November 16, 2011 CSA Delivery

Recipe Suggestions from Conne Ward Cameron

click here to see photos of the entire box for this week, from Marcia Killingsworth.

Yay! Rutabagas! The first of the season for us and such nice sized ones. I’m so excited. I think they are my favorite fall vegetable. (Or is that sweet potatoes?) Last year Mary Leone poated this on Riverview’s Facebook page when rutabagas first appeared in our boxes. The websites she listed are a great resource for anyone looking for an interesting recipe from the far north of Michigan.

When I see rutabagas I think of a favorite "U.P." dish from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, known a "pasty" or "pasties" (pron. "pass-tee"). Kind of a cross between a pot pie and a stromboli, a "meat and potatoes" lover's dish. Very good. Here are a couple of recipes: (good history writeup): http://www.real-restaurant-recipes.com/pasty-recipe.html ; (good step-by-step pics): http://www.upper-peninsula-now.com/pasty-recipe.html ; (recipe variations & history): http://www.hu.mtu.edu/vup/pasty/recipes.htm.

Honestly though, I am not going to turn my rutabagas into pasties. I’m going to make mashed rutabagas – same method as mashed potatoes. Or maybe just boiled rutabagas with plenty of butter, salt and pepper. Yum.

And the box had broccoli! And cauliflower! And garlic again!

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It’s going to turn cold soon – how about a cauliflower soup? (Don’t forget – the leaves from your broccoli and cauliflower are all friendly members of the cabbage family. Don’t discard them! They’re just begging to be eaten. )

Just last month Bon Appetit offered this recipe for cauliflower soup with rye crostini. I’ve been on a rye-bread-baking binge, so this one appeals to me a lot right now. And what an elegant start for Thanksgiving dinner it would be. Everything can be done ahead of time and then heated and assembled when ready to serve.

I checked online and Bon Appetit’s first mention of chive oil was in 1998. Still a delicious idea.

Cauliflower Soup with Chive Oil and Rye Crostini

Chive oil and crostini:
2 1-ounce bunches chives
Kosher salt
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
8 thin slices cut from Finnish rye bread (for crostini) or 4 slices pumpernickel bread, cut into 1/3" cubes (for croutons)
2 sprigs rosemary

Soup:
1 large head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds), leaves discarded
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, divided or olive oil
Kosher salt
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup heavy cream

For chive oil and crostini:
Set a coffee filter in a glass; set aside. Blanch chives for 10 seconds in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water. Transfer to a medium bowl of ice water to cool. Squeeze chives dry; coarsely chop and place in a blender. Add 3/4 cup oil; purée until smooth. Pour through coffee filter; let drain for 3 hours at room temperature, or overnight in refrigerator (do not press on solids).

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush bread slices (or toss bread cubes) with 1 tablespoon olive oil; toss with rosemary sprigs. Transfer to prepared sheet; bake until crisp, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely. Discard rosemary sprigs.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

For soup:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place whole cauliflower head in a large baking dish, rub with 4 tablespoons butter, and season with salt. Add 1/2 cup water to dish. Bake uncovered, tenting with foil if cauliflower begins to brown, until a knife inserted into the core meets no resistance, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove cauliflower from oven; let cool. Coarsely chop and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add cauliflower and 4 cups water. Simmer until cauliflower is very soft, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Working in batches, purée in a blender until very smooth.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.

Return soup to pot and bring to a simmer, adding more water if too thick. Season with salt. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 6 tablespoons butter and cream. Serve warm in shallow bowls. Rest crostini on edge of each bowl or scatter croutons over; drizzle with chive oil.

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Last January, Bon Appetit featured a recipe for Potato and Kale Cakes. I’ve adapted this to use collard greens (and/or the tops of your kohlrabi and your turnip greens). It makes a beautiful entrée and all the parts can be made ahead of time, leaving just the cakes to be sautéed when you’re ready for dinner. Try sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Ought to be just as good.

Potato and Greens Cakes with Rouille

Rouille:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Cakes:
1 1/2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 pound greens, center rib and stem cut from each leaf, leaves coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
print a shopping list for this recipe view wine pairings

For rouille:
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl. Season rouille to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

For cakes:
Cook potatoes in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain; return potatoes to same saucepan. Add milk and butter. Mash potatoes (with peel) until smooth. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 3 cups mashed potatoes to large bowl and cool (reserve remaining potatoes for another use).

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add greens and thyme. Toss until greens wilt, about 5 minutes. Add greens mixture, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg to potatoes; blend. Cool potato mixture 30 minutes.

Shape potato mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into 1/2-inch-thick patties. Arrange on rimmed baking sheet.

DO AHEAD: Can be made up to 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

When ready to serve:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cakes and cook, without moving, until cakes are brown and crispy on bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over. Cook until brown on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to plates. Top each cake with dollop of rouille.

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When the apples start to pile up and you’re thinking about making apple sauce, someone will mention this recipe for apple butter made in a slow cooker. It really works. This version is from “The New Southern Garden Cookbook” by Sheri Castle (The University of North Carolina Press, $35). The bonus is that your house will smell delicious while this is cooking. Sheri notes that you can substitute 2 pounds of sweet potatoes for part of the apples and make apple-sweet potato butter. Interesting.

Do you have one of those $20 apple peelers that sticks the apple on a pronged skewer and slowly rotates it through a peeler and slicer? I thought they were a gimmick until I tried one. Fabulous! Apples, peeled (or not), cored and sliced in 10 seconds. Really.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter
This recipe should make about 8 cups

5 1/2 pounds of a mixture of apples
3 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Core and thinly slice the apples. Peel if desired. Toss them with the sugar, spices and salt. Pack into a large slow cooker. The cooker must be filled at least 2/3rds with raw apples to cook properly. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook until apples are completely broken down, 8 to 12 hours. Remove the lid, increase the heat to high and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour. Stir in vinegar.

Puree apples with an immersion blender (another must have appliance) or in your blender. Ladle the apple butter into prepared, sterilized jars and cover tightly. Will keep, refrigerated, for up to 6 weeks.

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Thinking about Thanksgiving desserts? Here’s gorgeous recipe from chow.com. It’s a bit of work, but so worth it. Make the dough up to 2 days ahead of time, but bake the galette so it will be warm when you serve it. If you don’t have sanding sugar for the sparkly finish, just use granulated sugar instead.

Spiked Apple Galette

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
4 to 7 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large dice
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To assemble:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Water
1 tablespoon coarse sanding sugar
1/4 cup Calvados or other apple brandy

For the crust:
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the egg yolks and 4 tablespoons ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. (Add an additional 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water if necessary, but do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.) Shape into a flat disk, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the filling.

For the filling:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the apples have begun to release their juices, about 4 minutes. Simmer until the apples are tender on the outside but still firm when a knife is inserted into the middle, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a shallow dish to cool for at least 10 minutes. Set the pan with the reserved juices aside for later use.

To assemble:
Once the dough has chilled, place it on a lightly floured surface and, using a floured rolling pin, roll it into a 16-inch circle (about 1/4 inch thick). Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Loosely fold in the edges of the pastry as needed to fit on the baking sheet, transfer to the refrigerator, and chill at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unfold any edges. Spread the cooled apples in the center of the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border.

Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, covering about 1 inch of the apples and pleating the dough every 2 inches as you go.

Dot the apples with the butter, then brush the pastry edge lightly with water and sprinkle with the coarse sanding sugar. Bake the galette until the pastry is golden and the apples are tender, about 40 to 45 minutes.

While the galette is baking, return the frying pan with the apple juices to medium heat and reduce to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the Calvados, and set aside.

Transfer the baked galette to a rack and pour the Calvados mixture over the apples. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

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One more dessert idea – this one is from “Spirit of the Harvest: North American Native Cooking” by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $40).

Feel free to bake these in the oven rather than in the coals of a campfire.

Cherokee Campfire-Baked Apples

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
4 teaspoons dried currants or raisins
1/2 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
4 apples, cored
4 teaspoons unsalted butter

In a small bowl, combine sugar, pecans, currants and spice. Cut four pieces of aluminum foil large enough to wrap apples tightly. Place each apple on a piece of aluminum foil. Drop a teaspoon butter into each apple then divide the sugar mixture evenly between the apples. Wrap tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Baked in the coals of a campfire, the apples should cook top side down for 5 minutes and then bottom side down for 5 minutes.

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that’s it from me. see you over next week’s box.

conne

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