Recipes for 1/2/10

Organic Rapini – Coke Farm San Bautista, CA
Used extensively in Mediterranean and Chinese cooking, this pungent herb is an acquired taste for some due to its slightly bitter flavor.  It is also because of that slight bitterness that rapini is the perfect vessel for bold flavors such as anchovy, garlic and chili flakes.  To help reduce the bitterness, rapini can be blanched in boiling salted water for about a minute, before removing and shocking into an ice bath.  From there, you can dry them off and prepare them as you like.

Organic Rutabaga – Coke Farm San Bautista, CA
The sweetness of a carrot coupled with the texture of a potato is basically what the rutabaga boils down to.  An underdog in the vegetable world, rutabagas (like parsnips and celeriac) become sweeter when they are roasted and that is exactly my favorite way to prepare them.  With the right combination, roasted rutabagas can make an otherwise mudane dish into something spectacular.  For a nice pork roast, I’d roast rutabagas with potatoes, sage and thyme.  For chicken – rutabagas with parsnips, fennel, thyme and lemon zest.  It’s all about what tastes good to you, so I’d encourage a little experimentation!

Organic Chicory-Pan de Zucchero – Coke Farm San Bautista, CA
Also known as sugarloaf chicory here in the U.S., pan de zucchero is the sweetest of all chicories and closely resembles a head of romaine.  It can be eaten raw in salads where it lends a delicious flavor contrast and a nice crunch, or it can also be roughly chopped and added to soups during the last few minutes of cooking.

Organic Page Mandarin – Cunningham Organic Farm Fallbrook, CA
Sweet and very juicy with few seeds, these little page mandarins brighten up any overly bitter cold day.  Their small size makes them perfect for snacking throughout your work day or as an afterschool snack for the kids.  In addition to tasting good, they also give you a boost of vitamin C which is helpful when the sniffles attack!

Organic Romanesco – Coke Farm San Bautista, CA
It’s been a while since romanesco was last seen on our produce display - which is why I’m so excited to have it back!  Not only extremely intriguing to look at, (if you’ve never seen one, you’ll understand what I mean when you see it!) romanesco also possesses a wonderful nutty flavor and can be prepared any way cauliflower can be prepared.  Its hypnotic spirals make me want to stare at it all day, but its delicious flavor makes me want to gobble it up.  This is definitely one of those “almost too pretty to eat” foods!

The Vegetarian Basket also includes: 1 dozen Clifford Family Farm Eggs (Provo, UT)

The Omnivore Basket also includes: Creminelli Piccante Sausage (Springville, UT)

Customers who opted for additional fruit will be receiving: Organic Minneola Tangelos (CCH Citrus Riverside, CA)

~Organic certification is provided by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). CCOF has been helping to create and maintain extremely high standards in organic farming since 1973.~

Pappardelle with rapini, pancetta and pine nuts
serves 4

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 large bunch rapini, stems slided ½ inch thick, tops cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup water
1 8.8 ounce package pappardelle pasta (fresh or dried)
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano, plus additional for serving
½ cup pine nuts, toasted

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until golden brown, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Discard garlic. Add onion, pancetta, and fennel seeds to skillet; sauté until onion is tender and pancetta begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Add dried crushed red pepper, then rapini stems and cook 4 minutes to soften slightly, stirring occasionally. Stir in rapini tops, sprinkle with salt, and add 1 cup water. Cover and cook until stems and tops are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
3. Add pasta to skillet with rapini and stir over low heat to combine, adding reserved cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 1 cup cheese. Season to taste with salt and generous amount of pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve, passing additional cheese separately.

Romanesco with green olives and capers
serves 4-6

1 head romanesco, cut into small florets
¾ cup brine cured green olives such as the Meski with Lemon and Fennel, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Combine the olives, capers, 3 tablespoons parsley, lemon zest and garlic and set aside.  In a small pot, heat the oil and red pepper flakes over medium-low heat until hot but not smoking.  Remove from the heat and stir in the olive mixture, ½ teaspoon salt and the lemon juice.  Set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop the romanesco into the pot and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Drain well.  Place in a large bowl along with the olive-caper mixture and toss well to coat.  Season to taste.  Great as an antipasti served room temperature or over freshly cooked, buttered pasta.

Rosemary roasted rutabaga
serves about 4 as a side dish

½ lb rutabaga, peeled and diced into ¾ inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
about 2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (just enough to coat the rutabagas)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss together the rutabaga, herbs and olive oil.  Season with about 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.  Toss to coat again.  Spread on a parchment lined sheet pan and roast for about 30-40 minutes or until caramelized and tender.
*This makes an excellent accompaniment to poultry or pork!

Pan de zucchero (sugarloaf chicory) in turkey-herb broth
serves 4
This is a good way to use up leftover poultry or pork.

1 head garlic, separated into cloves, peeled and smashed
1 onion, sliced
½ bunch fresh Italian parsley
10 fresh sage leaves
2 fresh bay leaves
1 small sprig fresh rosemary
12 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12 cups water
2 ½ packages Glace de Volaille Gold (roasted turkey stock)
1 head pan de zucchero chicory, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 2 inch wide strips, rinsed well
2 carrots, julienned
1lb leftover poultry or pork, shredded

1. Peel and smash the garlic cloves.  Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed stock pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 30-45 minutes.  Do not let boil too vigorously. 
2. Strain and discard the solids, returning the broth to the pot.  Dissolve the Glace de Volaille Gold into the herb broth.  Return the broth to the stove over medium heat and allow to come back up to a simmer.  Add the pan de zucchero, carrots and leftover proteins to the broth and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicory is tender.  Season to taste, serve hot and enjoy with a piece of toasted baguette.

Shopping list...

Pan de zucchero (sugarloaf chicory) in turkey-herb broth
-1 head garlic
-1 onion
-1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
-1 package fresh sage
-1 package fresh bay leaves
-1 bunch fresh rosemary
-1 bunch fresh thyme
-1 package Pohnpei White Peppercorns
-1 package Montali Tomato Paste
-3 packages Glace de Volaille Gold (roasted turkey stock)
-1 head pan de zucchero chicory (1 included in HALF shares and 2 included in FULL shares)
-2 carrots

Rosemary roasted rutabaga
½ lb rutabaga (1lb included in HALF shares and 2lb included in FULL shares)
-1 bunch fresh rosemary
-1 bunch fresh marjoram
-1 bottle California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2008 Harvest

Romanesco with green olives and capers
-1 head romanesco (1 head included in HALF shares and 2 heads included in FULL shares)
-¾ cup Meski Olives with Lemon and Fennel
-1 jar Salina Natura Capers in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-1 bunch Italian parsley
-1 lemon
-1 bulb garlic
-1 bottle California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2008 Harvest
-1 package LHF Red Chile Flakes

Pappardelle with rapini, pancetta and pine nuts
-1 bottle California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2008 Harvest
-1 bulb garlic
-1 medium onion
-3 ounces thinly sliced Framani pancetta
-1 container Frontier Whole Fennel Seed
-1 package LHF Red Chile Flakes
-1 large bunch rapini (1 included in HALF shares and 2 included in FULL shares)
-1 8.8 ounce package Rustichella D’abruzzo Pappardelle Pasta
-1 medium wedge Pecorino Romano
-1 small package Pine Nuts from Asia