This Week’s Share
- Carrots
- Celeriac
- Escarole
- Kale
- Leeks
- Potatoes
- Rutabaga
- Tatsoi
- Winter squash
Carrots – True to form, carrots are a winter vegetable staple, and because of the recent frost, they’re only getting sweeter.
Celeriac – This is a new addition to this week’s share. Celeriac is a form of celery grown for its root, rather than its stalk. Try it in this week’s recipe for potato, leek and celery root soup. Tip: celeriac root discolors if prepared in advance, unless it’s covered with acidulated water.
Escarole – The tender inside leaves of escarole are good in salads, while the tougher outside leaves stand up well to sautéing with chard, beet greens or kale. They are also tasty when prepared with citrus fruits, apples, and pears. (note: if you want to remove the bitterness, soak the cut leaves in ice water for thirty minutes before using)
Kale – Kale is an ancient member of the cabbage family. It’s a hearty cold weather green whose flavor becomes sweeter with a touch of frost. In addition, it’s an exceptional source of calcium, iron, and vitamin A.
Leeks – This week we’re moving from the King Richard variety to the Tadorna variety. This is a new variety of leek that hasn’t been in the share until this week. They go great in potato leek soup!
Potatoes – Potatoes are considered one of the most completely nourishing foods if eaten with the skins intact. Their rich potassium content is good for those who have eaten too much salt and high sodium foods. This week you’ll be receiving Canela potatoes. Canela has russeted skin and a dry starchy interior that soaks up flavors. It’s a new variety out of Colorado that’s particularly suited to organic production (formerly called AC92009).
Rutabaga – Rutabagas are an excellent late-season root crop. They are bigger and heartier than the common turnip. With a little butter and salt you’ll be able to tame this beast into a tasty treat.
Tatsoi – This little green plant with crisp spoon-shaped leaves and sweet crunchy stalks is delicious in salads, and loves to be sautéed with garlic, ginger, and a splash of soy. Tatsoi is a cold, hearty plant that grows well in the early spring and late fall, and it’s so tolerant of cold temperatures that it can even be grown under the snow!
Winter squash – This week’s variety of winter squash is the Delicata Zeppelin. These tasty little treats are delicious baked with butter and pure Vermont maple syrup. This noble vegetable gets us through the fall and winter each year. The names alone are wonderfully appetizing, such as the Delicata Zeppelin.
Recipes
Potato, Leek, and Celeriac Root Soup
Adapted from Anne Somerville’s “Fields of Greens” cookbook
Yields 8 to 9 cups
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 medium-size celeriac root, about 1 pound
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, about 7 cups
- Salt and white pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium-size leeks, cut in half lengthwise, thinly sliced, and washed, about 3 cups
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons cream
Peel, quarter, and thinly slice the celeriac. Place the potatoes and celeriac in a soup pot with 1 quart stock, 1 teaspoon salt, a few pinches of white pepper, the bay leaf, and the garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes, until the potatoes and celeriac are very soft. Remove the bay leaf, then pass through a food mill or quickly mash with a potato masher. Return the potatoes and celeriac to the pot, cover, and cook over low heat.
While the potatoes and celeriac are cooking, heat the olive oil and butter in a sauté pan and add the leeks, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few pinches of pepper. Sauté over medium heat until the leeks begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes, then cover the pan and lightly steam them for about 10 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, uncovered until the pan is almost dry.
Add the leeks to the potatoes and celeriac along with 1 to 2 cups stock to reach the desired consistency. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream just before serving.
Pizza with Escarole, Roasted Peppers, and Olives
(for those of you who still have saved peppers)
Adapted from Anne Somerville’s “Fields of Greens” cookbook
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ medium-size head of escarole, washed and chopped, about 4 cups
- Salt and pepper
- Splash of sherry vinegar
- 1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled and thickly sliced
- Garlic oil
- Pizza dough (enough to make a 15 inch pizza)
- ½ medium-size red onion, thinly sliced
- 8 Nicoise or Gaeta olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the escarole, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few pinches of pepper. Sauté over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the escarole is wilted, then add a splash of sherry vinegar. Set aside to cool.
Toss the peppers with a little garlic oil and sprinkle with sail and pepper.
Place the rolled out dough on a lightly oiled pizza pan or well-floured wooden peel; brush with the garlic oil. Spread the red onions, then the escarole on top, followed by the peppers and olives.
Bake the pizza, in the pan or on a preheated pizza stone for 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. Remove it from the oven and sprinkle with the parsley.
Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Day Share Preview
We’re giving you an preview to help you plan your Thanksgiving Day meals. The share Thanksgiving week will include onions, shallots, Brussels sprouts, collards, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, 2 pumpkins, and a large hubbard winter squash.
Field Notes
This week we were really fortunate to have a reprieve from the cold rainy weather long enough to get all of our fall garlic planted in the ground and ready to start growing. Yeah. It was really nice to not have to slog through mud and rain to get it finished. We still have a lot of field work to do to prepare the farm for the quickly approaching winter. The tomato trellising needs to come down, the irrigation tape needs to come out of the fields and get stored, pepper plants need their support stakes removed… Still a lot of work to be done and still four more weeks of CSA to go until the official end of the season!