CSA Week 2
Happy father's day to the dads of the world! We celebrated by cleaning the apartment (ick) and with a trip to Milk Sugar Love (yum).
Week two of the CSA was initially a bit of a stumper when I picked up the ingredients from the farmer's market. For some reason, I was still expecting spring vegetables and was not prepared to see so much summer produce at the stand. But summer is definitely coming in strong!
Broccoli
Butter lettuce
Tomatoes
Parsley
Garlic Scrapes
Admittedly, I can sense that my husband is getting pretty sick of leafy greens (in spite of, or perhaps because of, my excessive nagging on the subject of their importance to your health). While this was only week two of our CSA adventure, we had been cooking from the farmer's market for a solid month leading up to it. Thus, I knew that I didn't want to make another leafy salad. I proposed countless suggestions that all ended up in the discard pile, everything from lettuce soup (which turns out is forbidden in our apartment) to kale pesto. What I found to be the issue was fear of what we were going to get next week, and the week after, and so on. I didn't want to waste a good tomato recipe so soon when we (hopefully) have many more weeks of tomatoes to look forward to. I quickly learned that playing "Chopped" was fun for a week, but daunting when you thought about all the upcoming weeks that you didn't want to re-make a dish or use the same cooking method again.
But all came together in the end. Inspiration struck the next morning during a run and the final results were delicious. Read on for recipes.
Ingredients:
1 lg or 2 sm heads broccoli
2 T olive oil, divided
2 T butter, diced into small cubes
1 lemon
1/2 c sliced almonds
1 head butter lettuce
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c shaved asiago, parmesan or other salty cheese (we used a combination)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Chop broccoli into small florets. Large dice the broccoli stalk. On a baking sheet (I first line with foil or parchment for easier cleanup), toss with 1 T olive oil and cubed butter. Zest the lemon and add to broccoli. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast 15 minutes or until beginning to brown. Stir in almonds and return to oven, roasting for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, juice the zested lemon and set aside. Remove leaves from head of lettuce and clean in cold water. Drain.
5. Once broccoli has cooled, add to bowl and stir in beans and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Place lettuce leaves on plate and fill each with 2-3 T of filling. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and reserved lemon juice just before serving.
You can alternatively toss the salad with the olive oil and lemon juice and serve family style with the lettuce leaves.
Ingredients:
1 lb halibut fillets (we made 2 1/2-lb fillets, one for each of us)
1 bunch kale, leaves removed from stems and torn into large pieces
2 T olive oil, divided
1 recipe Tomato-Olive Caponata (below)
The cooking method of the fish is really up to you. Feel free to grill, roast, sear, whatever you most prefer. I can't stand the fish smell in my apartment after cooking it on the stovetop, so I opted for roasting in the oven. As a rule of thumb, allot 10 minutes of cooking time for every inch of fish. Our fillets were about 2-inches thick, so we roasted at 375 for about 20 minutes. Just be sure to rub with 1 T oil and season well with salt and pepper before cooking.
For the kale, warm 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kale and season with salt and pepper. Sauté 4-5 minutes, or until kale is just wilted and beginning to brown. Don't let overcook and become soggy!
Serve fish on bed of kale and top with Tomato-Olive Caponata. We served with warm focaccia bread - delish!
Week two of the CSA was initially a bit of a stumper when I picked up the ingredients from the farmer's market. For some reason, I was still expecting spring vegetables and was not prepared to see so much summer produce at the stand. But summer is definitely coming in strong!
Produce for week two included:
KaleBroccoli
Butter lettuce
Tomatoes
Parsley
Garlic Scrapes
Admittedly, I can sense that my husband is getting pretty sick of leafy greens (in spite of, or perhaps because of, my excessive nagging on the subject of their importance to your health). While this was only week two of our CSA adventure, we had been cooking from the farmer's market for a solid month leading up to it. Thus, I knew that I didn't want to make another leafy salad. I proposed countless suggestions that all ended up in the discard pile, everything from lettuce soup (which turns out is forbidden in our apartment) to kale pesto. What I found to be the issue was fear of what we were going to get next week, and the week after, and so on. I didn't want to waste a good tomato recipe so soon when we (hopefully) have many more weeks of tomatoes to look forward to. I quickly learned that playing "Chopped" was fun for a week, but daunting when you thought about all the upcoming weeks that you didn't want to re-make a dish or use the same cooking method again.
But all came together in the end. Inspiration struck the next morning during a run and the final results were delicious. Read on for recipes.
Butter Lettuce Cups with Roasted Broccoli and White Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1 lg or 2 sm heads broccoli
2 T olive oil, divided
2 T butter, diced into small cubes
1 lemon
1/2 c sliced almonds
1 head butter lettuce
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c shaved asiago, parmesan or other salty cheese (we used a combination)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Chop broccoli into small florets. Large dice the broccoli stalk. On a baking sheet (I first line with foil or parchment for easier cleanup), toss with 1 T olive oil and cubed butter. Zest the lemon and add to broccoli. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast 15 minutes or until beginning to brown. Stir in almonds and return to oven, roasting for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, juice the zested lemon and set aside. Remove leaves from head of lettuce and clean in cold water. Drain.
5. Once broccoli has cooled, add to bowl and stir in beans and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Place lettuce leaves on plate and fill each with 2-3 T of filling. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and reserved lemon juice just before serving.
You can alternatively toss the salad with the olive oil and lemon juice and serve family style with the lettuce leaves.
Halibut with Wilted Kale and Tomato-Olive Caponata
Ingredients:
1 lb halibut fillets (we made 2 1/2-lb fillets, one for each of us)
1 bunch kale, leaves removed from stems and torn into large pieces
2 T olive oil, divided
1 recipe Tomato-Olive Caponata (below)
The cooking method of the fish is really up to you. Feel free to grill, roast, sear, whatever you most prefer. I can't stand the fish smell in my apartment after cooking it on the stovetop, so I opted for roasting in the oven. As a rule of thumb, allot 10 minutes of cooking time for every inch of fish. Our fillets were about 2-inches thick, so we roasted at 375 for about 20 minutes. Just be sure to rub with 1 T oil and season well with salt and pepper before cooking.
For the kale, warm 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kale and season with salt and pepper. Sauté 4-5 minutes, or until kale is just wilted and beginning to brown. Don't let overcook and become soggy!
Serve fish on bed of kale and top with Tomato-Olive Caponata. We served with warm focaccia bread - delish!
Tomato-Olive Caponata
(Makes enough for 4 fish fillets)
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 sm bunch garlic scrapes (5 stalks), thinly sliced
4 sm to med tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Lg pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 c white wine
1/2 golden raisins
1/2 c chopped olives (I used a combination of bright green Castelvetrano olives and Kalamata)
1 t sherry vinegar
3-4 stems parsley, leaves finely chopped
1. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic scrapes and cook 2 minutes or until fragrant and starting to soften. Add tomatoes and sauté 2-3 minutes more.
2. Stir in crushed red pepper, wine, raisins and olives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little more wine if the caponata reduces too much. Tomatoes should be soft and caponata should have texture of saucy salsa.
4. Before serving, stir in vinegar and parsley. Readjust seasoning if necessary.
This Caponata is also tasty over grilled eggplant or on toast with ricotta cheese.
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Feel free to use these dishes as a guide and substitute what is available. Have cauliflower or romanesco on-hand? Substitute for the broccoli. Spinach but no kale? Sauté the same way. Make it yours! Just keep your eyes on your furry friends, as the meal smells too good not to enjoy! 😊
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