Recipes for CSA Week 5

Broccoli Parmesan Fritters
–inspired by smittenkitchen.com

These are terribly addictive. They’re perfect with a fried egg on top or just with some Greek (or whole milk yogurt) that you’ve doctored with a little minced garlic, salt and lemon juice and/or some finely chopped parsley.

About 10 2.5-inch fritters

12 oz broccoli (about 4 cups chopped), well washed and cut into small florets and stems cut into small chunks
2 eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (or other grating cheese—sharp cheddar is fine too)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes and several grinds of black pepper
Olive or vegetable oil for frying

Cook the broccoli in a pan with 1/2–inch or so of water for 5-6 minutes until tender but not mushy or steam it. Drain and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile lightly beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Then, add broccoli and, using a potato masher, mash it up a bit. You want to keep the bits recognizable, but small enough (1/4- to 1/2-inch chunks) that you can press a mound of the batter into a fritter in the pan. Once mashed a bit, stir or fold the ingredients together the rest of the way with a spoon. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon or two of oil. Once the oil is hot (you can test it by flicking a droplet of water into it; it should hiss and sputter), scoop a two tablespoon-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan, then flatten it slightly with your spoon or spatula. Repeat with additional batter, leaving a couple inches between each. Once brown underneath, about 2 to 3 minutes, flip each fritter and cook on the other side until equally golden, about another 1 to 2 minutes.

You can keep them warm in a 200 degree oven if you’re not eating them right away. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve with some of the suggestions listed in the head notes, above.

Salsa Verde

This is a versatile, strongly flavored sauce. I often just make it with parsley garlic, lemon juice, oil and salt but the addition of capers, onions and egg make it even better. I use the simpler version over fried or poached eggs over a veggie hash of any kind. It’s wonderful with meat and fish that’s been roasted or grilled. I put it on sandwiches or mix a little into the egg yolks for a twist on deviled eggs or egg salad.

I prefer not to use the food processor for this since you don’t want a very uniform texture but I do sometimes and it’s still very good.

1 1/2 – 2 cups finely chopped parsley (about one medium bunch)
grated zest of 1-2 lemons
1 shallot or chunk of onion, finely diced (optional)
2-3 tablespoons capers, rinsed (optional)
1-2 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 – ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white or red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 hard-boiled egg (optional)
2 anchovy fillets, very finely chopped or smashed (optional)

Combine all the ingredients except the egg, salt, and pepper. Mash the egg yolk until smooth, adding a little of the sauce to thin it. Finely chop the white. Stir the yolk and the white back into the sauce, season with salt and pepper and adjust lemon/vinegar as needed.

Salsa Verde—Suggestions for using it:

• Drizzle generously over roasted veggies (you could roast or grill the broccoli and fennel and serve it with the salsa verde)
• Use as a spread for sandwiches
• Dress hardboiled eggs, canned Oregon Albacore and boiled potatoes
• Use as a dressing for a pasta or rice salad
• Dress white beans with it or stir it into a white bean puree for a delicious spread
• Stir a few tablespoons into a soup when serving.
• Delicious with sautéed shrimp or other seafood or grilled beef

Green Goddess Dressing

This recipe uses spinach and parsley in it. The tarragon is pretty important so pick some up if you can. It is delicious on the beautiful butter lettuce you have this week and add some thinly sliced fennel if you’d like. It’s always delicious on boiled potatoes or fish.

Makes 1 cup dressing (more or less)

¾ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise or more yogurt (preferably Greek)
1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves
Small handful fresh tarragon leaves (about 3 tablespoons)
Small handful fresh basil leaves (optional)
1/3 cup loosely packed parsley
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves (optional)
1 small garlic clove (or 2 garlic scapes)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice plus
grated zest of half a lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fit with a blade attachment. There is no need to chop the spinach or herbs. The food processor will do all the work for you. Do be sure to slice the green onions. Pulse all of the ingredients in the food processor until the begin to combine. Pulse for 5 seconds at a time until all of the greens are minced and well incorporated into the dressing.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper as necessary. Add a touch more olive oil or a bit of water to create a thinner consistency.

If you don’t have a food processor, this recipe will also work in a blender.  I chopped all of my herbs and greens before adding to the blender.  This helps ensure that all of the greens break down evenly.  Combine all ingredients and blend.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add water and olive oil to thin the consistency, if desired.

If you don’t have a food processor or a blender, this recipe can be made by hand… with just a little elbow grease.  Finely chop spinach, herbs, scallions and garlic.  Really mince them fine.  Whisk herbs together with the rest of the ingredients.  Really give it a good stirring with the whisk.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve as a dip of as a salad dressing.

Dressing will last 3 to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Herby Salad with Roasted Beets, Garlic Scapes and Goat Cheese

I love to use herbs practically like vegetables, i.e. in great quantity and parsley is one of my favorite herbs. I grow a huge patch of it and go through it all. This is less of a recipe and more of an idea. Adapt to suite your taste and add whatever else you like. If you don’t have goat cheese you can use feta. Or you can add some chopped hardboiled egg and or some toasted sunflower seeds, walnut or almonds for added heft.

4 cups lettuce, roughly torn
½ cup, more or less, parsley leaves (not chopped)
2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
2 beets roasted, and cut into thin wedges or medium dice**
2 ounces fresh goat cheese
Juice of half a lemon
A bit of grated lemon zest
About 2 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Toss everything but the beets and goat cheese together well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add in the goat cheese and beets and toss very gently.

** To roast beets, scrub well and trim. Put in a baking dish, add a few tablespoons of water, cover tightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool enough to handle then peel and slice and add to salad or use otherwise.

Spinach Notes

Spinach this time of year is so tender and sweet you don’t need to do much to it.

• Cook it briefly and add to scrambled eggs and a some fresh goat’s cheese for the most divine spring breakfast or dinner(!)
• Use it in the Green Goddess Dressing above
• Cook it with butter and then top with good sea salt

Spiced Coconut Spinach
–adapted from 101cookbooks.com

This is a bit of an unusual combination but it’s delicious and quick. This spinach makes a great side. It’s delicious with a poached or fried egg for a light supper. Or you could fill a tortilla with it.

¼ of a medium onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced or mashed with some salt on a cutting board into a paste
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon butter, or olive oil
1/4 teaspoon yellow or brown mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¾ lb spinach, well washed, and chopped
squeeze of lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted (can do this is on a sheet pan in a 300 degree oven in about 7-10 minutes or on the stove top in a dry skillet in a 3-4 minutes.

Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the seeds, cover with a lid, and let them toast a bit—check after about a minute to make sure they’re not burning. Remove the lid, stir in the red pepper flakes and let cook for a minute. Stir in the asparagus if you’re using it, let cook roughly another minute, then stir in the garlic paste and onion and all of the spinach. Keep stirring until the spinach starts collapsing a bit, about a minute. Finish with a bit of fresh lemon juice and the coconut.

Beets and Beet Greens with Garlicky Yogurt

You’ve probably noticed how much I love/use Greek yogurt. Several years ago I started buying it instead of sour cream. I find it so much for versatile and somehow it finds its way onto many of my meals. It’s hard to find full fat organic Greek yogurt. If you know of some please let me know! I buy Greek Gods brand because it’s full fat and at least uses rbgh free milk. It has a bit of pectin in it for thickening that some object too but I’ve come to like it a lot.

This dish is very garlicky. Reduce if you want it milder.

1 bunch of beets, with greens (4-5 medium beets) or whatever you have on hand
3 small cloves of garlic, divided and minced
1 medium shallot or chunk of onion, finely chopped
½ cup of Greek yogurt or plain, full fat yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice plus an extra squeeze or two
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut the greens off the beets, wash well and cut into wide ribbons. You can use most of the stems. I usually just toss the 2-3 inches closest to the beat root. Scrub the beets well and cut into wedges. Put the beets in a small pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook covered for about 15-20 minutes until beets are tender when pierced with a fork. Alternatively you can roast them (better flavor but takes longer). Drain well and toss with a little lemon juice and salt. Meanwhile sauté the onions or shallots in a little olive oil over medium high heat until soft. Add beet greens and a little olive oil if necessary and one clove of garlic, minced, and a few pinches of salt. It will only take about 3-5 minutes for the greens/stems to be tender. In a small bowl mix the yogurt with the remaining garlic, a pinch or two of salt and the teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix the beet wedges with the greens and heat thoroughly and then serve with a generous dollop of the yogurt.

Braised Greens Bruschetta

Again, this just a quick technique and will be so good with your beautiful kale this week.

1 bunch kale, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
Olive oil
Slices of good, crusty bread
Another clove or two of garlic

Sauté the kale in tablespoon or so of olive oil over high heat for a minute or two. Add the garlic. Mix well and sauté another minute. The moisture left on the kale should prevent anything from burning as this point. Then add a couple of splashes of water and several pinches of salt and turn the heat down and cover the pan. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the greens are tender. This will take about 7-10 minutes. Add water to prevent it from drying out. You want the kale to be tender and juicy, not at all dry. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Toast or grill slices of bread. Rub hot, toasted bread with the end of a peeled clove of garlic. Place bread on a plate, cover generously with the greens and then drizzle generously with good olive oil. Don’t skimp and use the best oil you have.

Serve with a fried egg on the side as a light dinner.