Recipes for 6/18/09

Organic Italian Parsley – Coke Farm, CA
No longer just a garnish, parsley’s subtle flavor can dress up salads, marinades and compound butters - just to name a few things.  Just let butter come to room temperature then finely dice parsley, some shallots and a little salt if you are using unsalted butter, wrap in plastic wrap and roll into a log.  Refrigerate until firm and serve with rolls at dinnertime!

Organic Green Beans – Coke Farm, CA
When cooked correctly - and not mushy and gross - green beans are a beautiful thing.  The trick to cooking them is to prepare them like you would pasta al dente.  This would be a great time to practice your blanching technique!  So after they have been blanched, shocked, and dried, sauté with a little olive oil, shallot, and almond for a delicious side dish!

Organic Fennel – Coke Farm, CA
Often a neglected vegetable, fennel is a delightful addition to salads and it can add a nice anise flavor with a hint of sweetness.  It also holds up well when roasted whole or in half alongside chicken or other vegetables that you might like to roast such as potatoes, parsnips, or other root vegetables.  The flavor of fennel is doubly enhanced when there is citrus involved.  For instance, if you decide to make a fennel slaw, a lemon and dill vinaigrette would compliment it well. 

Organic Pattypan Squash – Coke Farm, CA
This cute little heirloom squash has a great sweet flavor that is wonderful sautéed, grilled or baked.  And because of its short and round shape, it makes it a perfect candidate to stuff.  Try baking until tender and stuffing with a couscous or pasta salad with fresh vegetables and feta cheese, or try the delicious side dish recipe I’ve included below that we recently prepared for a neuropathy dinner at the U this past weekend.

Conventional Sugar Snap Peas – Carlos Chavez, Orem, UT
These darling peas will surprise you with their intensely sweet flavor!  Coming to us from Carlos Chavez in Orem (where we also get our local peaches later this summer!), it’s hard to turn these little gems into something spectacular because I’ve found that they are absolutely delicious to snack on.  By giving them a good rinse and simply pinching the ends and pulling off the tough string, I eat it as is and I find that it is just as delicious and refreshing as snacking on grapes.  You might want to keep a few extra on hand!

Organic Baby Walla Walla Onion – Bell Organic Gardens, Draper, UT
When you see these, you’ll probably think, “Wow, those are babies?” and it’s because this variety of sweet onion is rather large in size as an adult.  The flavor is sweet as adults, and even sweeter as babies (naturally), which make them wonderful thinly sliced in salads. Or try mixing them into chicken or tuna salad sandwiches.

Organic Green Garlic – Bell Organic Gardens, Draper, UT
A familiar sight once again, and I’m assuming a welcome change to the hot and spicy garlic of last week!  I took a bulb home last week as well, toasted some bread and rubbed the Spanish Roja on it and WHOA!  That was one spicy piece of garlic bread!  No exaggeration there, I made it for my fiancé and I, and we literally both exclaimed, “WOW!” This week however, we return to a milder and sweeter form that is green garlic. 

The Vegetarian Basket also includes: Rockhill Creamery Farmhouse Gouda (Richmond, UT)

The Omnivore Basket also includes: Rockhill Creamery Farmhouse Gouda (Richmond, UT) and Canyon Meadows Ranch Custom 75% Lean Ground Beef (Altamont, UT)

Customers who opted for additional fruit will also receive: Larry Hirahara Family Farm Organic Blueberries (Madera, CA) and Homegrown Family Farms Organic Yellow Peaches (Porterville, 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.~

Spicy parmesan green beans and kale
Serves 6-8

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
¼ lb crimini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1 lb green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup white wine
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch kale, rinsed, stemmed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

1.  Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.

2.  Add the mushrooms, green beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until the green beans are almost tender, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and the Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat and serve immediately.

Spring Fennel and orange salad
Serves about 4

For the dressing:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup banyuls vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons olive oil

For the salad:
1 (10 ounce) bag mixed salad greens
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 orange, peeled and segmented
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped marcona almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1.  Whisk together the sugar, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, basil, and olive oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves; set aside.

2.  Toss the salad greens, sliced fennel, orange, onion, almonds, and cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to serve.

White bean and green garlic dip
Makes about 1 cup

1 stalk green garlic (or more depending how much garlicky flavor you like)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, more to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
16 oz dried cannelini beans, soaked in water overnight
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling.

1.  Drain the cannelini beans after they have soaked overnight and cook in a fresh pot of water until tender.  This step can be done a day in advance.

2.  In a food processor or blender, process green garlic with lemon juice, salt and pepper until finely chopped. Add cannellini beans and process to a rough purée.

3.  With motor running, slowly drizzle olive oil through feed tube and process until fairly smooth. Pulse in 2 or 3 tablespoons water, or more, until mixture is the consistency of a dip. Add more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice, if desired.

4.  Spread out dip on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with more salt.

Sugar snap pea salad with dill vinaigrette
Serves 4

1/3 cup walnuts
½ lb sugar snap peas, trimmed
¾ cup celery, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch radishes, halved and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Toast the walnuts for about 5-8 minutes or until it becomes fragrant.  Let cool, then coarsely chop.

2.  To make the vinaigrette, place the lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Quickly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil until emulsified, then gently stir in the dill.  Set aside.

3.  In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the sugar snaps until bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.  Drain and shock in a bowl of ice water.  Drain again and pat dry then transfer to a large bowl.  Add the toasted walnuts, celery and radishes, then toss with the vinaigrette.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Roasted pattypan squash with la ratte potato and smoked pimenton
Serves 4 as a side dish

4 medium sized pattypan squash, trimmed and hollowed out with a melon baller
½ lb la ratte potato, rinsed and cut into ¼ inch thick coins
1 torpedo or spring onion, small dice
1 tablespoon smoked pimenton
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1.  After you have hollowed out the pattypan, coarsely chop the squash that was hollowed out.  Saute with the torpedo onion until both are tender, season with ¼ tablespoon pimenton, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Toss the potatoes with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pour out onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Using the same bowl, toss the patty pan squash with a little extra virgin olive oil, the remaining smoked pimenton, salt and pepper and arrange on a the same baking sheet, but keep them separate.  Roast in the oven until both are tender, and the potatoes are medium-golden brown and slightly crispy.  (At this point, if the squash cooks faster than the potatoes, remove them from the oven while the potatoes continue to cook, and vice versa depending on the size)

3.  Remove the squash and potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly.  Take the potatoes and add them to the sauté pan of torpedo onion and chopped squash and toss together to mix.  Fill the hollowed centers of the pattypan squash and serve right away.

*For an extra luxurious treat, sprinkle the tops with a little gruyere and place underneath a broiler until the cheese is melted and browned!

Shopping list...

Spicy parmesan green beans and kale
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 onion
-¼ lb crimini mushrooms
-1 lb green beans (1lb included in full SFF shares, ½ lb included in half SFF shares)
-1 bottle of dry white wine (we regret that we do not carry this item)
-1 container Arlo’s Dried Pequin Chili Flakes
-1 bunch kale
-1 lemon for juice
-1 small wedge parmigiano reggiano

Spring fennel and orange salad
-1 container Woodstock Farms Sugar
-1 bottle Banyuls Vinegar
-1 package fresh basil
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 package Kenter Canyon Mesclun
-1 bulb fennel (included in SFF)
-1 valencia or naval orange
-1 red onion
-1 container Marcona Almonds
-1 package Payson Fruit Growers dried cranberries

White bean and green garlic dip
-1 stalk green garlic (included in SFF)
-1 lemon for juice
-1 package Cassoulet’s U.S.A.-Dried Cannelini Beans
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest

Sugar snap pea salad with dill vinaigrette
-1 container walnuts
-½ lb sugar snap peas (included in SFF)
-1 bunch celery
-1 bunch radishes
-1 bottle Liberty Heights Fresh label Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2007 Harvest
-1 lemon for juice
-1 bunch fresh dill

Roasted pattypan squash with la ratte potato and smoked pimenton
-pattypan squash (included in SFF)
-½ lb la ratte potato
-1 torpedo or spring onion
-1 container El Rey de la Vera tradicional Smoked Pimenton