This week’s box included: sweet peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, radishes with tops, butternut squash, cucumbers, green beans.
Does it seem as if we have had a bounty of potatoes this year? I, for one, am definitely not complaining. I remember a farmer telling me a few years ago, if you don’t know what to do with potatoes, then you just don’t know how to cook. I thought that was funny – and then I look at grassfedcow.com and see that we have a couple dozen potato recipes there. I’d say none of us have an excuse not to dream up something to do with our potatoes.
But I see a glaring gap. There’s no potato soup recipe there! So I’m remedying that with the recipe for MFK Fisher’s Potato Soup (down below) which was adapted in alexandracooks.com. Couldn’t be simpler.
Two smallish butternuts in our box this week. For some, it’s …. what? More butternut? But I’m about to test a recipe for the AJC, Butternut Guacamole from Alma Cocina. When I first got the reader letter requesting the recipe I thought, “butternut guacamole”? Then reading the recipe, I discovered it’s a very flavorful avocado guacamole, served over cubes of roasted butternut, sprinkled with roasted butternut squash seeds, and drizzled with a chipotle dressing. We won’t be running the recipe until December so I can’t share it now, but if you’re inclined to try creating your own, that list of components is probably enough to get you started in the right direction.
This tail end of summer is also finding us awash in peppers, including the small bag which always indicates “hot peppers inside!”
I’ll use one in that guacamole, but what to do with the rest? We have a bunch of recipes under “jalapenos” and many of thoe could be adapted. My stand-by for any peppers that I don’t have plans for is to put them in a quart jar with vinegar. It’s a quick way to pickle the peppers (to really pickle them you’d have to do a bit more!) and then I have seasoned vinegar and peppers I can pull out and chop for recipes throughout the winter.
But what about our recipe for Potato Tortilla with Peppers? Now you’re enjoying two of the fine vegetables from this week’s box.
MFK Fisher’s Potato Soup
2 onions, sliced thin
4 tablespoons butter, divided
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (a little more than a pound)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups milk, 2% or whole
chopped herbs such as parsley or chives, optional
Sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until tender and just beginning to turn color. Add the potatoes and water to cover, about 2½ cups. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
In a separate pot, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a light brown paste forms, a minute or so. Roux should be gently bubbling. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Bring milk mixture to a gentle simmer, stir, then keep warm.
When potatoes are tender, add milk mixture to the pot. Use an immersion blender to purée until smooth or transfer mixture to food processor or blender (be careful with blender). Season with salt (at least a teaspoon) and lots of fresh cracked pepper. Bring soup to a gentle simmer, stirring to ensure it isn’t sticking to bottom of pot. Taste and adjust as needed with more salt or pepper. Add herbs if using. Thin with more water or milk if necessary.
When reheating the soup, thin with water as needed and adjust seasoning to taste.
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