This week’s box included: mustard greens, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, potatoes, cucumber (singular!), eggplant, apples, cubanelle peppers, bell peppers, green beans (variety = Malibu), poblano peppers. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
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I’ve been thinking that it’s got to be getting on to cabbage season so imagine my surprise when the big, heavy, round green thing in our box today was a watermelon. Watermelon in October? Is this one more example of how our climate is changing? And having cut into that watermelon, I must say it’s very tasty!
Kale may get all the love, but it’s the mustard greens in this box that have my heart. Which maybe is why we have about two dozen mustard green recipes in our archive. I love the Mustard Greens with Yogurt-Parmesan Dressing (and a little bit of bacon) and Skillet Pasta with Wilted Mustard Greens (hmmm … more bacon) and those Sesame Mustard Greens could not be simpler (and there’s no bacon!).
I watched Charlotte on Instagram running through a list of different varieties of apples for each one in the box: Crimson Crisp, Golden Delicious, September Wonder, Granny Smith, Stayman … I confess that although I love apples, the ones we receive each week are not easy for me to identify. Thank goodness for Charlotte (and Suzanne) and these videos. So I’m turning the kale into a salad with the apples and some good blue cheese. It’s the recipe from “River Cottage Great Salads” down below. Emily Nunn of the Substack “The Department of Salad” is the one who shared this recipe.
And while I was expecting that small brown bag would be another week of okra, I was pleasantly surprised to find green beans. So I’ve added a recipe for Roasted Potato and Green Bean Salad below as well. There are the poblano peppers from this week’s box you could use in place of the jalapeno that recipe calls for, but maybe you still have a jalapeno or two left over from last week? I think the cannellini beans are totally optional, but you do you. The only thing I don’t have on hand is the avocado and I’ll get one tomorrow, then wait for it to ripen. I have the worst luck with avocadoes these days.
Kale and Apple Salad with Cashews and Blue Cheese
From “River Cottage Great Salads”
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews
1/2 pound kale, thick stalks removed, leaves torn into pieces
1 apple, cored and sliced
5 ounces blue cheese or goat cheese
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cashews and garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add kale and apple slices and turn heat to high. Cook until kale begins to wilt down. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Move to serving platter and crumble blue or goat cheese over warm salad.
Roasted Potato Salad With Jalapeño-Avocado Dressing
By Hetty Lui McKinnon
For the Potato Salad:
2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic or onion powder (optional)
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 lime, halved
Handful of dill leaves
For the Jalapeño-avocado Dressing:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup vegan or regular mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped dill
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime (2 to 3 tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
1 to 2 jalapeños, trimmed and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic or onion powder (if using), and about ½ teaspoon of salt. Season with black pepper and toss to coat. Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile make the dressing: Combine avocado, mayonnaise, dill, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, 1 jalapeño and salt in a blender or small food processor. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and if you want it spicier, add the second jalapeño.
After 25 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven and toss. Push the potatoes to one side of the sheet pan, and add the green beans to the other side. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Return the sheet pan to the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the beans are crisp-tender and the potatoes are golden on the outside and tender all the way through. Don’t overcook the beans; if the beans are done before the potatoes are ready, remove them from the sheet pan and return the potatoes to the oven.
Transfer the potatoes and green beans to a large bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the cannellini beans along with half the dressing and toss to coat well. Taste and check seasonings, adding more salt and black pepper if needed. To serve, squeeze the lime halves over and scatter with dill leaves. Pass the remaining dressing on the side.
Tip: Leftover dressing can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and served with grilled meats, fish or roasted vegetables.