Mediterranean Sunchoke Salad

[Printable Recipe]

We got these strange looking tuber things in our Greenling box last week. I had no idea what they were, but after putting the call out on Twitter and sending a distress call to Greenling, I learned that they were sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes).

I found a number of recipes for soups and purees, but I also found out that if the sunchokes are young, you can eat them raw. They don’t have much flavor themselves, so I thought doing a cold salad with lots of strong flavors would be great for these.

I also found out that you don’t really need to peel sunchokes before eating them, which is a good thing because they have a ton of nooks and crannies.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sunchokes, thinly sliced (no need to peel them)
• 3 roasted peppers, chopped
• 1/4 c. kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. capers, finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Combine the sunchokes, peppers, olives, capers and parsley in a bowl. Toss with the vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice and add pepper to taste. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Verdict:
I can’t imagine any case where these flavors wouldn’t be good together, but this was really perfect. The raw sunchokes give the salad a great crunch, and the brininess of the capers and olives adds some depth.

Sunchokes don’t hold up too well after they’re prepared, so this isn’t a salad that you can make too far in advance. Luckily, it comes together in a snap.

Local Box Meal Plan: Oct. 19-23

This week, we’re getting: Corno di Toro sweet peppers, bell peppers, an assortment of herbs, cucumber, Meyer lemon, gala apples, Thai eggplant, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and either baby bok choy or sweet potatoes, depending on your delivery day.

So I’m making:

Lunch:

• Eggplant croquettes in a pita with lettuce, sliced cucumber, and tzatziki

Dinner:

• Roasted turkey breast stuffed with lemon, garlic and herbs
• Grilled shrimp with Romesco sauce (a traditional Spanish sauce made with garlic, chiles, almonds, tomatoes and peppers)

Side Dish:

• Roasted sweet potato with shallots and sage

Dessert:

• Apple confit with vanilla ice cream

Plenty of produce that’s perfect for fall!

Local Box Meal Plan: Sept. 28-Oct. 2

This week, we’re getting okra from Bradshaw Farms, summer squash, onions and red potatoes from Naegelin, bell peppers from My Father’s Farm, elephant garlic, portabello mushrooms from Kitchen Pride, tomatoes from McCall Creek Farm, herb from Pure Luck, pears from Lightsey, lettuce from Bluebonnet Hydroponics and green Meyer lemons from G&S Groves.

So I’m making:

Side Dishes:

• Grilled Portobello and tomato tart with herbs
• Summer squash and potato gratin

Condiments (no idea what else I would call this?):

• Pickled okra — I had the best pickled okra at the Pearl Farmer’s Market this weekend and I was inspired to make my own.

Desserts:

• Pear-ginger sorbet
• Lemon chiffon cake

I’ll use the lettuce and bell peppers to put on my wraps for lunch, and the garlic and onion while making dinner.

Local Box Meal Plan: Sept. 14-18

I’m back! I’ve got loads to share about my trip, but in the meantime, I’ll tide you over with my plan for our Greenling Local Box this week.

This week, we’re getting pickling cucumbers, yellow squash and yellow onion from Naegelin, green Meyer lemons from G&S Groves, green peppers, portabello caps from Kitchen Pride, sweet corn, okra from Bradshaw Farm, herb/basil from Pure Luck, Bibb lettuce from Bella Verdi, tomatoes from McCall Creek Farm, and Texas pears from Lightsey.

I’m making:

Breakfast:

• Omelette with sauteed green peppers and portabellos

Side dishes:

• Grilled sweet corn with herb compound butter

Dinner:

• Creole okra with yellow onion and yellow squash (recipe to come in the Greenling box)
• Grilled sirloin and blue cheese Bibb lettuce salad with cucumbers
• Cold sesame noodle chicken salad with cucumbers

Dessert:

• Meyer lemon granitas with a candied Meyer lemon peel garnish
• Pear and almond tart

Meyer lemons are sweeter than normal lemons, so they’re great to use in desserts. How are you using yours?

Karen’s Green Pasta Sauce

I met Karen Hett from Sun City at a Greenling cooking class held last fall at Green Gate Farms. As conversations among local foodies are wont to do, ours soon turned to the subject of greens: What to do with so many collards, kale, chard, and more? Karen emailed me this recipe, for which she credits lots of sources and plenty of tweaking, a few days later.  I modified it a bit according to the contents of my refrigerator last night, but the results were still tasty – and outrageously nutritious. All told, I used up a bunch of Local Box spinach, one of collards, some green garlic, a handful of cilantro, and about a third of a Meyer lemon.

6 cups packed greens, including chard, basil, parsley, stems removed
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not canned)
1/2 small lemon, sliced thinly
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth, can be made from bouillon cube
chopped olives, green or black
pine nuts
one cup sliced chicken, if desired
1 lb cooked pasta, your choice. This works well with any tube pasta or linguine.

In food processor with the motor running, drop in garlic, onions, lemon; add greens a little at time.

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and olive oil until a paste is formed.

Remove from food processor and place in sauce pan with grated Parmesan. Add
chicken slices if using. Stir until the cheese is melted, adding more broth if
necessary. Taste for seasonings, add salt and red pepper flakes.

Serve over hot pasta of your choice, sprinkling with chopped olives and pine nuts. Pass extra Parmesan.

Lots of Bowl Action – and Some Plates, Too

The Local Box fed us well this weekend, as we stayed home catching up on household chores.

Friday night, we stir-fried last week’s bok choy and a sprinkle of salt in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, adding a sauce of 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 2 tablespoons butter per a simple-but-excellent recipe we found in the Gourmet cookbook. We served it over rice in big bowls and ate it with chopsticks – making a very fast meal feel festive.

Then Saturday, we washed and spun some Local Box spinach to make salads we dressed with last week’s then-green tomato, onion, roasted beets, hard-boiled egg, toasted bread cubes, and a homemade bacon vinaigrette.

For Sunday breakfast, we made a simple omelette filled with queso asadero, then topped it with my husband’s ingenious salsa of avocado, tomato, onion, and a spritz of Meyer lemon juice.

And finally, for dinner as we watched that other bowl last night, we feasted on pasta in an improvised sauce of Meyer lemon juice and zest, rosemary, onion, and red-pepper flakes. Alongside, we had turnips in a delectable glaze, per the recipe here. It was, we agreed, the best turnip preparation we’d ever tasted.

All in all, I’m poised to finish up last week’s Local Box before this one’s arrives. How are you progressing on last week’s Local Box? Anything you’re having trouble using?

Local Box, 01.28.2009

Is there anything prettier than a picture that includes BOTH avocadoes and cilantro??? Yum! Our plans this weekend don’t include the Super Bowl, but they do include a molcajete – my favorite bowl for guacamole-making! I’m happy to see Meyer lemons again, too.  I think I’ll make some lemon squares for Grandma – and maybe some more marmalade, too. The sight of Meyer lemons alongside rosemary inspires me, also, though to what end I’m not yet sure. A pasta dish, perhaps, with a lemon-rosemary sauce? And capers? We’ll see. Those collard greens and this cold weather point to polenta for dinner some night this week, and the spinach is so tender and flavorful that it’ll make excellent salads. I’ll hard-boil some eggs today so I’ll have them on-hand to make spinach salad into a quick, hearty lunch.

What is this week’s Local Box inspiring you to make?

Local Box Lookout, week of 01.26.2009

Here’s what’s to expect in this week’s Local Box:

• baby carrots
• spinach
• cilantro
• collards
• green garlic
• white mushrooms
• yellow onion
• avocados
• Meyer lemons
• turnips
• tomato

Local-Box Lookout, week of 01.05.2009

Here’s the preliminary list for this week’s Local Boxes:

• bibb lettuce
• green onion
• radish
  
• cherry tomatoes
  
• cilantro
  
• Meyer lemons
  
• grapefruit
  
• tangerines
• curly kale
• bag baby lettuce

Local Box 12.03.2008

This might sound crazy: I am so glad to see more Meyer lemons in this week’s Local Box! We’re totally hooked on maramalade, and I think it’s going to make great holiday gifts. It’s quite a lot of fun to make, too, and not hard at all.  What else this week? More avocadoes are always welcome! This morning, my husband sliced some up with a green tomato that had ripened over an omelette for breakfast, and yesterday I ate half of one sliced up with greens and a vinaigrette for a simple lunch salad. I trimmed the kale right away so that it would better fit in my fridge. It will be so tasty roasted as “kale chips” – more on that later. I think I’ll roast up this week’s and last week’s beets tonight to use as sides all week long. And the baby bok choy? That was a surprise that’s got me thinking about stir-fry.

What have you got planned for your Local Box this week?