Recipes for 6/11/09

Organic Gypsy Peppers – Coke Farm, CA
Although it may look like a hotter than hot chili with its narrow shoulders and long tapered shape, this deceiving capsicum species is actually one of the sweetest peppers out there today.  Known to be sweeter than a red bell pepper, the gypsy is thin skinned and sweet-natured and an excellent candidate for stuffing.  They are also delicious thinly sliced and tossed into salads and make a sweet addition to crudite platters. 

Organic Vintage Wine Heirloom Tomatoes – Coke Farm, CA
The variegated skin and flesh of these voluptuous tomatoes are just as tasty as they are beautiful.  Reddish-pink throughout with gold striping, these beauties would look stunning sliced horizontally as a fresh tomato salad with a simple shallot vinaigrette and either fresh chevre and mint or mozzarella and basil.  No matter which way you prepare it, you will be in for a treat!

Organic Red Leaf Lettuce – Coke Farm, CA
This frilly loose-leaf variety is crisp with a mildly sweet flavor.  Make sure you clean it well as its loose leaves are more prone to letting in dirt and sand.  And like most lettuce, it is ideal to eat it as quickly as possible as it will begin to wilt in as soon as 3-4 days.

Organic Lacinato Kale – Coke Farm, CA
There has been no bigger surprise to me than how well loved and widely accepted lacinato kale has become amongst all SFF-ians!  Although once I tasted it for myself, I understood why.  Its wonderful flavor and almost meaty texture make it perfect as a filling side dish, or even the main attraction in a bowl of pasta.  Needless to say I, too, am crazy about this stuff and am even attempting to grow it in my home garden.  It is very easy to prepare, even doing something as simple as braising it until tender in a little stock and olive oil with a clove of garlic and a bit of onion, salt and pepper.  Just let it simmer until there is no more “chew” to the leaf.  If you like a little bite, don’t cook it quite as long, and either way you prepare it, it will be delicious.  So experiment a little and see what suits your taste!  Just because I include a recipe doesn’t mean you have to follow it to the t.  I’m a big advocate for experimenting and finding out what tastes delicious to you.

Conventional Bermuda Onion – Weiser Family Farm, CA
If you love cipollini onions, then get ready to go crazy for these Bermudas!  Super sweet and juicy, it has great onion flavor without all that pungent sulfuric acid.  Great for topping burgers, caramelizing for soup, a slightly sweet take on salsas, adding a sweet zip to sandwiches or just slicing thinly and adding to salads. 

Conventional Spanish Roja Garlic – Weiser Family Farm, CA
This hardneck variety is well known to gourmands as having a very pronounced garlic flavor.  The flavor of this specific variety is strong, hot, and spicy with a deep, rich, and complex taste.  Quite the mouthful, right?  If this garlic is everything it says it will be, then it sounds like a little will definitely go a long way, unless you’re like me and love that strong and awesome flavor!  It is also easy to peel and contains large cloves.

Conventional French Fingerling Potatoes – Weiser Family Farm, CA
This is a great creamy potato with a silky texture.  Don’t peel the skin!  Besides looking great, the skin is where the potato’s nutrients are stored and needs little more than a good rinse.  This versatile potato can be prepared in a number of ways from boiling, to roasting to steaming.  It is rumored that this potato was smuggled into the U.S. in a horse’s feed bag in the 1800’s!

The Vegetarian Basket also includes: Drake Family Farms Plain Chevre (West Jordan, UT)

The Omnivore Basket also includes: Drake Family Farms Plain Chevre (West Jordan, UT) and Creminelli Piccante Sausage (Springville, UT)

Customers who opted for additional fruit will also receive: Organic Flavorosa Pluots (California)

~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.~

Gypsy peppers stuffed with manchego and corn

½ cup diced red onion
1 cup corn kernels
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
¾ cups grated manchego
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 Gypsy peppers
½lb lettuce (any)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350° and oil a small baking pan with oil. In a medium sauce pan, sauté the onion, corn and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool, then add the breadcrumbs, cheese, thyme and parsley.
2.  Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Fill each pepper with the corn mixture, pushing gently so the stuffing stays in place. Rub the peppers with olive oil and place in the baking pan.
3.  Roast the peppers for 25-30 minutes, or until the peppers soften and collapse. If some stuffing oozes out, just push it back in.
4.  Toss the greens with a simple vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper. Portion the greens onto serving plates and top each mound with a stuffed pepper.  Enjoy!

Fresh tomato salad
For 2

With fresh chevre and mint:

1 ripe heirloom tomato, sliced horizontally ¼ inch thick
4 oz fresh chevre log
1 tablespoons fresh mint, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

With fresh mozzarella and basil:

1 ripe heirloom tomato, sliced horizontally ¼ inch thick
6 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

To assemble:

On individual plates or a small serving platter, alternate the slices of tomato and cheese in a rosette pattern.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle the mint or basil over the top and season to taste with salt and pepper*.  Enjoy right away!

*To thoroughly enjoy this quick, delicious and refreshing salad, season with salt and pepper right before serving, and enjoy right away.  You shouldn’t have leftovers because it’s too delicious not to finish, but a fair warning: should you decide to save portions of this fresh salad, the salt will eventually eat through the fresh tomato leaving it with an undesirable grainy mouth feel!  The best possible way to avoid this disaster?  Only make as much of this salad as you can consume in one sitting.

Lacinato kale and ricotta salata salad

1 small bunch (about 1/2 pound) Lacinato kale
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
pinch salt
pinch black pepper
2 1/4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 oz coarsely grated ricotta salata (1/2 cup) –(alternately, you could substitute feta for a similar flavor)

1.  Working in batches, cut kale crosswise into very thin slices
2.  Whisk together shallot, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined well.
3.  Toss kale and ricotta salata in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat well, then season with salt and pepper.

Green bean and French fingerling potato salad
For 3-4

1 pound fingerling potatoes, rinsed well
½ pound haricot vert, trimmed
1bermuda onion, small dice
2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
½ lemon, zest and juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Fill a small stock pot with cool water and add the whole potatoes.  Bring up to heat, just before boiling and simmer lightly until tender, about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain.  Allow it to cool until easy to handle.  Slice into coins ¼ inch thick.
2.  While the potatoes are cooking, bring another small pot of water to boil and salt heavily just as it is beginning to boil.  Blanch the beans until tender, about 1 minute then drain and shock in a bowl of ice water.  Drain again and set aside.
3.  Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat and add the olive oil to warm.  Saute the onions until soft and translucent, then add the garlic until fragrant.  Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and zest.
4.  In large bowl, mix together the potatoes and the green beans.  Pour the warm olive oil mixture and the chopped herbs over the potatoes and beans and gently toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper if necessary.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Shopping list...

Gypsy peppers stuffed with manchego and corn
-1 red onion
-1 package Woodstock Farms Supersweet Frozen Corn (fresh is best, but when there isn’t corn, Woodstock Farms supplies us with delectable kernels beyond corn’s growing season!)
-1 head garlic (includedin SFF)
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 package United Pacific Co. Panko Breadcrumbs
-1 medium wedge Manchego Gran Reserva
-1 package fresh thyme
-1 bunch organic Italian parsley
-4 Gypsy peppers (included in SFF)
- ½ lb lettuce (included in SFF)

Fresh tomato salad
-1 ripe heirloom tomato (included in SFF)
-1 package Drake Family Farm Fresh Chevre (included in Vege SFF bags)
-1 package fresh mint
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 package Belfiore Fresh Mozzarella
-1 package fresh basil

Lacinato kale and ricotta salata salad
-1 small bunch Lacinato kale (includedin SFF)
-1 lemon for juice
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 small wedge Ricotta salata

Green bean and French fingerling potato salad
-1 pound fingerling potatoes (included in SFF)
-½ pound haricot vert
-1bermuda onion (included in SFF)
-1 package fresh basil
-1 package fresh tarragon
-1 lemon
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 head garlic (included in SFF)