Monthly Archives: June 2012

Kolhrabi and Greens

Rotiserrie Chicken Shepard’s Pie with Kolhrabi Mash and Greens

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup sliced celery

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock (use homemade or low-sodium, organic)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded, cooked rotiserrie chicken

1 cup organic, frozen peas

For the kohlrabi mash and greens

1 head kohlrabi, peeled (I just cut the skin away with a chef’s knife) and cut into 2-inch cubes

3 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cups chopped greens, such as beet greens, kohlrabi greens, chard, kale or spinach, washed and spun dry

Kosher salt and coarse-ground pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until softened, then add parsley, thyme and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then add wine, stirring and scraping all brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, and cook until wine is reduced by half and slightly syrupy. Add stock and cream and stir to combine, then bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cooking until cream is reduced, and sauce coats a spoon. Stir in chicken and peas, then remove from pan and place in an 11 x 7 casserole dish.

Make the kohlrabi mash:

Put the kohlrabi into a large pot, cover with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and reduce to a simmer. Cook kohlrabi for about 30 minutes, until slightly tender. Add the potatoes in with the kohlrabi, return to a boil, then simmer, cooking until both the potatoes and kohlrabi are tender and translucent. Drain kohlrabi and potatoes well in a colander. In the same pot, melt butter and slightly heat milk and cream. Put kohlrabi and potatoes back into the pot, and mash with a potato masher until smooth, mixing in with the butter, milk and cream. Adjust consistency with additional warmed half and half, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add olive oil to the pan. Put greens into the pan, and stir until wilted. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, and cook greens until soft, from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of greens. Season with salt and pepper. Fold cooked greens into the kohlrabi mash.

Heat an oven to 375 degrees. Spread the kolhrabi mash on top of the chicken mixture, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is browned and chicken mixture is bubbling, then cool slightly and serve.

Farm Box Day

Summer came to our house today with 80 degree weather and a box full of sunshine: yellow wax beans (which last summer were the star of my favorite Farm Box Veggie Enchiladas), golden summer squash, colorful kohlrabi, and jewel-toned rainbow chard. There’s a “toy” section in the farm box, with adorable cucumbers that are no more than 4 inches long, darling and sweet-tender carrots, and corn cobs no larger than the baby corn that Tom Hanks nibbled on in the movie Big. Rosy beets with vibrant green toppers, a magenta Maui onion, crimson strawberries and vivid orange golden nugget oranges completed the invitation to summer.

My plan for the bounty? To make my first Summer Succotash of the season, with a combination of the yellow beans, squash, red onion, fresh corn and basil, perhaps a little orange zest and juice. I’ll serve that in my Family Farm Box Meals with an Herb Roasted Chicken, which could also accompany a Red Beet, Red Cabbage and Red Lentil Salad. I’ m planning a Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Kohlrabi Mash and Wilted Greens and my favorite seasonal Summer Minestrone Soup, this week with an accomodation to make it gluten-free with rice-based rigatoni. My friends and I loved a Three Citrus Sangria last week that I made with my Glen Ivy Farms navel oranges. This week I’ll make it with golden nugget oranges. As I progress through my box of summer, I can’t wait to share recipes and ideas. If you have some amazing ways you are transforming your farm box, I would love to hear from you!

Radishes

Shortly after meeting the man who would become my husband, we went for a skiing holiday in Colorado. Staying with friends in a cabin, we all had dinner duty. Felipe and I, still as awkward in the kitchen as we were in the intimacy department, shopped in the unflattering flourescent lights of the nearby convenience market, and let’s just say that the slope’s powder was much fresher than the local produce. We danced around a menu that would impress but still be made in our cabin’s tiny kitchen. Felipe found some promising trout and packaged, sliced almonds. I spotted the green tops of some firm, vibrant radishes above the bags of pre-washed lettuces, and grabbed a waxed lemon. Our first collaborative meal was born.

I’d love to say that it turned out perfect, but there were some burnt almonds, torn trout’s skin, brown butter turned black. Yet the simplicity of the radish salad, with the greens torn and dressed, the roots sliced thin, a crank of black pepper, a smatter of salt, a shot of fresh lemon, rescued the tortured fish. Twelve years later, we share the kitchen as adeptly as Argentinian tango dancers, making it hard to believe that I once felt embarrassed about things like taking my shoes off at airport security, horrified that my new boyfriend would see my bright orange ski socks. Making this tilapia and radish salad reminded me of those shy, bumbling early days and the grace of a perfect match.

Crispy Lemon Tilapia with Brown Butter Dressed Radish Salad

Serves 4

4 tilapia fillets

Olive oil, salt and pepper, as needed

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 garlic clove, finely grated

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, minced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch fresh radishes, leaves washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces, bulbs trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons toasted almonds

Using a mandolin will guarantee your radish slices are paper-thin.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat the tilapia fillets with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. In a flat dish, mix together bread crumbs, lemon zest, garlic and parsley. Stir to combine, then dredge fish in the breadcrumb mixture, thoroughly coating. Place fish on the baking sheet and into the oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes, checking for doneness when fish is opaque and firm to the touch.

Prepare the brown butter dressing. Using a small skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat. When butter solids turn light brown, add the shallots, then cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in lemon juice. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream until dressing is thick and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Gently toss the dressing with the sliced radishes, greens and almonds. Arrange on a plate, then top with the tilapia. Serve and devour.