The Purloined Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound parsnips
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Scrape or peel the parsnips then cut them into sticks about the size of your little finger. Dry well with paper toweling.

In a heavy 10-inch skillet, melt the butter; then add the parsnips, shaking to coat. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover tightly and saute on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. The parsnips should be tender and gooey, and slightly carmelized. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe Source: 500 Treasured Country Recipes by Martha Storey & Friends (Storey Books)

parsnips, side dishes

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

appetizers, cilantro, okra, peppers

From CSA member Barbara Schneider

Blend together until smooth:

3 roasted poblano peppers,  outer skin and seeds removed

1 clove garlic

1 cup chicken broth

3/4  to 1 cup milk (can substitute almond or other milk alternative)

2 T flour (wheat or rice)

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in saucepan, pour in blended pepper mix and heat to simmer.  Stir as it simmers until the sauce thickens.  Stir in up to 4 oz of cream cheese and up to 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (cheese is optional).  Season with salt as desired.  This sauce is good on fish, chicken, potatoes, anything!

chiles, garlic, peppers, sauces

Adapted from http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2004/04/chocolate_zucchini_cake.php

- 240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 180 grams (1 scant cup) light brown sugar (I use unrefined cane sugar)
- 115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, or 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or 2 tablespoons strong cooled coffee — this is just to deepen the chocolate flavor, you won’t taste it in the finished product
- 3 large eggs
- 350 grams (2 cups) unpeeled grated zucchini, from about 1 1/2 medium zucchini
- 160 grams (1 cup) good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
- Confectioner’s sugar (optional)

Serves 12.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 25-cm (10-inch) round springform pan or a 22-cm (8 1/2-inch) square pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer (or by hand in a large mixing bowl), beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla, coffee, and eggs, mixing well between each addition.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, chocolate chips, and about a third of the flour mixture, making sure the zucchini strands are well coated and not clumping too much.

Add the rest of the flour mixture into the egg batter. Mix until just combined; the batter will be thick.

Fold the zucchini mixture into the batter, and blend with a spatula without overmixing. Pour into the prepared cake pan, and level the surface.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer onto a rack to cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the pan to loosen, and unclasp the sides of the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar or a chocolate glaze if desired.

desserts, squash - summer

From CSA member – Janice Gruneberg

3 medium tomatoes cut into fourths
5 medium chopped tomatillos, cut in half (remove paper skins)
1 large onions, cut into 1-inch-thick wedges
4 cloved chopped garlic
1 bunch cilantro
2 dried hot chile peppers
other hot peppers you have in season
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp table salt

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a large nonstick baking pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the tomatoes, tomatillos, fresh hot peppers and onion in a large bowl; spray with olive-oil nonstick spray. Spread the vegetables in the baking pan. Roast until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the vegetables cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the vegetables, in batches, to a food processor. Add the garlic, cilantro, chile pepper, vinegar, and salt; pulse until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl and cool.

chiles, cilantro, garlic, onions, sauces, tomatillos, tomatoes

From www.101cookbooks.com

A compelling combination of a short list of ingredients that don’t sound particularly exciting on the page, but come together into something more than the sum of their parts. Shaved fennel, thin zucchini coins, arugula, dill, nuts, and feta are tossed with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. That’s it, really. Dead simple. I use a mandoline to make feathery whispers of fennel, but if a knife is what you’ve got, that’ll work too. The version in my book calls for pine nuts, but I had sliced almonds on hand today, so that’s what I used instead

Serves 4 to 6

Prep time: 10 min

If you’re using a knife to prep here, do your best to slice things very, very thinly – not quite see through thin, but close

1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and shaved paper-thin
2/3 cup / .5oz/ 15g loosely chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup / 80ml fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
1/3 cup / 80ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
fine grain sea salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls arugula
Honey, if needed
1/2 cup / 2 oz/ 60g pine nuts, toasted (I used almonds)
1/3 cup / 2 oz / 60g / feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the zucchini, fennel and dill in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside and marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.

When you are ready to serve the salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. Scoop all of the zucchini and fennel onto the arugula, and pour most of the lemon juice dressing on top of that. Toss gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust with more of the dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt if needed. If the lemons were particularly tart, you may need to counter the pucker-factor by adding a tiny drizzle of honey into the salad at this point. Let your taste buds guide you. Serve topped with pine nuts and feta.

arugula, fennel, salads

Adapted from Justin Melnick, executive chef of Tomasso Trattoria

Serves 6

When beets are on the menu at Tomasso Trattoria, the staff is likely to be eating beet greens. They’re nutritious and delicious, here blanched and sauteed, then topped with a lemon vinaigrette, chopped tomato, and toasted almonds.

• Greens from 2 bunches beets
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 ripe tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted until golden

1. Rinse the greens thoroughly in several changes of water.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the greens. Blanch 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. With your hands, squeeze out the excess liquid. Chop the greens coarsely.

3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When it is hot, add the greens, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes or until the greens are tender but still bright colored.

4. Transfer the greens to a bowl.

5. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour the mixture over the greens and toss well. Add the onion, tomato, and almonds. Toss again. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like. Adapted from Justin Melnick, executive chef of Tomasso Trattoria

beets, garlic, onions, other greens, salads, tomatoes