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

Here’s a recipe by Jolene Howard writing for The Tribeca Citizen (tribecacitizen.com) that uses a lot of spring veggies.  Submitted by Jeanne Coffey.

(FDC Newsletter June 15, 2010)

• 1 bunch kale
• Greens from one bunch of turnips
• 3-4 radishes
• 2 scallions
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 4oo.  Toss hazelnuts in olive oil and salt.  Toast hazelnuts for 7-10 minutes.  Coarsley chop toasted nuts in a blender or coffee grinder.
2. Wash radishes and scallions and remove radish greens.  Cut radishes in half and thinly slice.  Thinly slice scallions.  Reserve.
3. Wash turnip greens and coarsely shred.
4. Wash and cut the stems from each leaf of kale.  (It’s not necessary to cut out the stems, but I think it’s worth the effort.)  Roll 2-3 leaves up like a sushi roll, and cut the roll into 1-inch pieces, then cut again on a diagonal.
5. Drop the kale and turnip greens into boiling water, cover and steam for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, transfer greens to a colander and drain excess water .  Place the colander into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking and cool.  Drain.
6. Toss all ingredients (except cheese) into a big bowl, add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
7. Add parmesean cheese and serve.

Haulage #2 yielded: spinach, radishes, scallions, garlic scapes, sugar snap peas, strawberries, multigrain bread and goat cheese.

I found this to be an easier haul to manage as there was less greens (3 kinds of salad greens was difficult in week 1). The bread and cheese share started up. We didn’t get any herbs on week 2, but I’m pretty sure they’re coming back during week 3. Which reminds me: I need to do something fun with that dill growing so nicely in our kitchen window.

Garlic Scape and Spinach Pesto

Here’s something: I really don’t like garlic. It’s just too MUCH. Seems to overpower other flavors easily, is often overused…I could go on and on. However! There is something really special about garlic scapes. They’re kind of like scallions are to onions – mild and less stinky. Hence my overwhelming preference for both scapes and scallions.

We don’t have a food processor or blender (seriously) but we do have a little immersion blender, and I was happy to give it a go and try and make pesto with it. Went off without a hitch.

3 garlic scapes, cut into 1″ long pieces

~20 basil leaves

1 tbsp pignolia nuts (pine nuts)

2-ish tbsp oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup percorino romano cheese

1 head spinach

1/2 cup water

salt, pepper, more cheese if needed

Blend scapes, basil, nuts, oil and cheese (in food processor, blender or with immersion blender) until smooth.  In a pot, place the cleaned spinach and water over medium heat, and place the lid on. Cook the spinach until wilted. Add wilted spinach and remaining water and blend again. (Note: I liked adding the cooked spinach because the residual heat seemed to cook the garlic scapes. But I suppose you really don’t have to do that.)  Add salt, pepper and more cheese if you want. I served over whole wheat spaghetti. (Made 2 servings.)

Radish Salad with Tahini Dressing

This was tasty! I am also keenly aware that food in bowls doesn’t photograph really well. This tasted better than it looks – so I hope you try it despite the photo.

~10 radishes, each cut into 4 wedges

1/2 English cucumber, cut in quarters

1/2 avocado, diced

~15 heirloom grape tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp tahini paste

Balsamic vinegar (to taste)

olive oil (to taste)

salt, pepper

Put all the veggies in a bowl. In a small, separate bowl add your tahini paste and whisk in olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. You might need to adjust to get the consistency you want (more oil or vinegar for thinner dressing, etc). Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and enjoy. (Made 2 servings with not a drop leftover.)

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Good gravy, I make a lot of salad. My husband is super sweet about it, too. And healthy! Did I mention how much he runs?

We got a 10″ Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan. For an apartment-dwelling gal, this cures my need to grill. My favorite thing to make on it is blue cheese turkey burgers. My second favorite thing is any vegetable I can throw on there. Perfect little grill marks are so satifying.

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed (it’s like 30 or so peapods)

1 zucchini, cut into angled rounds

goat cheese

~10 basil leaves, cut into ribbons

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

sea salt, course ground pepper

Place washed and trimmed snap peas in a bowl. Grill up zucchini, then, when cool enough to touch, cut into strips (about the same length/size as the peas). Add to bowl. Crumble desired amount of goat cheese over. Add basil, salt and pepper. Drizzle over oil and vinegar. The goat cheese will melt on the veggies. (Made 2 servings.)

Strawberry Limeade

My husband is the drink mixologist in our house. He’s in charge of  making tea (hot and iced), espresso, espresso milk (nectar of the gods), sangria, lemonade….

We got home from the beach and he was itching to make lemonade. But oh, the strawberries. And the  limes. That was the ah-ha moment: let’s put them all in. It tastes like a melted popsicle.

Juice of 3 lemons and 2 limes

1 pint strawberries

1 cup sugar

4 cups water

In a pot on the stove, make a simple syrup with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil until sugar is dissolved, then let it cool. In a pitcher (if you’re using immersion blender) or in a real blender if you have one, add juice of lemons and limes,  simple syrup and strawberries. Blend until smooth. Add remaining water (or sparkling water) to taste. You might want more or less depending on how thick you like your lemonade. (We garnished with cherries for the pic, but there’s no cherries in here! Haha. I wonder if my husband is up for making cherry lemonade…..??)

A different want to cook these guys rather than slice them on top of a salad.  orginaly from 

http://www.cookinglight.com/

• 2  bunches radishes (about 1 pound), preferably icicle, tops trimmed to 1 inch above roots
• 3  tablespoons  unsalted butter
• 2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the radishes in a large skillet and add just enough cold water to cover, about 2 1/2 cups.
2. Add the butter, sugar, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the radishes are tender when pricked with a paring knife and the liquid has reduced to a glaze, about 12 minutes. If the radishes are tender but the liquid has not  reduced sufficiently, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a serving dish and continue reducing the liquid. Spoon it over the radishes and serve with buttered crusty bread.

This is a great one for a few of the veggies we got this week.  Use white balsamic vinegar to msintian color of veggies.  Orginaly found over at http://www.cookinglight.com/

• 3  tablespoons  white balsamic vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  chopped shallots
• 1  pound  baby carrots with tops
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 12  fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1  (6-ounce) bag radishes, halved (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 2  cups  (2-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh chives 

1. Preheat oven to 500°.
2. Combine vinegar and shallots in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Trim green tops from carrots; discard tops. Combine carrots and the next 5 ingredients (through radishes) in the bottom of a roasting pan, tossing gently to combine.
4. Bake at 500° for 20 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove pan from the oven; add shallot mixture and asparagus, tossing to combine.
6. Return pan to oven; bake 5 minutes.
7. Stir in parsley and chives.

Submitted by Sandi Peaslee
There are two kinds of potato salad – the Italian version uses an olive oil based dressing plus the potatoes and a choice of vegetable additions, like green beans, Greek olives, etc, while the American version uses mayonnaise plus potatoes, celery, chives and vinegar. I tend to like the creamy mayo version but I also like to add the Italian veggies.

3-4 medium sized potatoes, if red, leave skin on
1 Tbsp. kosher salt and 1 Tbsp. raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar for the cooking water
Boil the potatoes about 23 minutes, then drain, allow to cool until they can be handled, cut them up and toss with the dressing.

Dressing:
Whisk well:
3 Tbsp. organic mayo (soy or canola based)
1 Tbsp. raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
Lotsa freshly ground black pepper

Add-In’s:
3-4 good sized radishes, sliced
2 Tbsp. capers
6 Greek olives, pitted and halved
¼ cup snipped chives.
Toss all together and serve at room temperature. Should serve about four people.