Watermelon radishes share many qualities with turnips. They cook up like turnips, but they are amazingly colored inside, like a late Autumn sunset. When cooked, the colors soften a little but are still vibrant. This cooking method softens the slight bitter quality and plays up the sweetness.
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The fresh rich flavor of the cooked down tomatoes is a nice counterpoint to the smokey, earthy flavor of the broccoli, and the sweetness of the tomato plays well with the sweetness the broccoli develops in the oven. This makes a nice side dish, but also can be used as a pasta sauce, pizza topping, or mixed with grains.
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This is a variation of Haricot Vert Salad that has a little more “pop” to it due to the lemon and yogurt in the dressing. Combined with the aromatic dill, this salad has plenty of presence. If you get tomatoes in your box, add some dice tomatoes to the mix, or see suggestions in Chef’s Tips. If you wish, you can substitute potatoes for the filet beans. If you get tomatoes in your box, go ahead and seed one or two (to yield a cup) and cut them into ¼ inch cubes and fold into the salad after everything else has been finished.
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This recipe turns on two other basic recipes – Roast Beets, and Braised Shelling Beans-for a fairly easy to make dish that is filling and pretty in a bowl. Although the beets may seem an odd fit here, the earthiness of the beets links to the earthiness of the beans and carrots, while the vinegar and natural sugars of the beets make them an excellent foil to the rest of the ingredients.
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If it sits still long enough, I’m bound to try this technique on most anything it seems. It works beautifully with fennel, giving a sweet and sour taste that is reminiscent of a lightly done sauerkraut. Simple, quick, and versatile. Use it to top a salad, or put it in sandwiches. Great on grilled fish or roast pork as well. If you heat it up it can be used like sauerkraut with sausages and potatoes. It goes great topping Swedish crispbread topped with coarse mustard and pâté and crispbread with labne and smoked salmon. The fennel/licorice flavor is enhanced with a pinch of fennel seeds, but it is not “in your face” fennel/licorice flavor. This is one of those times when you’d like to use your fixed blade slicer.
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This stock is used in the same way you would use a dark chicken stock or other meat stock. It works well as a base for sauces and soups, and if you are feeling under the weather it is nice for when you don’t want to actually eat, but want some nutrition. It is really nice heated up with some fresh ginger in it. In meat stocks, the agent that thickens it is gelatin. In vegetables, the equivalent is pectin. By charring the onions and sautéing the rest of the vegetables, the pectin is catalyzed and so more readily available to the stock. Konbu* is a type of kelp. Seaweeds are used commercially as a thickener in many things, from toothpaste to ice cream, and is used that way here.
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One of the traditional renditions of pasta with pesto is a Genovese iteration that includes filet beans and tiny potatoes. Here is a de-constructed version of that dish, minus the pasta. Using Sangre potatoes here will make for a very colorful dish, but other types of waxy potatoes would work as well.
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Although this dish seems ridiculously simple, the flavors meld to yield a sophisticated tasting dish which dish is quite popular here, even with the kids, who normally don’t care for hot spinach dishes. The flavor of the mushrooms helps mitigate the sometimes strong earthiness of spinach. This dish is easy to riff on, making it flexible and fun to make. Add tofu and leftover grains for a one-dish meal. Some spinach has stems that are unpalatable-chewy or stringy-but some have tender, succulent stems. If this spinach falls into the latter class, by all means use the stems. You will have to chew on a couple stems to know if they will work. If they do not, just ignore the recipe instructions pertaining to them.
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This is a riff on a dish I found in “Vegetables A to Z” by Elizabeth Schneider. The result is sublime. I find it interesting to note the changes in flavor as I eat the different colors of the leek, from the white to the palest green to the more uniform green. Try these as a starter or have as a side with roast chicken, salmon, or braised beef.
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INGREDIENTS:
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This is the basic method for cooking winter squash either to eat as is, or to prep it for something else, like soup or as a ravioli or tortellini filling. This works for most winter squash, with the only variation being the times, which will change based on thickness of the squash.
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My take on a classic. I think the lemon brightens the dish considerably. Yeah, I know, the dish has cream, but if you consider that you are only eating a couple tablespoons at a time, and it is on vegetables, it really isn’t so much. Reducing cream for the sauce is quicker than making a roux for béchamel, and doesn’t use any butter, so you come out ahead I’d say. This cream sauce would go brilliantly with peas.
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This takes its inspiration from the “salads” of Morocco. There, vegetables are mixed, cooked or not, and then dressed and served at various temperatures and called “salads”, although they are not what most Americans think of when they hear “salad”. (“Hey! Where’s the lettuce?”) I love this for the colors as well as the flavor and textures. You’ll want your fixed blade slicer for this…
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One of the things I like to do in the kitchen is make vegetable dishes using the same method as I would a meat dish. In this instance, I was thinking of a pot roast done with Chantenay carrots instead of chuck roast. I love Chantenay carrots, especially when they get bigger. The stubby shape with the larger diameter makes them perfect for trimming into larger shapes that take a longer cooking yielding a deep flavor. For the potatoes, you want a waxy potato that will hold it’s shape when cooked, and the Bintje is great for this.
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Sort of like mashed potatoes, but with turnips and onions. There are some great tasting yellow fleshed potatoes appearing at market right now and these give a great nutty and sweet flavor to the mash. The potato is there to add texture and to soften the sharpness turnip sometimes has. If you do not have these potatoes, use a russet instead. I like the scallions for their bright flavor and lighter oniony-ness. Feel free to substitute leek or brown onion if you don’t have scallions.
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Use any or all root vegetables for this. The important thing is to cut all the pieces about the same size to roast evenly.
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This is such a lovely and easy recipe for those beautiful chois that we are getting. Bok Choi literally means “white vegetable” and is in the same family as cabbage and turnips. Maybe you still have some green onions from last weeks box.
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I use a mortar and pestle for my pesto. I feel the flavors are brighter and the pesto holds its color and flavor longer. The pestle releases all the basil juices into the mortar so there is more basil aroma. Food processors heat the pesto and “cook” the basil, which helps the discoloration. Food processor blades dull quickly and rather than making a clean cut to the basil they tear it, speeding oxidization. I give the food processor version of this recipe further down. If using the food processor, I recommend doing a double batch as a single recipe is hard to get right in a standard sized processor bowl. Also, I just like the process of using the mortar and pestle as I find it meditative. I am more engaged with the food, the sound of the nuts grinding, and especially the smell as the basil gives up its juices. I like pesto for a lot more than just pasta. I mix it into farro or other whole grains, or toss vegetables with it. I also love it as a smear on sandwiches.
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INGREDIENTS:
½ bunch scallions, green parts and whites separated and sliced finely 2 cloves garlic, peeled and de-germed and minced 1 leaf of fresh sage, slivered finely 1 cup farro ¼ cup white wine 3 cups liquid (water, stock, a combination) Salt and pepper to taste 2-3 tablespoons olive oilContinue reading »
I like my tabbouleh good and green. I use a lot of mint if I have it, or I just use flat leaf parsley if I don’t. If tomatoes are in season, I use them as well. If not, well-I just don’t use them, but only use good tomatoes as there is nowhere for a lousy tomato to hide here. I find tabbouleh a great way to use up the lemons on my Meyer lemon tree when it goes into overdrive, and tabbouleh keeps for a couple days so it helps when I need something fast. Look for bulghur in bulk bins instead of boxes. It is usually fresher and tends to be a slightly larger grain which I prefer.
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This recipe comes from my sushi bar days. This is based on the frugality typical of Japanese Buddhist cuisine. We used a lot of spinach and had a lot of stems sitting around. I had seen a recipe where the “root crowns”-the cluster of stems that gather into the root at the end of the bunch- were blanched and dressed and served as a little side dish. We served these as a little gift from the chef when people first sat down. The hardest part of this recipe is cleaning the crowns. Lots of water is the trick here. You won’t get a lot of these from a bunch, but they are worth doing as the take little time and are very good.
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Ohitashi are a classic of Japanese cuisine. Typically, they spinach is marinated in a broth based on “dashi”, which is a broth made of dried smoked bonito flakes and seaweed. This is a simpler version using water. To make this even easier, simply remove the stems entirely from the dish, then microwave the spinach to wilt it. This keeps in the refrigerator for a couple days.
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I love arugula, and am always looking for new ways to use it. I find the arugula is sharp enough without the addition of cheese, and almonds are used instead of pine nuts, which are also a little sharp, but almonds “talk” to the nuttiness of arugula. A knife works best for this as a food processor over works the arugula and gives it a slippery texture, plus it tends to cook it a bit. Also, I enjoy the whole process of cutting the arugula by hand-the smell as you cut the leaves and nuts, the sounds-it is a form of meditation.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch of beets 1 teaspoon olive oil salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons of water 1-2 tablespoons vinegar such as white balsamic or sherryContinue reading »
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups roasted beets 1 Tbsp neutral flavored oil such as grapeseed or olive oil 1 Tbsp unsalted butter 2 oz. orange juiceContinue reading »
This is the long cooked version of kale, and it results in very tender, succulent greens with a smooth flavor. You can use the same recipe, only blanch the greens until they have just wilted and then cook them with the wine and finish the recipe. This provides a more toothsome dish with a more assertive flavor.
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Here is a variation on a theme. I love the cucumber salad called sunomono that you get in Japanese restaurants. Long ago, when I had a sushi bar of my own, I used to experiment with this technique, using whatever vegetable struck my fancy.
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