This Week’s Share
Recipes
Seared Swiss Chard
Submitted by Member Mike Battista (by Rachel Ray; www.foodnetwork.com)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion (yellow or red), thinly sliced
10 to 12 cups red chard, trimmed and coarsely chopped
Grated nutmeg, to your taste
Coarse salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar
Make sure your greens are very dry before preparing recipe. You could wash and chop them when you get them home so that way they are ready for you to cook up even quicker. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and toss 2 minutes, then add chard in bunches and keep it moving as it wilts up a bit – you are just searing it up. The greens should remain crisp and crunchy. Wilting them all and searing them up should take no more than 3 to 4 minutes. Season the greens with nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste. Douse the pan with a little vinegar and remove from heat. Toss to cook off vinegar and serve the greens hot.
Pumpkin Recipe
Pumpkin and Sweet Pepper Soup
Adapted from www.pioneerthinking.com
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion (or leek), chopped
2-3 sweet peppers, seeded and diced
4 cups diced Pumpkin, steamed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
3 cups fat free, reduced-sodium chicken or vegetables broth
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (from pumpkin), crushed (for garnish)
1/8 tsp. Spanish paprika, smoked or dulce (sweet), optional, for garnish
Prepare a pot on the stove for steaming the pumpkin. When the pot is ready toss the pumpkin chunks into a steaming basket and then into the pot and cover with a lid. Steam pumpkin for 10 minutes, or until al’dente to just tender. Meanwhile chop the onion/leek and peppers. Heat oil in medium Dutch oven or heavy, large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté onions/leeks until translucent, 4 minutes. Add bell pepper, squash and pinch of salt, stirring to coat with oil. Reduce heat, cover and cook vegetables gently to release juices, 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic and paprika for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add broth, increase heat and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer soup until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Uncover, and let soup cool for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Transfer soup to blender, cover and whirl soup to a velvety puree. Or, using an immersion blender, puree in the pot. Blend in orange juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Romanesco Recipe
Roasted Romanseco and Broccoli
By Francesca Benedetti CSA Coordinator
Note: You could use all broccoli or all romanesco instead of mix if you prefer.
2-3 cups broccoli florets, cut into smaller pieces if needed
2-3 cup romanesco florets, cut into smaller pieces if needed
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
¾ cup hard salty cheese (optional), grated (Parmesan, aged cheddar, Romano, etc)
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Cut off the broccoli and romanesco florets into a large bowl, cutting down any larger ones into bite sized pieces. Drizzle olive oil over florets, tossing to coat while drizzling. Add the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss until combined evenly. Once combined, spread the florets out evening on a large baking sheet making sure there is not too much overlapping. Place in the oven. After 10 minutes take out the baking sheet and mix around the florets until evenly distributed again. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until florets are browned and crispy around the edges and top. During the last 1 to 2 minutes of baking sprinkle with half the cheese and finish baking. Once finished baking remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and enjoy.
Sweet Peppers Recipe
Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes,
Submitted by SE Ankeny Member Donaleen (adapted from the Victory Garden Cookbook by Marion Morash)
Equal amounts of each:
Peppers
Onions
Potatoes (from last week’s share)
Pre-heat oven to 425˚F. In a large glass baking pan thin slice potatoes, peppers and onions to cover the pan no more than 1 inch deep. Lightly coat with olive oil, and salt and pepper well. Bake in a hot oven until vegetables begin to caramelize a little (30-40 minutes). Remove when vegetables are tender and caramelized.
Peperoni Ripieni (a.k.a Peppers Stuffed with Eggplant)
Submitted by Member Becki Marsh (from Cucina Ebracia)
Note: In case you have any eggplant still hanging around the house give this recipe a try. It’s a delicious adaptation of eggplant-stuffed peppers. It is basically a Sephardo’-Italian dolma or a chopped version of eggplant Parmesan slipped inside a pepper.
3 medium eggplants, peeled and diced
Salt
Olive oil, as needed
1 egg
5 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 3 tablespoons pesto)
3 to 4 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs
FreshJy ground black pepper to taste
4 large sweet peppers, halved lengthwise and stems, seeds, and thick ribs removed
½ to 1/3 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
3 to 4 tablespoons water
Sprinkle the diced eggplant with salt, place in a colander, and let stand for about 1 hour to drain off any bitter juices. Rinse and pat dry. Warm 1/4 cup olive oil in a saute pan over low heat. Add the eggplant in batches and saute until tender, about 10 minutes, adding more oil as needed. Transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork, or pulse in a food processor. (A 1-pound eggplant yields about 1 3/4 cups puree.) Add the egg, basil, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the peppers hollow ends up in a baking dish. Stuff the eggplant mixture into the peppers, dividing it evenly. Top each pepper half with a slice of mozzarella. Drizzle a little olive oil into the baking dish and add the water. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake until the peppers are tender and cheese melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes: Although not traditional, the eggplant mixture could be seasoned with a few tablespoons pesto instead of chopped basil. A few tablespoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes could also be added to the filling. To reduce the amount of oil in this dish, the whole eggplants can be baked in an oven pre-heated to 350 or 400 degrees F until tender.I tried this both ways and I must report that the eggplant sauteed in oil tasted a lot better. Let cool, then peel and remove the seeds if they are numerous. Drain the pulp in a colander for 15 minutes, then chop coarsely and proceed with the recipe.