Farm Direct Coop Recipesor. . . what you can do with your share!

An oldie-but-goodie recipe from Sunset Magazine, originally published in the Nov. 1992 issue (“Sunset’s Kitchen Cabinet,” by Dorothy Rosenthal). Use any type of roast that is good for braising, like  bottom round. If you prefer, you can start this dish on top of the stove: sear the roast on all sides in a large, ovenproof pot, add the broth and port, cover with the lid and transfer it to the oven.

Cranberry-Port Pot Roast

• 1 beef eye of the round or rump roast (3-1/2 to 4 lb.)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) regular-strength beef broth
• 1 3/4 cups port wine
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen petite onions
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 6 cups hot cooked egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
•  Parsley sprigs
• Salt and pepper

1.  Rinse meat, pat dry, and rub with oil. Place in a 10- by 14-inch roasting pan. Bake in a 450 degrees~ oven until meat is well browned, about 45 minutes; turn often. Add broth and port. Cover tightly; reduce oven to 400 degrees and bake 1-1/2 hours.

2.  Mix sugar and onions into pan; cover and bake 1 hour. Add cranberries; cover and bake until meat is tender when pierced, about 30 minutes longer.

3.  Put meat and noodles on a platter. With a slotted spoon, ladle onions and berries onto noodles; keep warm. Skim fat from pan juices. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Bring pan juices to boiling over high heat. Stirring, add cornstarch mixture until sauce is as thick as you like. Pour sauce into a small bowl; serve with meat and noodles. Garnish with parsley sprigs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 10 to 12.

Per serving: 363 cal. (20 percent from fat); 33 g protein; 8.0 g fat (2.3 g sat.); 38 g carbo.; 87 mg sodium; 98 mg chol. 

At today’s pickup, there seemed to be quite a few people who weren’t familiar with Delicata squash. I found this recipe by Amy and it looks delicious – and as a bonus, it uses more greens! Visit Eggs on Sunday for more information about how this recipe was developed (scroll down to the bottom) and to see some beautiful photos of its preparation.

Roasted Delicata Squash Stuffed with White Beans, Garlic and Sage

• 2 delicata squash, halved and seeds scooped out
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 15-ounce can small white beans (such as navy beans), drained and rinsed
• about 4 large handfuls of greens – baby spinach, chopped chard, chopped collards, etc – washed and spun dry
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash halves (cut side up) on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Drizzle the surface with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set aside.

2.  While squash bakes, make the filling: heat 1-2 tablespoons olive opil in a saute pan over medium heat, then add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the greens and saute until wilted. Add the drained, rinsed beans and cook until the beans are heated through. Stir in the sage, seson to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside to cool slightly.

3. Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. Mix the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan in a small bowl. Stir half of this mixture into the beans-and-greens filling. Divide the filling evenly between the cooked squash halves.

4. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumb mixture over the top of the filled squash halves. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the topping is golden, about another 15 minutes or so (check after 10 minutes so the topping doesn’t burn).

Makes 4 servings.

This is a rich, decadent pasta dish – my idea of heaven in a bowl – so I only make it a couple of times a year. It’s great for dinner parties because the “sauce” is prepared ahead of time. The original source of the recipe is lost, at least to me: I found it in 1998 on an old Epicurious forum called Gail’s Recipe Swap.

To remove the rind from the brie, chill it well in the refrigerator; cut the wedge in half (like a piece of pie) and stand each piece up, cut-side down. Use a knife with a long, thin blade to slice off the rind. You can omit the sun-dried tomatoes and/or kalamata olives, if you don’t have them on hand.

•  1 lb brie, rind removed, cut into small pieces
• 5 oz sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and cut into thin strips
• 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 18 ounces fresh linguine or 1 pound dried
• freshly grated fontina or parmesan cheese, to taste

1.  In a large bowl, combine Brie, sundried tomatoes, tomatoes, olives, garlic, basil, pepper and olive oil. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. (Optional: occasionally remove cover, stir and inhale the heady aroma of your future dinner). 

2.  Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and immediately toss with tomato mixture (the brie will melt a bit, depending on the butterfat content and state of your cheese – the riper the brie, the more melting). Serve immediately with grated cheese. Serves 4-6 as a main course.

Recipe Source: Sunset Magazine Chinese Cookbook

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients – have everything ready by the stove and this dish will cook up very quickly. This is spicy so serve it with plenty of hot cooked rice (or use less chili sauce). If you don’t want to use ground pork, try it with ground chicken or turkey. I made it tonight with leftover pork roast – chop the cooked meat very fine, and add it later in the recipe (along with the cornstarch and water). If you’re unfamiliar with Sichuan chili sauce, read about it here and here.

• 1/2 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (or other vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 large eggplant or several Asian eggplants, about 1-1/4 pounds total
• 5 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 1/4 pound ground pork, or finely chopped pork loin (use up to 1/2 pound if you want more meat in the sauce)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons hot chili sauce (look for Sichuan chili sauce, Sichuan chili bean sauce or ma po tofu sauce) or 2 small dried hot chili peppers, crumbled and seeded, if desired
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoons sesame oil
• sesame seeds, for sprinkling

1.  Combine chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper in a small bowl; set next to the stove. Place the chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili sauce in another bowl and set it next to the stove. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and (you guessed it) place it next to the stove. Peel the eggplant (unless you are using Asian eggplants – they don’t need to be peeled) and cut into strips 2 inches long and 1/2″ thick.

 2.  Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the eggplant and stir-fry for 3 minutes, then transfer to a plate or dish.

 3.  Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Add the pork, and the scallion/ginger/garlic/chili sauce and stir-fry until the meat is not longer pink, about 2 minutes.

 4.  Return the eggplant to the wok and pour in the chicken broth mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is tender, about 6 minutes. Stire the cornstarch/water mixture and add it to the wok. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Add sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serves 2-4 people, depending on how many other dishes you make for dinner! 

When I picked up last weeks’ share, I was thrilled to see that the cilantro still had the roots attached. Use the stems and leaves in dishes where you want to see that beautiful green color, and save the roots to make this intensely-flavored Thai herb paste. (Source for all three recipes: “Real Thai,” by Nancie McDermott).

Cilantro Pesto

This recipe makes ~1/4 cup; for a larger batch, use 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, 1/2 cup cilantro roots, and 1/2 cup garlic.

• 1 teaspoon whole white or black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro roots, or leaves and stems
• 2 tablespoons coarsley chopped garlic

1.  Crush or grind the peppercorns to a fine powder (a small electric coffee grinder, dedicated to grinding spices, works well).

2.  Combine the pepper, cilantro roots, and garlic in a mortar and pestle and pound them into a fairly smooth paste. Alternatively, you can use a small food processor or blender to mix the pesto – add a bit of water or oil to make the grinding smoother.

3.  Use immediately or store in a glass jar, in the refrigerator, covered with a little oil. The pesto will keep for 1 week. 

Thai Garlic Shrimp

If you don’t have fish sauce, substitute soy sauce – or smash a small piece of anchovy into the pesto. (Read more about fish sauce here, and here).

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons Cilantro pesto
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• a few fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

1.  Heat a wok or medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until very hot, but not smoking.

2.  Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they begin to turn pink on all sides, about 1 minute. Add the pesto and stir-fry until it coats the shrimp and is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce and stiry-fry for another few seconds to mix it in.

3.  Transfer the shrimp to a platter and sprinkle with cilantro leaves. Serve with hot rice.

Thai Grilled Chicken

I prefer to use boneless thighs for grilling because they are very forgiving and can take a bit of overcooking. But, any cut of chicken will do, with or without the skin, depending on your preference.

• 1/3 cup Cilantro Pesto
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 pounds chicken pieces, skin on or skinless if you prefer

1.  Place the pesto, soy sauce, and salt in a deep bowl just large enough to hold the chicken. Mix well and add the chicken, rubbing the marinade all over it. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours.

2.  Cook the chicken pieces over a very hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill, turning occasionally to brown and cook evenly.  Total cooking time depends on the size and thickness of the chicken pieces. The chicken can also be baked in a hot oven (400 degrees F). Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with sweet chili-garlic sauce (homemade or purchased).

Marblehead Depot member Nicole Grazado loves experimenting with new recipes to cajole her kids into trying different foods. She adapted this recipe from Epicurious.com, and says it gets rave reviews from family and coworkers alike.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 cup flour
• 3 cups fat free milk
• 2 cups smoked gouda, shredded
• 1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
• pinch of cayenne
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb. cooked pasta
• 1 lb. chard
• 6-8 crackers crumbled

1) Melt butter in large saucepan. Saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and bring to simmer, whisking occasionally while it thickens. Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add cheese and stir until all is melted. Remove from heat.
2) Cook chard in large pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove using slotted spoon and chop. Cook pasta in same water used for chard. Drain pasta and add to cheese mixture.
3) Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Spread half of pasta mixture in dish, top with chopped cooked chard and then cover with remaining pasta mixture. Top with crumbled crackers (or breadcrumbs of your choice).
4) Cook at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until bubbly. Enjoy!!