Here's what I got in my CSA box today:
Veggies:
Carrots, beets, Thai basil, sesame greens*, corn (6), little tomatoes (bonus! Not on the list!), butterscotch melon, eggplant*, Italian frying peppers, tomatillos*, sweet Spanish onions, cauliflower, Italian garlic, many squashes, cucumbers, gold potatoes.
Cheese:
Otter Creek Summer Cheddar, Castle Rock Colby, Butler Farms Camembert
Yum!!
*What do I do with this!?! I've never had Sesame Greens, tomatillos or eggplant before (be quiet, foodies). What's your favorite way to prepare them?
Sent from my iPhone. Please forgive typos, autocorrect, lack of links and possible strange formatting.
I'm still jealous that your CSA does a cheese share. Want cheese!!
ReplyDeleteI've never had sesame greens before but I've drowned in eggplant and tomatillos in the past from my CSA share.
Here's an easy thing to do with eggplant (nifty dip that you can serve with pita or raw veggies):
-----------------------------------------------------
Baba Ganouj
2 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup tahini
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast until eggplant is very soft, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly.
Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into food processor. Add oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl.
-----------------------------------------------------
Another nice idea is ratatouille (basically eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash and peppers) Since you've got most of that in your share this time, it's the perfect time to give that a whirl. There's a recipe here :http://www.redfirefarm.com/recipes/sides.html (look for "Ratatouille Outside the Box")
As for the tomatillos, you can always make a nice fresh tomatillo salsa to put over chicken, fish or pork. Or you could do a nice Mexican pork stew like this one: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Mexican-Pork-Stew-Recipezaar_1
Loverly spread. The only problem with the tomatillos and the greens is you don't have much volume to work with there. Tomatillos make a great salsa verde--husk them, cut them in half and roast them till skin slightly black on an oiled sheet. Put them in a food processor with some onion, lime juice, cilantro, and jalapeno, salt, pepper. WHIR.
ReplyDeleteFor most kind of greens like the sesame, I just saute some garlic in butter and very quickly wilt them in it. But again, what you show there won't go very far when wilted.
Eggplant is great cut into chunks, briefly sauteed, then simmered in a curry sauce like tikka masala. Or, cut disks, lightly salt, let stand till salt draws out some bitter juice, rinse, oil and throw on the grill. Finish with a sprinkle of herbs de provence or whatever.
Have fun!
One of my favorite sites for ideas of what to do with my CSA bounty is Epicurious.com. You can type in whatever ingredient you have and find pages and pages of recipes with other cook's reviews and recommendations.
ReplyDeleteFor instance - I found these two recipes for Eggplant http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eggplant-Bruschette-233960
and
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Broiled-Marinated-Eggplant-105613 (that you could easily grill, rather than broiling.
You could try braising the greens with a little garlic and chicken stock (Epicurious has a Braised Mustard Greens recipe that would be a good jumping off point)
There's also a good recipe for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa that would be good with chips, or over enchiladas or grilled skirt steak.
Enjoy!!
I second the tomatillos for the verde, but since there aren't a ton, I suggest going out and getting some peppers - anaheims, pasillas, some jalepeno, whatever, and roast them with the tomatillos. (400 for 15 mins or so.) Take em out, let them cool, then make pollo verde.
ReplyDeleteMy version is in the crockpot - layer sliced onions, boneless chicken breast, the roasted veggies on top, and a quarter a jar of salsa verde for good measure. Add some lime, garlic, cilantro, whatever you want and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until it shreds easy with a fork.)
This freezes well, tastes great the next day, can be served in taco shells or in a burrito or scooped up with chips or with black beans or rice. Once you get the hang out if it's SUPER fast to dump in the crockpot and the best part is that the dish itself is high in protein and has a ton of veggies but it's low in fat and calories. It's Will's favorite (I make it at least once a week.)