The Purloined Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 medium Yellow Finn or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 3/4 pound)
• 3 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 medium turnips or 1/2 rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

In a large heavy saucepan, bring the water, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and salt to a boil. Add the onions, gold potatoes, leeks, carrots, parsnips, turnips or rutabaga, celery root, fennel, and garlic. Simmer, half-covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 to 35 minutes. Pepper liberally.

Ladle into bowls and drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining olive oil over each serving.

The soup will keep for up to 4 days, covered, in the refrigerator.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe Source: A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider (Artisan)

carrots, fennel, garlic, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes, soups, turnips

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 3 cups shredded parsnips
• 1 (1-inch long) piece fresh ginger, peeled and shredded
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream or evaporated skim milk
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Snipped fresh chives, optional, for garnish

Preparation:

Bring the carrots, parsnips, ginger and stock to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very tender. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender or food processor. Puree the soup until it is nearly smooth, then pour the puree back into the saucepan.

Add the cream, and bring to a simmer again over medium heat. Stir in the salt, white pepper, and lemon juice. Taste, and adjust the seasonings.

Garnish with chives, if you like. Serve hot, or refrigerate, covered, for several hours and serve chilled

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe Source: Prairie Home Cooking by Judith M. Fertig (Harvard Common Press)

carrots, chives, parsnips

Ingredients:

• 2 medium carrots, peeled
• 5 small parsnips (about 1 pound), peeled
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon minced chives or scallion
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Oil for frying

Preparation:

Grate the carrots and parsnips coarsely. Toss with the flour. Add the eggs, chives, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until evenly moistened.

Heat 1/4 of peanut oil in a saute pan until it is barely smoking. Drop in the batter by tablespoons and flatten. Fry over medium heat until brown on both sides.

Yield: 16 to 18 two-inch pancakes

Recipe Source: Jewish Cooking in America by Joan Nathan (Alfred A. Knopf)

carrots, chives, onions, parsnips

Serves 6

1 pound carrots
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons zest of orange or tangerine

Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Using a vegetable peeler peel the carrots, then continue to peel away until nothing remains. (Or slice on the finest (1 mm.) blade of the food processor.)

Immerse carrots in boiling water for 3 seconds. Drain well.

Toss carrots with lemon juice, oil, sugar, salt, and orange or tangerine zest.

Refrigerate for about 1 hour. (Will keep well for up to 24 hours.)

carrots, Recipes By Ingredient, side dishes, The Recipes

1 c. fresh or frozen green peas
1 med. size carrot, peeled & chopped
1/2 sm. stalk celery
1 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut in sm. cubes (about 1/4 c.)
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. buttermilk
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp. plain low fat yogurt
1 1/2 tsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried basil, crumbled
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. Sugar

In small pan, bring 1 inch of water to boil; add peas and carrots and cook 5 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water; drain. Place in medium bowl; add celery and cheese; toss well to mix.

In small bowl, combine buttermilk, green onions, yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, basil, pepper and sugar. Spoon over salad and toss well. Cover and refrigerate.

basil, carrots, Recipes By Ingredient, salads, The Recipes

Serves 6

2 pounds young, tender carrots, peeled and cut into pieces 2 inches long by 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

Steam carrots until tender but firm, about 10-15 minutes. Place in a mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over carrots while they are still hot. Toss to mix and chill before serving.

basil, carrots, parsley, Recipes By Ingredient, side dishes, The Recipes

From Molly Beverly

Serves 8 to 10

1 ounce dried mushrooms OR 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium beets, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns, crushed
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chopped cabbage

If using dried mushrooms, simmer them in 3 cups water for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Sauté fresh mushrooms in oil until golden. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add beets, carrot and celery, cook 5 minutes. Add 6 cups boiling water, bay leaf, peppercorns, lemon juice or vinegar, and tomato paste and simmer 15 minutes. Drain dried mushrooms from stock and chop them. Add mushroom stock and mushrooms to soup.

Add cabbage and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf.

Taste, add salt and pepper as needed. Cool to let flavors blend. Serve cold or reheat with sour cream.

beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, Recipes By Ingredient, soups, The Recipes

(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison)

Serves 2 – 4.

4 slender leeks, including a little of the pale green, or 1 bunch scallions
6 carrots, yellow and/or orange, 3 to 4 inches long
12 little turnips with their greens
1 bunch radishes-pink, red, or purple, with ½ inch of their stems
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound fava beans, if available, shucked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Slice the leeks crosswise about ¼ inch wide, then rinse them in a bowl of
   water and drain. Cut all but ½ inch of the carrot greens off, peel the carrots, and
   slice them in half lengthwise. Leave ½ inch of the turnip greens attached. Peel
   with a paring knife up to the shoulders. Leave smaller ones whole and cut larger
   ones into halves or quarters. Halve the radishes lengthwise; soak them briefly in
   a bowl of water, then rinse, especially the stems.
2. Bring 6 cups water to a boil and add 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Blanch the carrots, turnips, and radishes for 7 minutes, then scoop out and set aside. Drop the fava beans into the water for 1 minute, and then scoop them out, saving the cooking water, and rinse to cool. Pop them out of their skins.
3. Melt half the butter in a 8 or 10 inch sauté pan. Add the leeks and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, Add ½ cup of the vegetable cooking water, the blanched vegetables, half the herbs, and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender, 10 to 15 minutes, adding water in
   1/3 cup increments so that the pan doesn’t dry out. There should be a little
   sauce.
4. Add the fava beans, remaining butter, and lemon juice Raise the heat and
   swirl the pan back and forth until the butter has melted into the juice. Remove
   from the heat, add the rest of the herbs, season with pepper, and serve. If you’ve
   made the dumplings, add them during the last 5 minutes so that they’ll heat
   through.

carrots, leeks, onions, parsley, radishes, side dishes, turnips

(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison)

Serves 4 as a main dish.

It’s pre-tomato season in June, but the first green beans, tender little carrots, and French Breakfast radishes fit quite nicely with a few handfuls of lettuce, herbs, and fleshy purslane leaves. Tuna packed in oil or smoked fish-salmon, tuna, albacore, which can often be found at farmers’ markets—makes the salad into a meal.

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced into rounds
1/4 cup aged red wine vinegar
1 pound small potatoes, any waxy fleshed variety
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ½ pounds green beans, one variety or several
1 bunch little carrots
several handfuls salad greens or small head lettuces
a handful purslane sprigs or big sunflower sprouts
several herb sprigs, such as chervil, marjoram, lovage, chives
2 garlic cloves
1 can anchovies, packed in olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, drained, or an 8-ounce chunk smoked albacore,
thinly sliced
3 tablespoons smallest capers, rinsed
1 bunch radishes

1. Heat a large pot of water for the vegetables. Toss the onion with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and set in the refrigerator.
2. Wash the potatoes, then put them in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, add 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes, then drain. Cut the stem ends off the beans, along with the tails if they’re tough. If the carrots are small and tender, you don’t need to
   peel them. Leave them whole or halve lengthwise with about an inch of the stems. Wash and dry the lettuces and herbs.
3. Mash the garlic with ½ teaspoon salt and 2 anchovies in a mortar. Whisk in the mustard, the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, and the oil, making a thick,
   emulsified dressing.
4. When the water boils, season well with salt, then add the beans and cook until tender but still a little firm, 4 to 8 minutes, depending on the varieties. Scoop
   them out and put them on a towel to dry briefly, then toss them, while still hot,
   with half of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and heap them in the
   center of the platter. Boil the carrots until tender-firm, 4 to 6 minutes or so, then
   drain and dress lightly.
5. Arrange the lettuces on the platter. Place the tuna at either end, breaking it up slightly. Halve the potatoes and arrange them on the platter. Spoon the
   remaining dressing over the lettuces and potatoes and scatter capers over all,
   along with the onions, drained of their vinegar. Lay the remaining anchovies over
   the potatoes. Tuck in the radishes and carrots; add the purslane and herb sprigs.
   Season everything with pepper. Present the salad arranged. Toss it before serving.

beans, carrots, entrees, garlic, lettuce, lovage, onions, potatoes, radishes, salads

(recipe from the book Local Flavors used with permission of the author, Deborah Madison)

Serves 2 – 4.

Sorrel fares miserably when packaged in plastic clamshells—it just falls apart.

Plus sorrel is something you want to use by the bunch, not just by the leaf, and
the farmers’ market is one place you can often find this tart, lemony herb in
abundance.

Lovage is harder to find, even at the farmers’ market, but ask an herb seller if she has some or would consider growing it. It’s an easy herb to grow, and its bracing, dynamic flavor adds a tot of personality to all kinds of dishes. Together these herbs give this soup a mysterious flavor that’s a little hard to place but definitely exciting. (A small bunch of cilantro would do the same thing, lacking the other herbs.) Made with the lesser amount of liquid, the soup is thick and hearty. Using the full amount makes a more refined soup.

Serve with small croutons crisped in olive oil or with a few tablespoons of cooked rice in each bowl.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 small potatoes, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
3 to 4 cups (6 to 8 ounces) sorrel, stems removed
4 cups chard leaves
1 cup lovage or cilantro leaves, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 to 6 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1/3 cup crème fraîche

1. Warm the butter and oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, potatoes, carrot. sorrel, and chard, along with the water clinging to its leaves. Add two thirds of the
   lovage and sprinkle 1½ teaspoons salt over all. Cover and cook over low heat
   until the greens have collapsed and the potatoes are partially cooked, about 15
   minutes. If the pan seems too dry at any point, add water in small increments so
   that nothing burns.
2. Add the stock or water, bring to a boil, and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Puree or leave the soup with some texture. Stir in the remaining lovage. Taste for salt and season with pepper and lemon juice or vinegar to taste to bring out the flavors. Sometimes several adjustments are necessary to get it right. Stir in the crème fraîche and serve.

carrots, cilantro, lovage, onions, potatoes, sorrel, soups, swiss chard