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Recipes

Seasonal Recipes from our Newsletter

Recipe of the Week: Chard Gratin

Don't forget to look at the Frittata recipe on the recipe page of our web site. The greens, asparagus and green garlic in your box this week would be great in a frittata. Another way to use chard is in the Chard Gratin, below. This recipe is from The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters, Clarkson Potter, New York 2007.

Wash and stem the chard in your box. Save half the stems and slice them thin. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil and cook the sliced stems for 2 minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook until tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain and cool. Gently squeeze out the excess liquid from the stems and leaves and coarsely chop them.

Toss together:
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons melted butter
Toast the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven, stirring now and then, until lightly brown, about 10 minutes.

Melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add 1 diced onion (or perhaps the fresh garlic from your box). Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard and salt to taste. Cook for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons flour. Stir well and add 1/2 cup of milk and a little nutmeg.

Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more milk if the mixture gets too thick. The chard should be moist but not floating in liquid. Taste and add salt if needed. Butter a small baking dish. Spread the chard mixture evenly in the dish and sprinkle evenly with the breadcrumbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven until it is golden and bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes.

Spanish Tortilla

1 pound potatoes, diced 1/3-inch
1 cup olive oil
2 fresh garlic stems, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bunch kale
7 eggs
A few sprigs of oregano, diced - (optional)

Heat the oil in a skillet. Saute the garlic. Add the potatoes and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook over a low heat until the potatoes are tender -- about 20 minutes. Cook the kale in a bit of boiling, salted water, until wilted. Drain and cool. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the kale and chop it coarsely. Add the kale (and the oregano) to the potatoes and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the vegetables leaving leftover oil behind in the pan. Add the egg mixture, cover, and cook the tortilla over a low heat until the edges are set but the center is still soft, about 12 minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it stand, covered, for 15 minutes; the eggs will continue to cook a bit. Loosen the tortilla and slide it onto a large flat plate. Invert the skillet over the plate and using pot holders to hold the plate and skillet together tightly, flip it back into the skillet. Cook over a low heat, covered, for another 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve warm!

Fennel Slaw

This recipe is a super yummy use of fennel and lemon, two items in this week's box. The tender fennel offers just a hint of anise that blends beautifully with the other flavors.

1 bunch fennel, grated (optional: add grated carrots)
1 meyer lemon, juiced
Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
salt & pepper

Cut-off fennel tops and grate the bulbouse base. Box grater works well as does a food processor. Place in mixing bowl. Add juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon, a handful of grated pecorino, salt & pepper. Taste and adjust with lemon and/or cheese as you like. Serves 2-4.

Salt and Vinegar Potato Salad

1 bunch fresh onions, diced (from your box)
1/2 cup plus 2 T cider vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes (from your box)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
Sprinkle of dry mustard, black pepper, ginger and paprika

Toss the onion, 2 T of the vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Marinate the onion at room temperature, tossing occasionally, for an hour.

Cover the potatoes with salted, cold water in a 5- to 6- quart pot, then simmer, uncovered, until just tender. While the potatoes cook, whisk together the mustard, black pepper, ginger, paprika, sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of vinegar in a small bowl.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, and when cool enough to handle but still warm, rub or peel off any extra skin and cut into 1/2-inch wide wedges. Toss the warm potatoes with the vinegar mixture in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and the oil, tossing to combine. Add additional spices, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Crudites

Appetizers of sliced or whole raw vegetables dipped in a vinaigrette or other dipping sauce. Carrots, broccoli romanesco and asparagus spears from your box this week would all be good this way.

Green Mustard and Asparagus Frittata

Dense in vegetables, easy and quick to cook, we had this frittata on Sunday night, thinking about the veggies you are getting this week in the box. It was delicious! Perfect as a simple dinner for four. This recipe was inspired by the one in Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, Clarkson Potter, 2007. We happened to have a bit of left-over tomato sauce that we used -- it added a lot to the flavor. The frittata can be made with other vegetables besides those in this week's box.

One bunch Wild Green Mustard
One bunch Green Garlic
One bunch Asparagus
6 eggs
Salt, pepper
Pinch of cayenne
Olive Oil
Dry Jack Cheese, grated (optional)
A bit of simple tomato sauce (optional)

Clean and dice the green garlic. Wash and coarsely chop the green mustard leaves. Crack the 6 eggs into a large bowl and add salt (about 1 teaspoon), pepper and cayenne. Beat lightly.

We like our asparagus roasted. This only takes a few extra minutes. We think it is worth it, but if you don't want to take the trouble, you can cook the asparagus with the other vegetables (see below). Either way, you will want to break off any stiff stems and thoroughly wash the asparagus. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Arrange the asparagus on a cookie pan and sprinkle olive oil and salt over it. Mix the stems together to coat them in the oil. Pop the pan in the oven and pay attention! Don't overcook the asparagus. Take it out when it is tender but still a bit firm. Chop it into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat a 10-inch heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add 2 T of olive oil and cook the garlic. When the garlic is soft, add the mustard leaves and cook them until they are tender, adding a splash of water if the pan dries out. Turn the veggies out onto a plate. If there is extra water in the mixture (from the chard), gently squeeze it out. Add the asparagus to the vegetables and stir them into the beaten eggs.

Put the pan back on a medium-low heat and heat up a bit of olive oil. Pour in the egg mixture. As the eggs set on the bottom, lift the edges to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath. Continue to cook until it is mostly set (don't be impatient!) Invert a plate on top of the pan and turn it and the pan upside down to turn out the frittata. Put the pan back on the heat and add a bit of olive oil. Slide the frittata back into the pan. Sprinkle the grated cheese on the top. Cover so that the cheese melts. Cook for a few minutes and you're done! The frittata should be cooked through but still moist.

Broccoli with Mustard-Lemon Butter

1 head of broccoli
1 teaspoon of salt
6 T (3/4 stick) of butter
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use the butter to grease the baking sheet. Cut the broccoli crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices and florets. Arrange the pieces in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Roast until it is slightly softened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard and lemon peel. Spoon the sauce evenly over the broccoli and continue roasting until it is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes longer.

(Note: This and other great recipes using broccoli can be found on the Full Belly website recipe page.)

You are Going to Love This Cabbage Salad!

You'll wish you got cabbage every week after you try this salad! It works well with either red or green cabbage.

1 cabbage (If you use an entire medium-sized cabbage, you will have enough salad for about 6 servings as a side dish.)
2 - 3 carrots (We have also used fennel or red daikon)
Lemon
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Champaign or red wine vinegar
1 clove minced garlic (optional)
2 anchovies, cleaned and diced (preferably packed in salt rather than oil) -- optional
1 egg (optional)

Peel off the amount of leaves from the cabbage that you plan to use -- an entire cabbage will be enough for about 6 people. Cut the leaves into thin slices -- about 1/4-inch thick. Put the cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt (the amount can be guided by your preference). Massage the salt into the cabbage. This will soften the cabbage and release some juices so that it will become moist. This step is the key to why this salad is so delicious!

Prepare any other vegetables you plan to add. For example, slice the carrots in half lengthwise, then place face down and cut into 1/2-inch pieces diagonally. Mix the vegetables together.

An easy dressing is olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon. You can choose the quantities, depending on your taste and what you have available. A dressing that is really delicious, but a bit more effort is a Caesar salad dressing, in which you whisk together a raw egg, olive oil, the minced garlic, a teaspoon or so of Champaign or red wine vinegar, the lemon and anchovies.

Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash

2 - 3 sweet dumpling squash
Olive Oil
1/4 pound ground beef
1 leek cleaned and chopped
1/2 celery root, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup white cooking wine
1 cup cooked rice
1/4 lb fresh, washed spinach (about half of what is in the box)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut off the top of the sweet dumpling squash and scoop out the seeds. If necessary, in order for the squash to sit upright, cut off a bit of the bottom too. Set the squash in a baking dish and put in the oven. After 1/2 hour you will add the stuffing.

While the squash is baking for the first half hour, saute the leek in the olive oil, add celery root and the white wine and cover. Continue to cook until the celery root is al dente. Add the spinach and the beef. The spinach will wilt and the beef will brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Do not overcook the veggies! Combine with rice.

Take the squash out of the oven and stuff them with the veggie-meat mixture. Top each squash with its lid. Return the squash to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes to 1/2 hour until it is soft.

Celery Root

Celery Root can be eaten raw (as in the classic remoulade), and adds an incomparable velvety texture to soups when cooked and pureed. It will store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To peel a root, cut off one end to create a flat surface. Then cut off the skin with a paring knife following the contour of the root. A vegetable peeler will also work.

The following two soup recipes are from Eating Well in Season, The Farmers' Market Cookbook, published by Eating Well, Charlotte VT, 2009. Both use Celery Root, the second one uses both Turnips and Celery Root. If you don't have all of the ingredients at hand, don't worry, substitutions will work!

Barley-Root Vegetable Chowder
Makes 12 servings.

4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth or vegetable broth
4 cups water
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 parsnip, peeled and cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 bay leaf
1 t salt
1/2 t dried sage
1/2 t dried thyme
pinch of freshly ground pepper

1. Bring broth and water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add barley. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Add celery root, turnip, rutabaga, carrot, parsnip, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, sage, thyme and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf before serving.


Recipe Archives
By popular request, more recipes from our past Newsletters.

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Recipes on the Web
These websites feature many recipes, including archives of recipes that you can search. Recipesource.com is the former SOAR archive based in Berkeley.

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