with sauteed mushrooms and leeks.  Return to the grill and cook till heated through.  Serve with Chardonnay.

Recipe adapted from adapted from Fields of Greens by Annie Sommerville, page 172.


White Bean Purée

1 pound white beans
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1.5 t dried savor leaves
vegetable stock or water

Add all ingredients to stock pot, bring to a boil, then simmer till the beans are tender.  Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid.  Combine the beans and 1/3 cup cooking liquid in a blender or food processor.  Process till it reaches the desired consistency, adding more cooking liquid as necessary.

Recipe adapted from The Vintner's Table by Mary Evely, page 149.

A quick note on wine pairing.  Hands down, the very best reference I've ever found on the topic is the Mary Evely book noted above.  The book is organized by varietal and at the beginning of each is a "profile" for each, clearly summarizing food affinities and food conflicts for the varietal across each of the following categories: seafood, meat and poultry, herbs and spices, sauces, cheese and nuts, and finally, fruits and vegetables.  She also recommends the best methods of preparation.  Commentary on substitutions are peppered throughout the book.  While the recipes are great, I use this book to tweak recipes to pair well with the wine I've chosen or to choose a wine for the meal we have planned.

As for the rest of the box contents, our plan is as follows:

Strawberries
Cleaned and frozen for smoothies.

Red and White Mixed Turnips
Stored for roasting, or perhaps a turnip purée, later this week.

ParsleyWe'll reserve some to garnish the pizzas, but the rest went immediately into parsley-walnut pesto (one of my all time favorites).

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

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.

Shelling Peas
Going to try to make tarts to serve for lunch tomorrow.  My good friends are coming over to do a little work related brainstorming, so the least I can do is feed them well.  I got the idea from the 101 Cookbooks entry Fresh Shelling Peas: Four Ways. 

Red Orach
We use this just like spinach.   Some night this week it will be cleaned, chopped, and tossed into whatever we are eating to sneak in a few more veggies.

Abundance of the Seasons

This week's box contains:

• Scallions
• Basil
  
• Purple Cauliflower
• Romaine Lettuce
• Mystery (Strawberries) 
• Gold Beets
• San Marzano Tomatoes
• Garnet Yams

We still have serrano chiles on hand, not to mention one poblano and one Corno di Toro Rosso.  Grand total on the beets now at lucky 13...

This is the time of year where the harvest means so many things.  As the seasons change, at least where we live, there are traditional summer favorites and early fall vegetables readily available.  As we depend on the weekly box for a majority of the food we eat, we work with what we have on hand.  I usually look for interesting combinations, an ethnic twist, or depend on Googling for inspiration.  Today's box offered many possible paths; here's what I did:

Scallions: some of the scallions were used for dinner tonight in the form of grilled scallion flat breads.  I made the following substitutes: Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose flour and light sesame oil for generic vegetable oil, keeping the total oil at 3T, with 1.5T light and 1.5T dark sesame oil.  We also grilled vs. pan frying.  These were fantastic -- an excellent side for any Chinese meal, minus the rice.  The rest of the scallions may find their way into risotto later this week.

Basil: another batch of my favorite pesto for the freezer.

Purple Cauliflower: prepped for use later this week, by cleaning and cutting into florets.  Click here for my all time favorite cauliflower recipe.

Romaine Lettuce: honestly, I tossed it right along with the wilting salad mix from last week.  We are just not a salad eaters.  A better options would have been to leave them both in the swap box so at least someone could have eaten them...

Strawberries: cleaned, hulled and halved then added to the bag of frozen fruit that I use 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.

Gold Beets: roasted and pickled; gold beets for immediate consumption following this recipe.  I thought these were winners, Sean thought they tasted like dirt -- he's just not a beet eater.  The red beets on hand were prepped for long term storage following this recipe. I made the following substitutes: Penzey's Premium Pickling Spice for the caraway and mustard seed and Cyprus Black Lava Sea Salt
for pickling salt.


Tomatoes: with further inspiration from my friend Karen, of Promoting Central Indiana's Local Food Culture, we made some salsa to freeze following this recipe.  Freezing salsa had never occurred to me until Karen and I spoke Friday, but I'm willing to give it a go.  Since Karen and Thom eat locally all year, they've figured out quite a bit about what works and what doesn't.  See the story of their first "local" year here.

Garnet Yams: roasted.  My appreciation for the humble potato continues. Today I reached for warm spices and complementary oils, in this case light and dark sesame.

Roasted Yams with Chinese Five Spice

Serves 4

garnet yams (~2 pounds), diced
1T sesame oil (half light, half dark)
1t Chinese Five Spice
1t salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Clean and dice yams, toss with oil, salt and spices.  Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

More with English Peas

Still feeling groggy with jet lag, I needed to do something simple and wanted something flavorful and satisfying.

We had fresh English peas and a few odds and ends on hand, as well as new ingredient, smoked sweet onions from Tierra Vegetables. Using Ina Garten's Fresh Pea Soup recipe as a base, I made the following soup for dinner.

Fresh Pea Soup with Smoked Sweet Onions and Basil Creme
Serves 4

5c fresh English peas
.25c smoked sweet onions, chopped
1c walla walla onion greens (white and light green parts only), sliced
2T olive oil
1t salt
.25t black pepper
4c water
1c basil creme (heavy cream infused with fresh basil)

Heat olive oil in a small stockpot. Add both types onions and sautee till soft. Add water and peas, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, checking peas frequently -- do not overcook. Blend in batches with salt, pepper, and basil cream.

Chana Dal

A while back I made a large batch of chana dal and tucked it into the freezer. For dinner tonight, after a non-stop day that ended at 8pm, I thawed out enough for two and stirred in the remaining fresh peas we had from yesterday's trip to the farmer's market. Sean had thirds...

I used the recipe linked above, skipping the tamarind pulp and adding a can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes for an extra bit of nutrition. Tonight's addition of the peas covered the missing sweetness the tamarind would have offered and the tomatoes added during the original prep covered the missing acid.

Simple, but extremely satisfying meal.

Box Contents April 10, 2009

This week's box contained:

• Leeks
• Mixed bag of Parsley Root and Chantenay Carrots
• Smallage (aka Soup Celery)
• Baby Minicor Carrots
• Orach
• Broccoli
• Turnips
• Dill
• Mystery (we got strawberries)

We realized this week that what we thought was parsnips last week was actually parsley root, as promised. They made it into the roasted, mashed parsnips we made with the parsnips from the March 27th box, which were excellent.

The berries were sliced and added to the smoothie mix in our freezer. Part of the smallage was added to the egg salad we made from the colored Easter eggs. The dill was quickly converted into dill pesto and used as a spread on egg salad sandwiches -- a great addition. Here's the [herb of your choice] vegan pesto recipe we swear by:

[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.

This pesto is incredible by itself on a spoon or used any of the ways you see pesto in the wild. It freezes amazingly well.

Annual Palo Alto Chili Cook-off

Yep, we're going for it. We're going to enter this year's Palo Alto Chili Cook-off with a vegetarian chili.

The vegetarian chili at the 2008 event was good, but there were not many options from which to choose. Veg chili was apparently popular as 2 of the 3 booths were "sold out" by the time we got there just after 1pm.

Our idea is to start with a recipe that works well and build on it from there. Here's where what we chose as a base:

Chunky Garden Vegetable Chili
from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook, page 90
Serves 6 to 8

1T olive or canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (1.5t)
1 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced
1T dried oregano
2t ground cumin
1T chili powder
1c tomato puree
1 (28-oz) can chopped tomatoes
2 quarts cold water or vegetable stock
1 cup cracked wheat
1 (16 oz) can red or white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked black beans
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced

Heat olive or canola oil in large sauce pot over medium heat and saute the onion, carrots, celery, peppers, garlic, jalapeno, oregano, cumin and chili powder for 2 minutes to combine well.

Add the tomato puree, tomatoes, cold water, cracked wheat, red or white beans, and black beans; simmer uncovered fro 50 minutes, until blended. you may add additional vegetable stock, water, or tomato juice to adjust the consistency, if needed.

Add the lime juice, tamari, and cilantro. Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream, grated cheddar, and minced scallions.

Again, the idea is to use this recipe as a base on which to build. Some changes right out of the gate include swapping a yellow pepper for the green pepper recommended, using water instead of broth, and using widely available bulgur instead of crack wheat. We're also playing around with chipotles from Tierra Vegetables, today's test batch using smoked Hungarian wax peppers.