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Polenta and Vegetable Bake
Polenta and Vegetable Bake
[Passed on by one of our Craftsbury members and the original recipe came from Eating Well magazine. Her substitutions are in parenthesis.-esg]
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped (this is my addition)
1 medium eggplant, diced (I used the patty pan squash)
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water (I didn't use any)
1 10-oz bag baby spinach (I used the cress instead)
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I used a few chopped tomatoes instead, that's why I didn't use water)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 14 or 16 oz tube prepared polenta, sliced lengthwise into 6 thin slices
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
1. Preheat oven to 450 and coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add
onion, eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper and cook, stirring
occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to
brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add water (or tomatoes) and spinach (or other
greens); cover and cook until wilted, stirring once, about 3 minutes.
Stir marinara sauce into the vegetables and heat through, 1 to 2
minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.
3. Place polenta slices in a single layer in the prepared baking dish,
trimming to fit. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese, top with the veggie
mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until bubbling and the
cheese is melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes
before serving.
Creamy Braising Greens
Creamy Braising Greens
I made this one up all by myself, so please excuse the not-so-precise measurements. I'm an absolute sucker for creamed spinach, so i serve this along side roasted chicken legs and whipped root vegetables in the fall.
2 T butter
1/4 cup of finely chopped alisa craig onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T flour
3/4 cup (or more) of cream or half n half, room temp or even warmed up (helps prevent lumpiness)
a generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
a generous pinch of salt
Bag of Pete's Braising Mix (of course!), blanched and roughly chopped
Over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic until just soft and fragrant.
Lower the heat! With a whisk, add the flour and cook/stir for 2 minutes. All the while whisking, add the cream, getting out all the lumps before they can cook hard, and continue to whisk and cook over low heat until the cream gets thick, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the seasonings to taste and then stir in the greens. Serves 2 or 3 grown ups.
Ruby Eggs on Patchwork Toast
Ruby Eggs on Patchwork Toast
Forgive the casualness of this particular recipe. I'm a fan of Eggs Florentine, but since you received Ruby Chard this week and no tomatoes, I refined and renamed my favorite brunch food. Enjoy!-elena
2 farm fresh eggs, poached (as easy as cracking them into a pot of boiling water and fishing them out 2 to 3 minutes later)
1/2# of ruby red chard, lightly sauteed with butter and chopped leeks
4 slices of roasted red peppers
4 T of creamy mornay (recipe follows)
2 thick slices of Patchwork Farm bread
Assemble the Ruby Eggs: Divide and pile the wilted Ruby Chard on each slice of bread. Follow with poached eggs and the roasted peppers. Toast or broil lightly in the toaster oven or broiler until just heated through, but the yolk is still runny. Garnish lavishly with mornay and eat with gusto! Perfect with sparkling orange juice or hot black coffee.
Making the Mornay: Melt 2 T of butter. Add 2 T of flour and whisk over medium heat for 2 minutes. Lower heat and slowly pour 2 cups of heated milk (for thinner, lower fat sauce) or cream (for thicker, high fat sauce) while furiously whisking to avoid cooked lumps of goo. Let simmer for a minute or two and then add 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan or swiss cheese or sharp cheddar. I like to add some blue cheese as well for extra tang. Continue to stir and cook until thickened. Store in the fridge for several days and reheat with a few tablespoons of milk.
Alternative to Cream Sauce: I've not tried this yet, but for those of you who are willing and/or not interested in a lot of fat in your diet, i've got a recipe for a reduced orange syrup. Basically it consists of simmering orange juice until a bit viscous, adding some salt and pepper, a bit of oil and fresh herbs. It sounded like it might work on the Ruby Eggs, but then again...maybe not. Let me know if you try it.
HEATHER'S FALL HARVEST PUMPKIN SOUP
HEATHER's FALL HARVEST PUMPKIN SOUP
1 pie pumpkin, about 3 lbs
2 medium or 3 small white turnips
1 or 2 fennel bulbs
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbs olive oil
1 qt chicken or vegetable broth
1 qt water, as needed
Fresh or dried herbs to taste: thyme, sage, parsley, fennel greens
Pinch or red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 350; cut pumpkin in half, place in baking pan cut side down, add 2 inches water. Bake until tender, about an hour. Cool to handle, discard seeds, scoop out flesh and chop up a bit if it's in large pieces. Set aside for now.
Now you could make a nice vegetable stock with the pumpkin shell, and the parings from the onions, fennel, and turnip. Cover with water in a large stock pot and simmer 15 minutes. While this cooks, you can chop and sauté the vegetables.
Dice the turnip, fennel bulb, and onion. Mince the garlic.
Heat olive oil in large soup pot, add onion, sauté 5 minutes; add the rest of the vegetables and sauté until fragrant and slightly browning. Add the salt, pepper, and seasonings. Stir around a couple of minutes, and then add in the pumpkin. Set a mesh strainer over the pot and very carefully pour in the vegetable stock. Simmer about 30 minutes, adding more stock or water as needed.
This can be a thick chunky soup or a velvety smooth puree, so add as much broth or more water as needed to make the desired consistency. A splash of cider is also lovely. Puree if you wish.
Garnish with fresh snipped parsley/fennel greens and/or some roasted pumpkin seeds.
POLENTA & GREENS
POLENTA & GREENS
2 bunches cooking greens
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
Dash red pepper flakes
2 carrots, halved and sliced (optional)
Italian seasoning herbs (optional)
Sliced shitake mushrooms (optional)
1 c grated cheese, provolone, cheddar, fontina, even feta, as you like
Wash and chop the greens. Sauté onion, garlic, and carrots and/or mushrooms in olive oil. Season with salt, pepper & red pepper and Italian herbs. Cook until browning and fragrant. Gradually add the greens, stir frying until all are incorporated and just wilted.
1 c polenta (coarse cornmeal)
3 c water
1 tsp salt
Boil water & whisk in polenta & salt. Turn down very low, watch out for sputters. Cook until thick, stirring often.
Brush a baking dish with olive oil. Pour in about 2/3 of polenta, spoon in the greens, top with remaining polenta & cheese. Take a butter knife and swirl through the top layers a bit. Bake @ 350 until bubbly and slightly browned, about 30 minutes.
A couple notes on this recipe. It is easily doubled, which makes a generous 10 x 14 pyrex baking dish. The polenta is easier to work with if it is poured right when it thickens. If you wait it will set up into a more solid form. Prep the vegetables and have all ingredients ready before you cook the polenta, so it will be ready at the right time, as the greens take just a few minutes.
CORNBREAD
CORNBREAD
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/4 c oil
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
Preheat oven 400. If you have a 9 or 10 cast-iron skillet, put it in the oven to preheat with a pat of butter in it. Otherwise butter a baking pan and set aside.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, salt & sugar. Whisk in the baking powder. Stir in the cornmeal and flour just to combine. Pour into the pan of choice. Bake 20 minutes, until set and golden.
As for all those Great Big Bunches of Greens coming your way, I have lots of ideas for you. I’ll share a few more over the next few weeks. Remember, they cook down to a much smaller volume!
TOFU AND GREENS
TOFU AND GREENS
1 bunch greens
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 cake tofu, pressed and cubed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Tamari to taste
Wash, remove stems and chop greens. Heat oil in a large skillet; add onion and sauté over low heat until nicely browning. Add garlic and tofu and continue to sauté until tofu browns a bit. Stir in greens in batches until all are incorporated and cook just until they are bright green. Serve with tamari.
THAI SOUP WITH GINGER AND COCONUT
THAI SOUP WITH GINGER AND COCONUT
With chicken, make a stock by simmering the chicken in a large stock pot. Cover with water, and add any vegetable parings as you prepare the vegetables. Remove the chicken after about 30 minutes. Cool and then shred the meat. Strain the broth and set aside 8 cups.
Vegetarian broth can be made from the vegetable parings. For this recipe, use some ginger, lemongrass and garlic to flavor the broth.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 pc lemongrass, diced, or pinch of dry lemongrass powder
2 tsp red Thai curry paste, to taste
2 tsp salt
3 shallots, sliced
6 piece diakon, halved and sliced on a diagonal
2 carrots, halved and sliced on a diagonal
1 c coconut milk
8 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 tbsp fish sauce (or tamari for vegetarian)
1 cake tofu, drained & cubed
or
chicken from one bird
1 # pac choi, cut into shreds
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1 lime cut in wedges
Hot sauce
Combine the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste and salt together in a small bowl to make paste. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add this spice paste and the shallots. Sweat for a few minutes, and then add the coconut milk, daikon and carrots. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, add the broth, fish sauce/tamari, and tofu or chicken. Simmer until vegetables are tender, adding the pac choi at the very end. Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Add hot sauce to taste.
You could serve this with rice or noodles, if you like.
So, as promised, here's another great greens recipe. This is a dish shared with me by Barry at the Buffalo Mt Coop in Hardwick. He was having his lunch while I was shopping. It looked so yummy he gave me a bite. The sweet flavor of the caramelized onions really shines through, and kale is especially good here. I’m sure I’ve changed it some since then, but that's the evolution of cooking!
SWEET POTATO AND GREENS GRATIN
SWEET POTATO AND GREENS GRATIN
2 # SWEET POTATOES
1 BU COLLARDS, CHARD OR KALE
1 ONION
2 CLOVES GARLIC
SALT, RED PEPPER FLAKES, CUMIN OR OLD BAY SEASONING TO TASTE
1/3/ C FLOUR
2 C MILK
1/4 C FRESH GRATED PARMESAN OR OTHER SALTY CHEESE
I think sweet potatoes and collards are an ideal pair. If you manage to have extra sweet potatoes around, scrub & cut into 1/4 slices. Place in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook a few minutes, until barely tender, drain into a colander and set aside.
Combine flour and spices to taste in a little bowl.
Meanwhile, wash, remove middle stem, & chop the collards. Dice an onion and mince a couple garlic cloves. Saute the onion & garlic with olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir in the collards and sprinkle with salt. Saute until just tender & still bright green, a couple minutes.
In a buttered baking dish, layer the sweet potatoes and the collards. First 1/3 sweet potatoes, 1/2 collards, sprinkling the layers with the seasoned flour. Continue layering, ending with the sweet potatoes. Pour over the milk, sprinkle with the cheese. Bake @400 for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden.
Greens with Wild Ginger-Maple Vinaigrette
Greens with Wild Ginger-Maple Vinaigrette
Here's another salad idea. It just seems a shame to do anything else with these gorgeous super tender greens! I found this recipe in The New American Cooking by Joan Nathan. It has a connection to NECI as well; the recipe is one she got from a wild foods dinner they prepared.
1 cup dressing
3 TBSP Peeled, minced wild ginger, or 2 TBSP store bought
pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sherry
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Mince ginger, salt, garlic and shallots in a food processor. Whiz in the rest of the ingredients, except the oils. Set aside for about an hour, then slowly whisk in the oils until emulsified. Check seasoning to your taste.
6 C mixed salad greens
a few thinly sliced mushrooms
thinly sliced half-moons of salad turnip
1 pound roasted beets, carrots, etc
Toss greens with a bit of dressing; use it sparingly so you don't overpower the delicate greens. Top with mushrooms, turnip and beets and a grinding of fresh black pepper
Now for dessert...
Strawberry Clafouti
This French custard tart has an unusual name, but it's a lovely and simple treat. Serve warm or at room temperature with a bit of whipped cream.
Butter a 10 inch baking dish, like a pie plate. Preheat oven to 375
Battter:
3/4 c flour
2/3 c maple sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 c milk
