Cooler weather is promised for later in the week which is a good thing since the vegetables are calling for slower cooking, warming dishes and hearty flavors. And by all means cook all your beets at once (boiled or roasted) and use them in salads, sandwiches (with goat cheese and herbs and onions). I’ve included a couple of dishes that call for some of last week’s produce (in combination with this weeks’s) as I was slow to get through my last share, but just adapt to this week’s produce if you don’t have anything leftover. . . .Happy cooking!

Braised Fennel, Sweet Peppers and Onions (over Pasta . . .)
Simple Italian-style Chicken with Peppers and Tomatoes
Rich Parsley Soup (link)
“Everything” Frittata
Roasted Winter Squash with Salsa Verde
Classic Sweet, Buttery Baked Acorn Squash
Caramelized Onions with Collard Greens
Onion and Fennel Soup with Cheesy Toast
Beet and Carrot “Lemonade” Salad
Beet Pesto

Braised Fennel, Sweet Peppers and Onions (over Pasta . . .)

Serves 4-6

SIO member Jessica Roberts also sent me a Deborah Madison recipe for a fennel pasta dish that inspired this version. It takes a little while to cook but is dead simple and versatile. I just had it as is for lunch one day this week.

You can toss this dish with just-cooked pasta and a bit of hot pasta cooking water and some grated Parmesan and a good drizzle of olive oil for a luscious dish. Or you can serve it as a side with most anything or top it with an egg. . ..

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1-2 sweet peppers, trimmed, seeded and sliced
½ large onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons cider vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have except for balsamic which is too sweet)
1 ½ cups water, divided
Salt
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Grated Parmesan
¾ lb pasta (optional)
Good olive oil

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add the onions, fennel and pepper and a pinch or two of salt. Toss well and cook over high heat for 7-10 minutes or so, stirring frequently until the vegetables are browning in places. Add the vinegar and 1 cup water and a bit more salt. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the water is mostly absorbed. Add the remaining ½ cup water and continue cooking until the fennel is tender throughout and all the water has been absorbed/evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning and drizzle with a little good olive oil. See headnote for serving suggestions.

Simple Italian-style Chicken with Peppers and Tomatoes

Such a satisfying and simple dish. A big green salad and/or some crusty bread and you’re set. And if you still have a few tomatoes lying around you’ll be set.

Serves 4-6

3-4 sweet yellow or red peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 chicken, cut into 10 pieces
¾ cup dry white wine
1- 1 ½ lbs tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup halved, pitted, cured black olives (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Preheat the broiler. Roast the peppers, turning until all sides are blackened and blistered. Remove from oven and put in a bowl, covered by a plate to steam. When cool enough to handle, peel and seed and cut into strips.

Heat the oil in large, deep skillet. Add the chicken pieces, working in batches if you need to, and cook, turning to brown all sides. Return all the chicken to the pan (if you had to work in batches) and season generously with salt and pepper, add the garlic and the wine and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Stir in the tomatoes and peppers and simmer, loosely covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the olives, if using, and cook another 5 or so minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through. If the sauce is too thin for your taste (as it sometimes is for mine) remove the chicken pieces and keep covered on a plate and reduce the sauce on high heat for a few minutes. Then put the chicken back in.

Rich Parsley Soup

If you still have parsley leftover (or have lots in your garden—both of which I have/had) this soup would be great. Many thanks to SIO member Jessica Roberts for drawing my attention to this fabulous “CSA” recipe. http://www.savorsa.com/2012/03/keep-it-green-with-this-rich-parsley-soup/

“Everything” Frittata

I know I include these frequently but this last month has been particularly busy and I often make something like this the night before the next share arrives. I did it yesterday with kale, parsley, sweet peppers, scallions, onions and a bit of egg-but it was more veggies than egg for sure. I had some feta to add as well. I added a little Aleppo pepper which gave it a nice underlying, earthy note.

Serves 4 as an entrée 5-6 as a side.

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
½ bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped parsley
1 bunch kale, washed, trimmed and tough stems removed and thinly sliced
2 sweet peppers, washed, seeded and thinly sliced
4-6 eggs (or whatever you have or want to use–see headnote)
Feta or other cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (optional)
Salt

Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan or well-seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick (if it’s heatproof and can go in the oven). Add the onions, scallions and peppers and a few generous pinches of salt and sauté them over med-high heat, stirring often so as not to burn, for about 5 minutes. Add the kale and continue cooking, covered, until the vegetables are tender. You may need to add a splash of water to ensure even cooking and avoid burning.

Set your oven to broil.

Lightly whisk the eggs until they’re just broken up—no need to get them frothy or really well mixed. Add a few more pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper. Pour eggs over the vegetables and tilt the pan to evenly distribute the eggs. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the eggs, if using. Cover and cook on medium heat for a few minutes. When the eggs are beginning to set take the pan off the heat and set under the broiler until the eggs are cooked and slightly puffed and golden.

Let the frittata sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving. It will come out of the pan much more easily that way and is more flavorful. Serve with a slice of good, crusty bread and/or a salad.

Roasted Winter Squash with Salsa Verde

Serves 4

I taught this dish in the very first cooking class I ever taught. I’m very fond of it for that reason and because it’s just a nice combination of warm roasted squash and bright, fresh acidic parsley sauce. If you have parsley leftover from last week you can make the sauce or use another herb of your choice.

Halve an acorn squash and scrape out the seeds and strings. Cut into about 2-inch thick wedges. Sprinkle the cut sides generously with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until tender when pierced with a fork.

When cool enough to handle, scoop flesh out of skin and place in a bowl, generously drizzle with salsa verde (from previous week’s recipe).

Classic Sweet, Buttery Baked Acorn Squash

My mother used to halve acorn squash, salt the insides and then put a generous pat of butter in each halve and a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. She’d bake them, cut side up on a sheet pan at 350/375 degrees until tender and browning around the edges. Serve as is with a spoon!

Collard Greens with Caramelized Onions

Simple and delicious.

Olive oil, butter or bacon fat
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch collards, tough ends removed but leave the rib in, washed
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, optional (or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Caramelize the onions in a wide skillet with a bit of your choice of fat and a few pinches of salt and the cayenne. Stir occasionally and cook for about 15-20 minutes on medium to medium-high heat until very soft and starting to brown.

Meanwhile slice the collard leaves into thin strips and cook in salted, boiling water for 6-8 minutes. You want them to be tender but still bright green with a little texture. Drain well and add to the onions. Mix well and cook for another 5-6 minutes to marry the flavors and soften the greens a bit more. Adjust seasoning to your taste and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of balsamic or sherry vinegar if you’d like.

Onion and Fennel Soup with Cheesy Toast

This is a bit like a simplified French onion soup. The cheesy toast gets a nice kick from the thin layer of mustard, which complements the sweetness of the onions and fennel.

Slice enough onions to make about 3 cups
Slice enough fennel, very thinly (after trimming the bulb) to make 2 1/2 cups
Olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves fresh or dried
5 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 slices good, crusty bread
1-2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
3 ounces Gruyere, Emmental or sharp cheddar

In a large, heavy pot cook onion and fennel in a bit of olive oil along with the thyme  until soft and translucent and getting pale brown. Add the wine to the onions and scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to get up all the brown bits. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes and then add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer and cook gently for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Depending on how salty your stock is you’ll need more or less additional salt and pepper.

Meanwhile toast the bread and spread the toast thinly with mustard and then heavily sprinkle the bread with a grated cheese. Put the bread on a baking sheet and set under the broiler until the edges are crisp and brown and the cheese is bubbling.

Portion the soup into wide, deep plates or bowls and top with a cheesy toast and serve immediately.

Carrot and Beet “Lemonade” Salad

This is a sweet tart salad that is hard to stop eating. Quantities listed are just suggestions. You can use whatever you want/have on hand and skip any one of the three main ingredients.

3 medium carrots, grated on the large holes of a box grater or with grating blade of a food processor.
1-2 medium beets, peeled and grated
1 crunchy apple, peeled and grated
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey (warmed a bit if too stiff to mix easily with the other ingredients)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the grated vegetables in a salad bowl. Be careful when grating the beet as the beet juice will splatter far and wide. I grate the beet in a bowl in the sink to prevent excessive messes. Add all the dressing ingredients and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add some chopped fresh mint or parsley or chives if you’d like.

Beet Pesto

This is a delicious and beautiful variation on regular pesto. And if you have cooked or roasted beets on hand it’s very quick to pull together. You can serve over grains, hardboiled eggs or other egg dishes or roasted veggies or as a spread or dip. I don’t tend to use it over pasta, however, as somehow the even pink coating doesn’t seem quite right to me.

1 1/2 cups cooked, diced beets
Generous handful of walnuts, toasted or raw (or hazelnuts or almonds)
1 small clove garlic
About ¼ -1/3 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
¼ cup good-tasting olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1 teaspoon of cider, white wine or sherry vinegar

Process the cheese and nuts first until finely ground. Then add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning to your liking.

To use with pasta, dilute with ¼ cup of hot pasta-cooking water before tossing with cooked pasta. Top with extra cheese.

The bounty is breathtaking at the moment. The corn more delicious every week and the tomatoes in full swing. I happen to call for Parmesan in more than half the recipes below so pick some up (or another favorite aged, grating cheese, such as Asiago Stella at Pastaworks) this week. And if you don’t use all your corn in the pesto, grill it in its husks until blackened and then enjoy with butter and salt. And the baked kale with tomatoes and potatoes is the first fall-like dish this year so if there is a cooler day this week, make it! Happy cooking.

Roasting Tomatoes (for Freezing)
Leek and Tomato Bread Gratin
Summer Squash and Tomatoes
Kale and Carrot Slaw with Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Potatoes and Kale Baked with Tomatoes and Bacon
Pasta with Sweet Corn Pesto
Eggplant Parmesan
Eggplant or Summer Squash Baba Ganoush

Roasting Tomatoes (for Freezing)

If you’ve purchased extra tomatoes or have a bumper crop in your yard here’s one of my favorite preserving methods. I process about 30-40 lbs of tomatoes in this fashion each year. I use this method for slicers, heirlooms, sauce tomatoes and even cherry tomatoes (which turn out like candy and are much quicker). The heirlooms take longer since they have more moisture but they are delicious. It is a very low stress way of preserving lots of tomatoes if you have the freezer space. Small quantities are easy to make too. There’s no peeling, canning, or chopping. And the results are so tasty. I do small batches in late summer/fall to keep up with my garden.

Cut tomatoes in half (on the “equator”) and place them cut-side up on a sheet pan. Pack as many as you can onto a cookie sheet with sides. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast at 400 degrees about 2-4 hours until they are about half their original size, are still moist but a bit caramelized around the edges. It will depend on the size/kind of tomato how long this takes.

Now if you’re going to use them right away you can chop them or they may just fall apart and then you can use them as a sauce for pasta or rice or most anything. Add fresh basil and a little fresh, minced garlic to offset the sweetness if you’d like. A dash of balsamic vinegar is good too.

If you are going to freeze them, let them cool on the sheet pans and then put the pans in the freezer. When tomatoes are firm remove, pick them off the tray and pack them in freezer bags or containers. Use as needed all winter long, chopped up in sandwiches (grilled cheese is wonderful with them), quesadillas, soups, sauces, finely chopped in a salad dressing, as a soup base, etc.

Leek and Tomato Bread Gratin
–inspired by smittenkitchen.com

You can vary the quantities and ratios here with no problem. More tomatoes will make it a little moister and might take a little longer to cook and more bread will make it denser and more crisp. I used less cheese than the original(s) listed and loved it. You can vary the herbs and increase the quantity if you’d like.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
2 leeks, washed, sliced in half lengthwise and crosswise into ½-inch half rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups cubed, stale bread (not sandwich bread–something with a bit more texture and body), crusts included
2 1/2 – 3 lbs tomatoes, diced
2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sea salt (yes, you’ll want quite a bit)
1/3 cups of basil, thinly sliced (or combination of basil and fresh oregano)
1/2 cup (or more) grated Parmesan or other hard cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish or other similar dish.

Sauté the leeks in 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter. Remove from the pan when softened. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil and toast bread cubes in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, until the bread is toasty.

Add the leeks back in as well as the diced tomatoes, salt and garlic to the skillet with the bread and stir well to incorporate evenly. Cook for about five minutes, stirring often. Take off the heat, stir in the herbs and pour contents into baking dish. Top evenly with Parmesan and bake until bubbly and crisp on top, about 35 minutes.

Summer Squash with Tomatoes, Basil and Lemon

This is a favorite summer squash dish. The addition of the lemon juice is critical. And a fried or poached egg makes this a complete meal for me, one I could eat daily all summer long.

3 medium squash, well washed and cut into thick batons, homemade French-fry sized
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 medium to large tomatoes, roughly chopped
Generous handful of basil leaves, roughly torn
Salt and pepper
½ a lemon

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the onion and squash and cook, pretty much undisturbed for 6-8 minutes over medium to medium-high heat until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, the basil, salt and pepper, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Stir and then partially cover and let simmer for 10 -12 minutes until the squash is very tender. Adjust seasoning and serve with good crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Kale and Carrot Slaw with Toasted Sunflower Seeds

I was to bring coleslaw to a dinner party yet had no time to go to the store for cabbage. I discovered plenty of kale (and sorrel) in my own garden and made this slaw instead. It’s a keeper and is, as are most things, easily adaptable to what you happen to have/like. You can also change the ratio of vegetables to suit your needs.

Serves 4-6

1 small to medium bunch kale, tough stems removed (I leave the ribs in), washed, dried and very thinly sliced
2 cups sorrel (optional), washed, dried and thinly sliced
3 small to medium carrots, scrubbed well and grated on large holes of box grater
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced or 1 small shallot or small piece of onion of any kind, thinly sliced
1 sweet red or green pepper, washed and seeded and thinly sliced (optional–if you still have some leftover from last week this is a good use for it)
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (parsley and/or mint would be good too)

Dressing:

1 large clove garlic, minced and then mashed with a bit of coarse salt on the cutting board with the side of a chefs knife to create a coarse paste (skip this step if you’re in a hurry)
Juice of 1 lime or 1 1/2 tablespoons white, cider or red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 a small jalapeño, minced (deseeded if you want less heat) or a bit of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup or more good olive oil
1/3 – 1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds (about 10 minutes at 350 degrees)

Toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Toss dressing with salad and mix well to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasoning.

This salad holds up well and you can dress it an hour or more before serving. I tend to add the toasted seeds right before serving to preserve their crunch but adding them earlier is fine too.

Potatoes and Kale Baked with Tomatoes and Bacon

This is inspired by a recipe from Roots (by Diane Morgan) but is substantially different. It’s definitely a favorite dish in our household. It takes a while to bake but otherwise it’s very quick to pull together.

This makes quite a bit but it makes a great main dish and is excellent the next day so it’s seems worth making the whole amount but by all means reduce the quantities if you like.

Serves 4-6

About 5 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bit-sized chunks
1 bunch kale, well washed and stems trimmed if they seem tough and then all of it chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices bacon, diced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 ½  – 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the cream. Toss everything together well and transfer to a 8 x 13 or other large-ish baking dish. Pour the cream over everything. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir everything well—this is important to get the kale mixed in well and re-coated with liquid since it may still be a bit chewy. Return to oven, covered and bake another 20 – 30 minutes. If there is quite a bit of liquid in the pan you can remove the foil and bake uncovered to reduce it a bit.

When everything is tender remove from the oven and add the pepper and taste for salt. Serve immediately.

Pasta with Corn Pesto and Basil
–adapted from Bon Appetit

This dish is ridiculously good. It’s sort of height-of-summer comfort food, in a very good way. To make this vegetarian, instead of the bacon you can sauté the corn in butter or olive oil and add 1 teaspoon of pimenton (smoked Spanish Paprika) and then add a few squeezes of lime juice at the very end.

Serves 4, generously

3 slices bacon, diced
3-4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 4-5 large ears)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or aged Asiago or Pecorino cheese
1/4 cup almonds, pine nuts, walnuts or hazelnuts
1/3 cup good olive oil
3/4 lb penne or fettucine or tagliatelle
Reserved pasta cooking water (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup torn basil leaves, divided

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Pour off all but 1-2 tablespoon bacon fat (and reserve for frying potatoes or some such). To the skillet with the bacon fat add corn, garlic, about 1 teaspoon sea salt, red pepper flakes and some black pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups corn kernel mixture to a bowl and reserve. Process almonds until finely ground, add cheese, process again, then scrape remaining corn mixture into processor. With machine running, add olive oil and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot. Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, bacon (if using) and 1/2 cup basil leaves. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer pasta to a serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining basil leaves and serve immediately.

Eggplant Parmesan

Classic and lovely and not as complicated or time consuming as it might seem.

I rarley salt and drain eggplant anymore. It’s an extra step that I don’t find necessary with perfectly fresh eggplant. You can either bake the eggplant or pan-fry it in a bit of oil. I really like both versions and when I’m in a hurry I tend to fry and it is just a bit more delicious this way.

Serves 4

2 medium to large large globe eggplants, sliced into ¼ – 1/3 –inch slices lengthwise or into rounds
Olive oil
Salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups simple tomato sauce (just a little onion and diced tomatoes and olive oil and salt is all you need—cook down until saucy.) Add a little minced garlic and chopped basil.
1 cup (or more) grated Parmesan 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F if you’re going to bake the eggplant.

Arrange the slices on two baking sheets (they may not all fit and you’ll need to do them in batches). Brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake, turning once until tender and starting to brown, about 20-25 minutes total. Turn oven down to 375.

If you’re going to fry them, heat some olive oil in the largest skillet you have and fry in batches, salting each batch, until tender and nicely browned.

Spread just a little tomato sauce on the bottom of an 8 x 13” baking dish (or something similar), cover with a layer of eggplant and spread a thin layer of sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat until you’ve used up all your ingredients, ending with either eggplant and cheese or sauce and cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or so until everything is bubbling and the cheese is browning on top. You can run it under the broiler for a few minutes if you want more color.

Eggplant or Summer Squash Baba Ganoush

Baba ganoush is the smoky eggplant puree that I find terribly addictive. You can also use the same technique and seasonings with zucchini or other summer squash or a combination of eggplant and squash. If you by chance have smoked salt in your pantry use it in this dish.

Serves 6 + (keeps well)

2 medium-sized eggplants or 3 medium to large summer squash
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/8 teaspoon chile powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup of mint or cilantro, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F

Prick each eggplant a few times, then char the outside of the eggplants by placing them directly on the flame of a gas burner and as the skin chars, turn them until the eggplants are uniformly-charred on the outside. (If you don’t have a gas stove, you can char them under the broiler. If not, skip to the next step.) If you are using squash you can skip this step too.

Place the eggplants and/or summer squash on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, until they’re completely soft; you should be able to easily poke a paring knife into them and find no resistance. Remove from oven and let cool a bit.

Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. No need to do this for squash if that’s what you’re using. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth.

Taste, and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Serve drizzled with good olive oil, perhaps some herbs and with crackers, sliced baguette, or toasted pita chips for dipping.

This can be made and refrigerated for up to five days prior to serving.