June 29, 2011 CSA Delivery
Recipe Suggestions from Conne Ward-Cameron

Swiss chard is the newest addition to our box this week. And not just any Swiss chard, but the lovely variety aptly named ‘Rainbow’. Don’t you love the colored stems? I know folks who use this chard in their flower arrangements, and it’s pretty enough that you could grow it for that purpose alone. But I hope you will eat yours because it’s delicious. Just give it a good rinse and roll it up in a kitchen towel or paper towels and refrigerate. It should keep 3 or 4 days at least. Possibly longer, depending on the humidity in your refrigerator. But as always, why go for long storage? Eat it while it’s fresh!

I was introduced to Swiss chard by Julia Child. I’ve forgotten now which cookbook, but she sautéed the stems in butter with shallots, then added the chopped leaves. A little more sautéing and then a cream sauce with Gruyere poured over the top and everything stuck in the oven to brown. At least that’s how I remember the recipe. The key points were to cook the stems first as they need longer to become tender, and of course everything’s better with butter, shallots and cheese. Right?

Here’s a simpler way to combine Swiss chard and cheese. The recipe idea comes from Moore Farm and Friends. A perfect side dish when you’re already cooking on the grill.

Grilled Swiss Chard and Mozzarella Bundles

12 large Swiss chard leaves
1 package fresh mozzarella, sliced into 12 pieces
extra virgin olive oil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water and place it to the side of your stove. Plunge chard, 2 or 3 leaves at a time, into the boiling water and cook until wilted, about 10 seconds. Remove chard from boiling water and immediately immerse it in the ice water. Remove from water and dry with paper or kitchen towels. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Preheat your grill.

Place leaves on working surface. Cut out the thickest part of the stem, no more than halfway up the leaf. Place a slice of mozzarella on each leaf, drizzle it with olive oil, and fold the leaf tightly around the mozzarella, making a bundle. Grill 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until lightly charred. Serve immediately.

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Now to that big bunch of cilantro. I admit, I had some cilantro left over from last week. So, I combined the leaves from both bunches, and made this delicious grilled bread. I actually cooked my bread on a griddle indoors since I wasn’t in the mood to go outside and fight off the mosquitoes last night. Turned out perfectly.

And don’t discard those cilantro stems. We already talked about saving the roots for your next Thai marinade, but the stems should go into a bag in your freezer, ready for the next time you make chicken broth. You do make your own chicken broth don’t you? One pasture-raised chicken in a big pot of lightly salted water … and seasoned with all manner of wonderful things – couldn’t be easier. I save the stems of my cilantro, along with trimmings from lemongrass and ginger. All this goes into a zippered freezer-grade plastic bag until I’m ready to make an Asian-flavored broth. Add some cloves of garlic and simmer everything together. You’ll have fabulous chicken broth and lovely flavored chicken.

I have another bag in the freezer that has the trimmings from all manner of other vegetables. Carrot and potato peelings, the ends of celery ribs, the tips of onions, parsley stems, all stored away until I want to make a pot of vegetable broth. Tomato ends are particularly wonderful for vegetable broth.

But I digress. Here’s the bread recipe as promised. No tricky yeast, the dough goes together quickly and rolls out perfectly. The recipe is from Fine Cooking. Substitute basil for the cilantro if you wish, or combine basil and cilantro. It’s all good.

Grilled Naan Filled with Herbs and Cheese
Makes 10 naan

5 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more as needed
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil, plus more for brushing
1-1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup unsalted cashews or blanched almonds
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup farmer cheese or queso fresco, crumbled (3-1/2 oz.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Whisk the yogurt and egg in a medium bowl, then whisk in 1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water and the oil. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a soft, sticky dough starts to clump around the hook, about 5 minutes. If the dough seems too wet, add more flour, 1 tsp. at a time. Line a baking sheet with parchment and dust lightly with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and arrange them on the baking sheet. Lightly brush the dough with oil.

Combine the cilantro, mint, nuts, garlic, ginger, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Scrape the sides of the bowl, turn the processor back on, and pour the oil through the feed tube, mixing until incorporated. Transfer to a medium bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, roll a dough ball into a 5-inch circle. Spread about 2 tsp. of the filling in the center, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Scatter 1 Tbs. of the crumbled cheese over the filling. Gather the border to form a pouch, pinching it to seal in the filling. Turn the pouch pinched side down and, using very light pressure, roll it into a 6-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue filling and shaping the dough, layering parchment between the breads if you stack them.

Prepare a medium charcoal or gas grill fire. Brush the grill grates with a stiff brush, then wipe with a lightly oiled paper towel. Grill the breads in batches pinched side down, covered, until they look puffy and the undersides brown lightly in places, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and cook the other side, covered, until grill marks form and the breads are cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

See you over next week’s box.

conne

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