Mid to End of June - Kohlrabi, Kale Pesto, Garlic Scapes & Quick Collard Greens

Way back when, an instructor on the cuisine of Naples and Campania told me the natives were once called 'mangiafoglie' or leaf eaters for their heavily green diet, and that's what we've become lately, which is fine by me.  I was hoping the farm would dictate our meals, and it basically has.  I wasn't sure initially if the one big bag of produce we get each Friday would take us through until the next, but thus far it has lasted in the fridge until called upon, stretching until it's time for the next week's haul.

This time of Spring into Summer it's mostly about the greens; some tropicana lettuce, a huge head of it with curly ends, collards, spinach, frisee and then some purple kohlrabi bulbs and broccoli to round it out.  Continuing on in the vein that high quality things should be prepared simply, we haven't changed them much for eating purposes.

Kohlrabi was totally new to me; it comes in green and purple varieties, sweet and crunchy, good raw or cooked so that it browns and gets firm but tender like a rutabaga.  Alls you got to do is take a bulb of it, peel off the tougher outer skin, clip off the root and stalk ends, cut into 1 inch cubes or sticks and saute over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 10 minutes or so, tossing only occasionally so that it gets nicely browned and its sweetness punctuated.

 If you want, add 1 lb. of spinach and wilt it quickly in the pan with the kohlrabi.  Another option is to garnish with toasted homemade breadcrumbs to add some texture.  Take 3-4 slices of crusty bread like baguette or ciabatta and grind them up in a food processor to the level of coarseness you desire.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, and when hot at the breadcrumbs and some seasoning such as fresh or dried herbs, chopped nuts, garlic, grated cheese.  Toss frequently to coat all the bread in the oil and to toast it evenly, about 5 minutes, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve atop the vegetables.  

We ate that as a side with some chicken thighs that we simply seasoned and roasted in the oven and topped with refreshing kale pesto.  For the chicken, 2 lbs. or so of boneless skinless thighs, just generous salt and pepper, then baked for 30 minutes at 425 F (or grill, but we ran out of propane and it was too late to go get a new tank).

For the pesto, take a bunch of curly or toscano or other type of kale, or a mixture, removing just the lower part of the stalk, and place in a food processor with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, its zest, 1/2 cup grated cheese like parmigiano reggiano, a few pinches of salt and pepper.  Nuts are optional; I forgot to add them and I didn't really miss them.  I usually don't stock pine nuts either, and I find some lightly toasted almonds work really well as an alternative.  Begin processing this while adding a steady stream of good olive oil until you reach the desired consistency (I like mine pretty loose so it coats things well).  Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.   The pesto is really good on a lot of things, like leftover noodles from the recipe below.

Garlic scapes are tender shoots that emanate from certain types of garlic bulb, but unlike a lot of buds, they'll never turn into flowers.  The curly scapes have a much milder garlic flavor than the pungent cloves, and are usually in markets for a very brief stint this time each year.  I wanted to use them in a way so as to keep them the main attraction rather than the base of something bigger, and I thought fresh pasta would be a good medium.

I took 1 bunch of the garlic scapes and cut off the grassy top above the bud, then cut them into 3 inch or so segments.  Into a pan they went with 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil on medium heat.  In 5 minutes they were tender but still had a snap, and were surprisingly sweet.  Meanwhile, I conjured up a recipe of fresh pasta, which I'm sure you can find on this site somewhere.  I chose to make 4 servings worth of fresh egg pasta tagliolini this time, which are thin linguine like noodles, using my Kitchen Aid pasta attachment.

I buy into the school of thought that pasta, especially fresh, has to remain the main attraction, so don't overburden it with too much sauce.  I really just wanted the relatively delicate garlic flavor and maybe an herb to come through.  I was picking off the tops of the dill plant I have at home and figured it could work.  The noodles cooked in about 2 minutes, after which I tossed them into the pan with the garlic scape sauce, adding salty pasta water to coat everything nicely, more olive oil and a handful of the fresh dill, torn roughly.  I garnished with a good amount of black pepper and parmigiano reggiano, though pecorino romano would work well too.  

I am always surprised how good collard greens can be, even with the most basic cooking.  I particularly like how they're thick and even after an hour of braising maintain their integrity.  On a weeknight I didn't want to take the time to make a ham hock broth first and then boil the greens beyond that, so I tried a quicker bacon broth.  I used 1/4 lb. of smoked uncured bacon roughly chopped, which I rendered in a dutch oven on medium low heat until it was slightly browned.  Then I added about 1 liter of hot, not warm, water, a good pinch of hot pepper flakes and the collards, about 8 big leaves worth, with their tough spines removed.  I simmered them on the lowest setting on the stove, covered, for 1 hour.  Afterward I doused about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in and seasoned with salt to taste.  I didn't get around to eating them that night, but found that they were really good reheated the next day.

Week 1 of the Sport Hill Farm CSA

Nicole and I decided to invest in a farm this year, support local organic produce via a CSA, or community supported agriculture, so we signed on with Sport Hill Farm in Easton.  For the next 21 weeks we'll eat what the farm provides, although truthfully we'll need to supplement some because one basket a week isn't quite enough produce for our growing family.  But the idea in doing this was to learn to work with what is available seasonally in our land of southwestern Connecticut. We'll try to utilize the vegetables in such a way that we need not mix them up with other produce from, say, California or something.  Seems like it would kind of defeat the point of highlighting local agriculture to adulterate it with too much non local stuff, but I won't make any promises yet.

When we got our first haul Friday afternoon, the stuff looked impeccable.  Verdant, healthy greens without a lot of blemishes or wear and tear that might occur if it was being trucked in from far away.  We knew in advance what we'd be getting, so we had time to think of some dishes to use.  Some of the things were new to us, so we had to take the farm's advice on how to eat them, as well as doing research online.

We had 1 head of oakleaf lettuce, 1 head of red romaine, 1 napa cabbage, 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 1 bunch of spigariello and a bag filled with bok choy.

First up Friday night we tried the dandelion greens and the spigariello.  The latter is in the broccoli family, and has a mild flavor of broccoli with the texture of the little green leaves that sometimes come on broccoli stalks familiar in grocery stores.  We cooked the dandelion greens with some sweet onions in butter to counter their natural bitterness, and then we cooked the spigariello with garlic and some spicy chorizo in olive oil.  Even though dandelion greens are considered bitter, they are pretty mild in flavor, and they become tender easily, though the stalks retain a nice crunch even after 5-10 minutes of cooking.  The spigariello wilts easily but has a nice texture, reminiscent to me of collard greens.

For sauteed dandelion greens, simply cut 1 bunch of them into strips crosswise while you heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat in a frying pan.  Slice a medium onion into thin strips and saute in the butter until soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the greens and toss in the pan to coat with the butter and wilt.  Season with some salt and add about a quarter cup of water or stock to the pan to help steam them, then cover and let cook for about five minutes.  Season to taste with salt and serve.

For the spigariello, take the leaves and cut the stalks out because they can be tough.  Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat and when shimmering add 2 links of chorizo sliced into half inch rounds.  Cook, tossing occasionally, until the chorizo is browned and has exuded some of its fat.  If there's too much fat in the pan, drain some off.  Add 1 clove of thinly sliced garlic and let cook for one minute, then add the spigariello and toss to allow it to begin wilting.  After a couple minutes add about a quarter cup of water or stock and cover, allowing it to steam for five minutes or so to get tender.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Saturday we had company for wood fired pizza, and we used the two lettuces, oakleaf and red romaine, in the best way I know how; simply tossed with good olive oil and sea salt.  The oakleaf is like bib lettuce, very tender and buttery, but a little more curly and I think even better.  The romaine has a familiar texture, and dressed with just a little bit of fresh tasting olive oil allows you to really enjoy them as simple as they are.

The napa cabbage was a no brainer for us, coleslaw all the way.  It's more leafy than the firm cabbage most often used for the summery side dish, but it works.  We used Sport Hill's own recipe for slaw dressing and doctored it up a bit.  Take 1 head of  napa cabbage and shred it or cut it into thin slices.  In a mason jar place 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon celery seed, 1-2 tablespoons good brown mustard, 1 teaspoon raw agave nectar and a few pinches of salt.  Shake to combine, then toss the cabbage with it.  Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve.

Finally, we had the bok choy, and it was Monday.  Only Monday...we'd need to go 3 days without more Sport Hill produce until the next bounty, oh well.  Since we got the basket I was thinking of some won ton wrappers I had in the fridge.  So I decided to do pot stickers, or Chinese steamed dumplings with pork and bok choy in them.  It was a bit ambitious on a Monday night after work with the two boys needing dinner and baths and play time, etc., but we made it work.

The cooked bok choy was chopped and mixed with ground pork and seasonings like scallion and ginger, then wrapped up and steamed/sauteed.  Not quite as good as tasty as Chinese takeout let's say, but it definitely had a fresher appeal.

To prepare the pot stickers, blanch 1 bunch bok choy leaves and stalks for two minutes in boiling water, then shock in an ice bath, drain.  Squeeze and press in the best way you know how to get as much liquid out as possible.  Chop it up into pretty small pieces.

Mix 1 lb. of ground pork in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh ginger, 2 chopped scallions, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and salt to taste.  Mix in the bok choy and then assemble the dumplings by placing tablespoons of the meat mixture on the won ton wrappers, wetting the edges and then sealing them.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat in a frying pan and when shimmering add the dumplings, and let brown for 2 minutes without disturbing.  Then add enough water or stock to a depth of about 1/4 inch, turn the heat down to medium low and cover.  Let them cook for 5 minutes or so, then remove the lid and let the water evaporate.  Serve with soy sauce with a little rice vinegar mixed in.

Week one in the books, looking forward to this Friday to see what's next!

Pasta alla Norma

I often think of Sicily, though I've never been there.  From scenes of Corleone in the Godfathers (scenes I think were actually shot in Savoca on the other side of the island), to books on the burgeoning scene of reactionary wine makers going back to contadino roots, I really want make a trip of it some day.  For now though, I keep reading up and drinking the island's biodynamic wines, allowing me to sip what Sicily might taste and smell like, now or 50 years ago.

Norma's pasta is comprised of elements you'd find from Rome to Tunisia, but in the romantic way Italians like to identify time honored dishes, it's an ode to Bellini's heroine from the opera of the same name.  I won't pretend to know much about that though. I used to think it was called pasta all nonna (grandmother), which would have probably had a nicer back story for me, but maybe some day I'll be more into opera.    

Anyway, something kind of wonderful happens when the strands of pasta, just thinly coated with tomato in my version, dance in your mouth with the bitter/sweet fried eggplant and the bold creaminess of good ricotta salata, or fresh feta, which I used.

My advice would be to get smaller eggplants, Japanese, graffiti, something without too many seeds.  And, for me at least, good ricotta salata can be hard to come by around the shire...the brands I often find are chalky and dry, not akin to my fond recollections of what it should be, which is a little moist and not too crumbly.  So I opted for a fresh goat's milk feta recently, which I thought worked beautifully; tangy and salty, a little going a long way.  Look for fresh stuff, often packaged in brine.

Fry eggplant, 3 smallish ones, in the usual way: cut them, skin on, into 1 inch cubes, toss with an abundant amount of salt, and lay them out on something perforated, or in a colander, for instance, for 45-90 minutes so that some of the brown water drains out.  Then rinse them with cold water and pat dry to eradicate any excess liquid.  Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of frying oil of your choice in a heavy pot, and fry the eggplant, in batches, until golden brown, then drain on absorbent paper.  You shouldn't need to salt them since they retain some from the initial salting, but season as you feel necessary.

Make a quick tomato sauce by sauteing 2 medium cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or minced, in abundant olive oil (I don't know a measurement, so I'll say like 4 full gyrations of the bottle into the fry pan) with a few pinches of hot pepper flakes, and before the cloves even begin to brown, add 1 32 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, by hand, separating the whole pieces and breaking them up, reserving the excess liquid.  If you like a saucy sauce, something that will coat the pasta to a degree beyond salad dressing to greens, then add the tomato liquid previously reserved (remember though that you can increase sauciness at the end of the dish with pasta water).  This only needs to cook 15-20 minutes, then season to taste with salt, and pepper if you like.

Cook 1 lb. of pasta in well salted water (almost any kind of dried pasta will work except for really small shapes), and when al dente, toss in the pan in which you made the sauce, or in a serving bowl to coat, adding pasta water if necessary, for the right consistency.  Throw in a good handful of fresh basil, torn by hand, and some glugs of extra virgin olive oil for good measure.  Then either gently fold the delicate eggplant into the pasta, or just serve it atop each plating, allowing the diners to mix it in themselves.  Grate or crumble ricotta salata or feta on top and serve.

Thinking About Nusco: White Bean & Escarole Soup with Spicy Polenta

I often think about my stint at La Locanda di Bu...It was this exact time of year in 2005, days after I'd rung in the new year back home in the States.  Jetted off to Italy, right into my first "stage" in a town I had never heard of before, some damn place about sixty miles due east of Napoli.  Little did I know that the hills of Irpinia, on which the little hamlet of Nusco is perched, are nothing like the sunny and palm tree replete scenery of the coast.  To be fair it was winter when I arrived, and apparently the worst one in fifty years for Europe.  It snowed pretty much every week of January and February, making it impossible for patrons to undertake the hike required to come from more populated places to the little forty seater Chef/Owner Antonio Pisaniello runs.   

Being snowed in with nowhere to go more often than not, coupled with my work for food and board arrangement, not much else to do but be in the kitchen.  It was tough to be so isolated, lacking the freedom of movement I am so used to back home, and I never got used to it.  An overnight to Rome between storms seemed like an escape from prison.  But the experience was a good one, mostly in hindsight; incredibly fruitful in learning about the kitchen, the principles of that area's cooking, and southern Italian culture.  I realize now how fortunate I am to have done that in my lifetime, because it was a profound experience, something I'll never forget. 

Toward the end of my Winter in Nusco, all of us from La Locanda went up to Rome, paid for by wine producer Mastroberardino, to cater a wine and dine event showcasing what Irpinia had to offer in those respects.  We were set up at the Cittá del Gusto, which is a big event center run by Gambero Rosso, who, in Italy, is the equivalent of Zagat, Bon Appétit and Wine Spectator rolled into one.

The dish I am talking about here was our restaurant's primo course for the evening.  It was an interesting concept because polenta is not historically a part of southern Italian food.  But it was signature Locanda di Bu in the application of the ingredients, the simplicity but expert marriage of flavors and textures.  Despite not requiring any serious technique, it does involve several steps and separate elements eventually brought together, but it is easily manageable.            

        

'Tonino is a great chef; creative, ballsy and deeply connected to the land from which he derives his cuisine.  What strikes me about his dishes is the paucity of ingredients he uses.  When you get things like ridiculously fresh mozzarella and ricotta, animals raised by people you know personally and produce that's almost exclusively local, it makes so much sense.  But we urbanites and suburbanites here have access to increasingly good products, so we can come close with the right amount of restraint and technique to create dishes that are almost as satisfying.

Chef and I had our differences, stemming primarily from my lack of credentials in the kitchen and my culture shock, but toward the end of the experience I was able to show him that I had absorbed a lot of what I was immersed in.

The recipe from bonappetit.com

Notes on the recipe: I feel fairly certain that when we executed this dish in Rome the beans were completely pureed.  That will yield something like the picture above, but you can partially puree or not puree anything, as the linked recipe suggests.  Whatever you do with the beans, keep the escarole in whole form.    

As for the polenta, in Italy we used and the recipe calls for the instant kind.  I almost never use it, just because.  Real polenta will take significantly longer than the five minute instant kind, but don't be fooled into the myth that it needs to be stirred incessantly like the rice in risotto.  In fact, once you've whisked the cornmeal into the liquid and prevented lumps from forming, just leave it be on the lowest heat setting you can, adding and stirring a ladle of liquid in every ten minutes or so, and let it go.  It can stay like that for an hour or three hours without any problems, in the background while you do other things.  Just make some extra prosciutto broth the recipe calls for.   

Age Old Cure For Cauliflower Ear: Cauli Soup

I'm big on what I consider "essence" soups...derived from few ingredients, intended to let the natural flavor of the primary element shine through.  When designed around vegetables, it usually means cooking with dry heat to concentrate flavors, then liquefying with mild vegetable stock, and pureeing to finish so as to give the impression of a cream without actually adding any dairy. 

In this recipe it's the mild but distinct flavor of cauliflower, with a small amount of potato added for body, along with an apple thrown in for a just discernible touch of sweetness.  Whereas you could take it to another level with some spices reminiscent of faraway lands, or some actual cream, I like the close-to-the-earth simplicity of this method.  I do often garnish such soups with some game changer though, like polenta croutons with squash soup, and in this case I used some American bacon.  It obviously tastes good, but I suggest having a light hand with it, otherwise the abundant flavor will mute the delicate cauli it's really all about.  Try some nice crusty bread though since this is a full bodied recipe and requires some zopping.  You'll probably find the consistency is quite hearty per this recipe, so it can easily double as a sauce served with a protein for a complete meal.        

  

Ingredients:

2 medium heads cauliflower

1 onion

1 apple (granny smith or something good for baking)

1 lb. potatoes

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

About 2 liters vegetable stock, recipe follows

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Heat the vegetable stock to a simmer in a pot.

Trim the green stalks and leaves off the cauliflower, then roughly chop the florets and hearts into pieces and place in a large mixing bowl big enough for it, the onion and the apple.  Cut the onion into segments and add to the bowl, along with the apple, peeled, cored and roughly cut into segments.

 Toss in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn out onto baking sheet(s) in an even layer without overcrowding, and cook in the oven 30 minutes, until the edges of the cauliflower are brown and everything is tender.

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2" dice.  Heat olive oil to coat the bottom of a medium or large saucepan over medium high heat.  When the oil shimmers, add the potatoes and 1/2 the thyme leaves, and let cook a couple minutes to release the fragrance of the thyme. 

Add the ingredients from the baking sheets and then begin ladling stock to just cover everything.  Cook about 10 minutes at a gentle boil, or until the potatoes are tender.  

Transfer everything to a blender, in batches if necessary, and puree, adding stock as needed to achieve the desired consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Return the puree to the saucepan and heat through.  Serve with some fresh thyme leaves for garnish, some crusty bread and/or pieces of bacon.

Vegetable Stock:
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 ribs celery, cut into a couple pieces each
2 carrots, peeled and cut into a couple pieces each
A few whole peppercorns
Salt to taste

Place the vegetables and peppercorns in a large pot and fill almost to the rim with water. Bring just to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Let it cook an hour, more if you'd like, then season to taste with salt. Can be stored several weeks in a refrigerator or several months in a freezer.