Contents of this week’s box: bok choy, turnip greens (the mild kind), sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and apples!
Conne is on vacation this week, so I’m subbing for her descriptions of her approach to the weekly box. Big news this week is the first appearance of apples. We usually see apples in pretty much every weekly box from here until the end of the CSA “season”. There are nearly 100 apple recipes at the apple recipe page on our website. If you’re looking for inspiration that uses other items that you’ve received recently, how about Sweet Potato Apple Pie, or Apple Butternut Squash Soup? So many apple recipes. Clearly I need MORE apples.
Our favorite apple recipe from over the years is the German Apple Pancake. Fast & easy way to put a big ol’ pancake on the breakfast table.
German Apple Pancake
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup yogurt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
4 to 5 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
Powdered sugar for dusting
Adjust rack to upper middle position and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Whisk flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt in medium bowl to combine. Whisk in milk, yogurt, eggs and vanilla until just combined; set batter aside.
Stir remaining 4 tablespoons sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl. Heat butter in 10-inch non-stick oven-safe skillet over medium heat until melted. Increase heat to medium high and add apples and cinnamon-sugar to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples have softened and are beginning to caramelize, 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, pour batter over apples and immediately place pan in oven. Reduce heat to 425°F and bake until pancake is puffed, just set in center, and golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Cool pan on wire rack for about 15 minutes, then carefully invert pancake onto serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
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And GREENS! The go-to green for the farm is the bunch I found in my box yesterday. It’s a turnip green, but mild and lacking that turnipy tang. The leaves are smooth, flat, more tender than collards and kale, but not as tender and short-lived as mustard green leaves.
Check out the Greens recipe page for storage tips and dozens and dozens of recipes, curated over the years by Conne. If you have greens from previous weeks wilting in the fridge, follow her advice and revive them with a soak in cold water. I’m always surprised at how much they bounce back. If I can’t get to them all, I cut and freeze them on a baking sheet covered with waxed or parchment paper, then into a freezer bag for the winter.
Finally, I’m faced with an overflow of tomatoes that I need to preserve. In previous years, I’ve thrown them into a freezer bag whole, and into the chest freezer. Having a little more time on hand this year, I’ve settled on either smoking them on the grill in quarters using Cathy Conway’s recipe for smoked tomatoes with collards and cornmeal dumplings, or making Virginia Willis’ tomato garlic confit (see recipe below). Failing time on hand, they’ll get cubed and frozen on a baking sheet, then tossed into a bag in the freezer. Or maybe, whole frozen tomatoes again. They’re a space hog, but easy to peel.
Slow-Roasted Tomato Confit
From Bon Appetit Y’all, by Virginia Willis. This remains one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. Chef Willis suggests taking a cue from French kitchens and folding the confit into scrambled eggs, tossing with salad greens or pasta, or topping grilled bread crisps with chopped herbs.
12 Roma or Plum tomatoes, cored
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200F. Prepare an ice-water bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking sheet.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Score an X in the blossom ends of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds. Transfer immediately to the ice-water bath. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin using a paring knife. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise, stem to blossom ends, and use your fingers to remove the seeds.
In a bowl, combine the seeded tomatoes halves, oil, garlic, and thyme; season with salt and pepper.
Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Back, rotating once, until soft but not caramelized, about 4 hours. Transfer to a bowl and pour over the leftover oil-garlic mixture. To store, refrigerate, covered with oil, in an airtight container for up to 1 1/2 weeks.