Can you believe we are half way through the summer already? I hope you’re all enjoying it as much as I do every year. I wanted to remind you that we do have a Facebook page called Jubilee Farm: Cultivating Community our members can join and share recipes and ideas as well. There have been some awesome things going on there lately. Plum and brown sugar ice cream? Yes please!
Fennel and Celery Salad
There are a lot of folks that aren’t very excited about fennel and I get it, it’s a hard one to know and love. This little salad could change your minds! It’s a nice light little slaw and even better the next day. I made this the other day with some julienned kohlrabi as well. I did this with some grilled octopus, but am thinking it would be amazing with some pulled pork. It would nicely cut through the fattiness of the pork and complement it well.
1 medium fennel bulb with fronds
4-5 celery stalks with leaves
1 small onion
¼ C finely minced parsley
White wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Very finely slice the fennel bulb and celery (a mandolin makes this easier and on the bias is even fancier 😉). Mix the fennel and celery in a large bowl with the parsley and a few fennel fronds and celery leaves, drizzle over the fruity extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange on a platter if you’d like.
Fermented Salsa
One of my favorite ways to use up any tomatoes that are very ripe or split. Super good, and with the added benefit of a quick fermentation. This step helps keep the salsa longer in the fridge. If you have airlock lids, you can use them here. I use Kraut Source lids for all my fermented goodies, they are an investment but they are worth every penny if you plan on doing any kind of fermentation.
3 lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 cloves minced garlic
Hot peppers, to taste, finely chopped
½ C fresh cilantro or to taste
1Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
¼ C lime juice
1 Tbsp kosher or salt
4 Tbsp whey
Thoroughly combine all ingredients and place in one or two clean quart size jars. Press down with clean hands, making sure all the solids are submerged and leaving about 1in of headspace. Add filtered water if needed to cover.
Cap jar and place out of direct sunlight. Let ferment for 2-3 days. Place in fridge where it will keep for months, but probably won’t last that long!
*You can skim the whey off of a new tub of yogurt, regular (not greek) is much better for this. You can also strain plain yogurt in cheesecloth over a bowl and have enough whey for quite a few batches of salsa. It keeps for a week or more in the fridge. The remaining yogurt can be used like regular old greek yogurt. This does work best with nonfat or lowfat yogurt, they tend to give off more liquid when strained.
Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Salsa Verde
This recipe is taken from Joshua McFadden’s “Six Seasons” cookbook. I forget sometimes in the summer that carrots can be roasted and turned into great refreshing summer dishes. In the original recipe from his book, Mr. McFadden adds seared squid to this as well. I’ve made this that way and it’s awesome, but know squid isn’t always for everyone.
1 bunch carrots, with greens
½ C roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
½ C mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 green onions, chopped
¼ C capers, roughly chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
Salt and pepper
Hot sauce, such as sriracha or other vinegary hot sauce
Olive oil
1 ripe avocado
1/3 C sliced pickled peppers such as pepperoncini or Mama Lil’s.
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ C roasted almonds, chopped
Cut the green tops off the carrots. Cut off and discard the thicker parts of the stems keeping primarily the feathery tops. Rinse and let dry a bit. Roughly chop the greens and measure out about 1 cup lightly packed. Wash and lightly scrub the carrots till they’re pretty. Put the tops, parsley, mint, scallions, capers and 1 tsp lemon zest into a bowl. Add ¼ tsp salt, a few twists of black pepper and a few drops of hot sauce (more if you’re into that). Stir in ½ C olive oil, taste and adjust seasonings. You want this to be very bright and bold.
Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Lay carrots in the skillet and cook until they sizzle, about 5 minutes.
Add a bit of olive oil and toss the carrots around in it. Cook, about 30 minutes, until carrots are lightly browned on all sides and tender.
Let the carrots cool a bit and pile into a large bowl.
Toss them with a ½ C of the salsa verde. Add the avocado, pickled peppers and lemon juice. Gently fold together with another ½ C salsa verde. Sprinkle with the almonds and serve.
Jubilee Farm 