Roast your butternut squash cut side down in a 400-degree oven (after cutting in half and scraping out seeds) until tender but not mushy and then have it on hand to use in the dish with harissa and feta or add it to the sugarloaf salad, or serve it as a side with olive oil and salt or turn it into a simple soup with some coconut milk and ginger.
The gorgeous, big kohlrabi will make crunchy snacks, latkes and slaws (see below) or be good added to soups or stir-fries or simply roasted until nice and brown with olive oil and salt.
Oven Braised Cabbage with Apple Cider
Kohlrabi Latkes
Kohlrabi and Cabbage Slaw
Winter Squash Salad with Feta, Harissa and Toasted Nuts
Roast Chicken with Grilled Sugarloaf and Potatoes
Sugarloaf (and Radicchio?) Salad
Fancy Braised Greens
Oven Braised Cabbage with Apple Cider
This is a simple and delicious way to work your way through a lot of cabbage. I can eat a quarter of a good-sized cabbage in one sitting prepared this way but by all means scale this down to suit your appetites/needs.
Serves 4-6
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1 small red cabbage
Salt
Olive oil
1/3 cup dry white or red wine (I tend to use red wine with red cabbage and white with white but anything you have will be fine)
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon sherry or balsamic vinegar
Remove the outer most leaves of the cabbage if ratty. Cut the cabbage in quarters and remove most of the core, leaving enough so that when you now cut the cabbage into wedges about 2 inches wide, so the wedges stay together. Place the wedges snugly next to each other in an 8 x 13″ or comparable baking dish.
Generously sprinkle the cabbage wedges with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Pour in the wine and cider. Bake the cabbage for about 45 minutes until nicely browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the sherry or balsamic vinegar. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes and then serve hot or warm.
Kohlrabi Latkes
If you happen to have fresh or bottled horseradish, finely grate a bit into some whole milk Greek yogurt and top the latkes with this spicy cream but to spicy Sriracha mayo, ketchup (my son does this) or sour cream are all good.
Serves 4 (makes about 14-16 latkes)
2 small-medium potatoes, scrubbed (I never bother to peel), grated on large holes of a box grater or with the grating blade of a food processor
About 4-5 cups grated kohlrabi (on large holes of a box grater or the grating blade on a food processor)
1/2 small onion, minced
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt (may need more)
1/3 cup flour
Oil for frying (olive, sunflower, canola, etc.)
Topping (optional–see headnote):
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish (or prepared)
A few pinches of salt
In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the salt and flour until smooth. Add the onion and grated vegetables and stir well to combine. You can let the mixture sit for up to two hours on the counter before frying (or refrigerate for longer).
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Add spoonfuls of the mixture to the hot pan and turn the heat down to medium-high. Fry until the edges are browning. Flip and brown the other side–a few minutes on each side. Keep a plate warm in a 250-degree oven and keep the fried ones in the oven until you’ve fried them all.
In a small bowl mix the yogurt with horseradish and salt, if using (see headnote).
Top latkes with cream and serve.
Kohlrabi and Cabbage Slaw
It will be beautiful to mix the red cabbage and kohlrabi in a simple slaw.
Grate as much kohlrabi as you want to use on the large holes of a box grater or cut into matchsticks. Thinly slice as much red cabbage as you want to use. Make a dressing of minced garlic, Greek yogurt, a splash of good olive oil, fresh lemon or lime juice or cider vinegar and plenty of chopped cilantro or parsley or mint and salt and pepper. It’s such a refreshing, quick slaw-like salad. This is excellent with fish tacos.
Winter Squash Salad with Feta, Harissa and Toasted Nuts
So good and so pretty.
Serves 4
4 cups roasted squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 ounces feta, crumbled
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced or 1 -2 tablespoons red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cilantro, parsley or mint
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, chopped or toasted pumpkin seeds
2 -3 teaspoons harissa (here I used a fairly loose and not very spicy one. The store bought ones are usually much spicier so adjust to suite your taste)
1 tablespoon red wine or cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut your squash in half, scrape out the seeds and strings and put it cut side down on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Bake until the squash is tender but not mushy, when pierced with a knife. Baking time will vary widely based on the type/size of squash. Remove from oven, let cool and then peel and proceed with the recipe.
Spread nuts on a baking sheet and bake (at 350 degrees) for about 10 minutes until toasty smelling and a shade darker. If you’re using pumpkin seeds toast them in a dry skillet, stirring often, for 7-10 minutes until browned and puffed.
If you’re using store bought harissa it will likely be quite thick. Mix it in a small bowl with the vinegar and olive oil. (If you’re using homemade harissa and it’s saucier, you can drizzle it over the squash as in the above photo.)
Put the squash in a serving dish and toss with the harissa, vinegar, oil and salt. Gently stir in the feta, nuts, herbs and scallions. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Roast Chicken with Grilled Sugarloaf and Potatoes
–adapted from racheleats.com
The chicory sweetens and intensifies when grilled or broiled and is a delicious foil for the juices and tender meat of a roast chicken.
I’m sure those of you who eat chicken have a favorite, tried-and-true chicken roasting technique, however, if you don’t or just want a new, good, foolproof one, here you go. The butter and the 20-min “rest” in the oven with the door cracked are probably the two things that make this chicken memorable.
3/4 of a large Sugarloaf chicory (Pan di Zucchero) or Escarole, cut into thick wedges
3 – 4 lb chicken at room temperature
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large lemon
4 medium potatoes or 8 or so fingerling, well scrubbed and cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into wedges (the size doesn’t much matter as they’ll fall a part in the roasting)
Set the oven to 350 F.
Wash the chicken both inside and out with cold water and pat the chicken absolutely dry. If you don’t get it really dry it will be very difficult to rub on the butter.
Put the chicken in a roasting pan that will accommodate it with room to spare for the potatoes and onions. Spread the butter with your hands all over the bird and then season it generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Wash, dry and then soften the lemon by rolling it back and forth across the kitchen counter while applying pressure with your palm. Prick the lemon a dozen or more times with a cocktail stick or trussing needle or some other sharp object.
Put the lemon in the chicken cavity and then close the opening with two cocktail sticks. Scatter the potatoes and onions around the chicken and salt them generously.
Turn the chicken breast side down in the roasting pan and place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes turn the chicken breast side up. Do not baste.
Turn the oven up to 400 F and continue roasting the chicken for another 45 minutes. Turn the oven off, leaving the door ajar and let the chicken rest in the cooling oven for another 20 minutes.
While the chicken is resting grill or sear, in a heavy skillet, the Sugarloaf chicory or escarole in large wedges, brushed lightly with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, until browning around the edges and tender. This will just take a few minutes.
Roughly chop the chicory and serve with the chicken and vegetables and drizzle any pan juices over the greens. If there isn’t enough juice drizzle with good olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Sugarloaf (and Radicchio?) Salad
I made this salad with sugarloaf and radicchio from previous shares—both keep so well! Adapt as you see fit with different (or no) cheese, different seeds or nuts, herbs, etc. You could also add some roasted, diced butternut squash to this salad to make it even more robust.
Serves 4
7-8 cups sugarloaf (and radicchio if you have some left), chopped or sliced fairly small
2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion 0r 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1-2 ounces sharp cheddar, crumbled or cut into small dice (optional, see headnote)
½ teaspoons sage, fresh or dried, finely chopped or crumbled
¼ teaspoon thyme, fresh or dried, finely chopped or crumbled
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds (10-15 minutes in a 350-degree oven tossed with a little olive oil and salt)
Dressing:
2 teaspoons reduced apply cider syrup or honey
Juice of 1 lemon (or 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced shallot (optional)
1/3 cup good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Put the chicory and onions, cheese, if using, and toasted seeds in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Dress greens with 2/3 of the dressing. Toss well and adjust with more, if needed.
Fancy Braised Greens
You can mix and match most any kind of leafy green including escarole–a great use for a some of your sugarloaf and your field greens. If you have any kind of wine open, use the suggested amount. If you don’t use broth or water mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar. This dish is even better the next day. You can also mix these greens with pasta or cook them down a bit more with borlotti or white beans.
Serves 4-6
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb or more mixed field greens, washed and cut into 1-inch ribbons
2 teaspoons fresh or died thyme
3/4 cup dry wine (see headnote) or water or vegetable broth–if you don’t have wine add 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar to the broth/water
1/3 cup broth or water
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped up a bit, especially if they’re big
Salt and pepper
Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy pot. Add the onions and thyme and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, over medium to medium-high heat until browned. Add the wine or broth/vinegar and stir well and scrape up any bits of caramelized onion. Simmer for a few minutes covered. Add the greens and the additional broth/water and cook covered for about 7 minutes. Add the capers and simmer another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Finish with the remaining olive oil.