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.

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.

Spanish Tapas

Oyster Mushroom

This week's box contains:

• Cilantro
• Red Butter and Red Leaf Lettuce (traded for more squash)
• Strawberries
• Summer Squash
• Chantenay Carrots
• Loose Spinach OR Loose Baby Chard
• Oyster Mushrooms
• Arugula

Uninspiring mix of food this week.  Sometimes the contents of the box calls out for something in particular, making it easy to decide what to make.  Sometimes, like this week, it does not.  Don't get me wrong, it all looks great.  However, to get through it all I need an inspired plan.

In situations like this one, I'll often pick an ingredient, Google something that comes to mind, like "baked oyster mushrooms" and see what piques my interest.  With that in hand, I'll pick a theme and back into a meal by finding recipes for the remaining ingredients that fit that theme.  Over the past 5 years this has turned out to be a great way to work through the box or ingredients we have on hand.  It also has the side benefit of being an easy way to plan a dinner party.

Today I landed on this recipe, a tapas dish.  I adopted tapas as my theme, browsed a few tapas sites, hit my favorite recipe sites looking for tapas recipes, and the rest is history.  We easily had enough food for six ~ enough for a simple party.  Another great thing about tapas is that most of the dishes can be served a room temperature, another strong feature for entertaining.

 

Spanish Carrots and Olives

Spanish Tapas

• Spanish Carrots and Olives
• Patatas Bravas
• Baked Oyster Mushrooms
• Cauliflower al Ajoarriero
• Garbanzos con Espinacas
• Zucchini Fritters
• Grilled Chorizo

As I'm a vegan, I went for the Field Roast Chorizo sausages, an excellent choice.  We followed the recipes linked above and adapted a few others to our taste.

Patatas Bravas

Patatas Bravas
1 pound of new potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 c tomato sauce
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 t Piment d'Espelette
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 T olive oil
1 t salt

Dice the potatoes and toss with salt.  Add olive oil to coat and roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Remove from oven and set aside.

Saute the minced garlic in 2T olive oil till golden.  Add Piment d'Espelette, cayenne pepper, and salt; stir.  Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Cook till slightly thickened and set aside.

Place the potatoes in a serving dish and top with bravas sauce.  Best served warm.

Garbanzos con Espinacas

Garbanzos con Espinacas
1 can garbanzo beans
1 bunch fresh spinach
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t Piment d'Espelette
1/4 t cayenne pepper
3 T olive oil
1 t salt

Clean the spinach and shake off excess water.  Add to a saucepan over medium with the salt and cover; cook till wilted and set aside.  Heat the olive oil in the saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic, Piment d'Espelette, cayenne pepper and salt, mix well. Add garbanzo beans and heat through. Press and chop the spinach, then add to the sauce pan. Mix well.

Zucchini Fritters

As for the cilantro, strawberries, and arugula...  The cilantro will become cilantro chutney and stored in the freezer for our next Indian meal.   The arugula and strawberries will be combined in a salad later this week.

Cauliflower al Ajoarriero