Summer Session: Week 4 Boxletter

Can you even believe it’s week 4?!? That’s nearly a month of Summer session come and gone!  This week we some of the very first potatoes.  These are new potatoes and not meant for storage.  Their skins are thinner and less able to stand long term storage, but! They are delicious and tender and great in the recipe below or simply boiled or steamed and eaten with really good butter and a sprinkle of chives!

Happy Eating!

-Liz

Warm Red Potato and Arugula Salad with Quick Pickled Sweet Onion

Simple and delicious, I was reminded of this recipe from a boxletter of yore by a longtime member over on our Facebook group Jubilee Farm: Cultivating Community.  Haven’t joined?  Head over there now to share tips and tricks and get some new inspiration from your fellow CSA members!  (Thanks Cindy!)

1 ½ pounds potatoes

3 ½ T extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 T grainy mustard

2 ¼  teaspoons sherry vinegar

2+ handfuls of arugula

For the onions:

½  small sweet onion, thinly sliced about 1 cup

½ C apple cider vinegar

1 T sugar

1 ½ t salt

First, make the onions so they have time to cool.

Bring cider vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil.  Reduce heat and gently boil for one minute. Pour over onion slices in small bowl.  Let cool.  Can be made a day or more ahead.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch wedges. Scatter the potato wedges on 1 large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 25 minutes, until browned and crisp.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the mustard and sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the onion and arugula. Top with the dressing, toss again and enjoy!

Artichoke Sage Pasta with Greens

I made this for the first time a few years back and was skeptical.  Sage is an herb that is best at thanksgiving, right? Nope, it’s amazing here.  The basis of this pasta dish can handle just about any additional veggies you have.  Throw in some summer squash, leftover roasted kohlrabi, even more sturdy greens like kale or collards can be added here, you’ll just want to blanch them a bit ahead of time.  Try tossing them into your pasta water in the last minute or two of cooking for an easy way to get that done! The artichoke hearts work amazingly well to make a creamy delicious sauce all the while keeping it vegan!

8oz dry pasta, fettucine, spaghetti, bucatini or tagliatelle

A couple good handfuls of greens, arugula or another tender green mix is perfect! Chopped coarsely if it’s larger.   

1 jar artichoke hearts ( 10-12 ounces … about 1 ½ cups) or use frozen

½ cup water

¼ cup olive oil

10 fresh sage leaves

2 garlic cloves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cracked pepper

lemon to taste ( see notes)

Garnishes- grated Pecorino, truffle oil ( both optional)

Bring big pot of generously salted water to a boil ( for the pasta). Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and return to pan (do not rinse the pasta) 

Make the Artichoke Sauce: drain the artichoke hearts and place them in a blender (don’t use a food processor).  Add the water, olive oil, sage, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend until creamy and very very smooth.  Taste. If using frozen artichoke hearts or artichokes packed in water, add a little squeeze of lemon to taste. ( The marinated artichokes in oil, usually have a bit of vinegar or acid already.)

Toss the passta with the artichoke sauce and heat up, gently stirring. Taste for salt, adding more if necessary.  Add your choice of greens and heat just till wilted. 

To garnish, you could dust some finely grated Parmesan.—or keep it vegan, up to you. Chili flakes are nice too.

Adapted from feastingathome.com

Broken Lasagna with White Pesto and Greens (vegan or not, gluten free or not)

Ok, two pasta recipes with sage and greens.  They both really called for me to eat them this week so, that means you get to eat like me and eat aaallll the pasta.  I’m not sure if I’d really call this concoction ‘pesto’, but it’s good nonetheless.  Up the greens or other veggies and down the pasta if you’re feeling like you should minimize the carbs. 

8oz vegan OR not-vegan ricotta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, finely chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast OR Parm or Romano

1 clove garlic, minced fine

2 sage leaves, finely chopped

zest from half lemon

fine salt & fresh pepper, to taste

1 cup pasta cooking liquid

10oz gluten-free OR not gluten-free lasagna noodles, roughly snapped into pieces.  Or not, but it’ll be harder to eat. 😊

2 cups kale, chard or collards, trimmed and course stems removed

salt & fresh pepper

toasted pine nuts, for garnish

chopped sage, for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, olive oil, pine nuts, nutritional yeast or parm, garlic, sage, and lemon zest.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Cook the lasagna sheets according to the instructions on the box until al dente.  In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the greens and continue cooking. before draining the pasta and greens, carefully collect 1 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside.  Drain the lasagna sheets and greens. 

Moving quickly, whisk in half the pasta cooking water into the white pesto, adding more if needed to get a creamy consistency.  Taste and adjust any seasonings, if necessary.  Then, toss in the lasagna sheets and greens until everything is evenly covered in the pesto, taste once more and add more salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve, and garnish with toasted pine nuts and chopped sage. 

Adapted from dollyandoatmeal.com