This week’s box included: head of butterleaf lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, cucumber (or a zucchini), broccoli (or cauliflower), Swiss chard, tomatoes, cabbage, second head of romaine-type lettuce. You can see a photo that can help with identification on our Facebook page or check out our weekly video on Instagram.
Need storage instructions? Visit our fruit & veggie home pages. Click on the pic and a new page opens with storage instructions and a list of recipes curated by Conne over the years.
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My box looked like a bouquet this week with a beautiful head of what I think is romaine and a big head of red-tipped buttercrunch lettuce. I have to admit, lettuce varieties are not my strength, but they were both beautiful. I’ll be making laab to roll in some of those leaves. I don’t think we have a recipe posted at grassfedcow.com but I’ll check and if not, will offer one next week. We ran a great recipe in the AJC last summer from Lao food stylist, recipe developer and food educator Ilene Rouamvongsor. You can also use cabbage leaves.
I’ve been hoping for Swiss chard so I can try the recipe for meatballs in Swiss chard sauce below. Are you wondering what to do with your one kohlrabi? Check out our kohlrabi page. It will make great slaw or crudite dipping in one of the dressings we’ve posted.
And so much lettuce means so many salads. The lettuce page at grassfedcow.com has several salad dressings – basic vinaigrette, shallot vinaigrette, buttermilk green onion dressing, creamy lemon dressing and Caesar dressing. I’ve added one more below, harissa ranch dressing from seriouseats.com. And there are also lots of ideas on that page for things to do with your lettuce besides salads including vegetable pancakes which could also use that kohlrabi and some cabbage.
We got another head of cauliflower this week and I have a few green onions left from last week, so I’ll be making the Cauliflower, Broccoli and Pepita Salad below. No broccoli in our box, but that’s fine. We’ll just enjoy it with cauliflower alone.
First zucchini, and a pretty big one, has me thinking to riff on this idea for squash pasta from Atlanta meal prep company Garnish & Gather. “Creamy Summer Squash Pasta. Just cook down the squash with garlic, onion, and spices, then purée and mix with some pasta water. It’s easy as that for a veggie packed pasta sauce–and the creaminess you get is perfection.” That meal kit included a side of roasted tomatoes with turmeric, basil and fresh parsley.
Harissa Ranch Dressing
From seriouseats.com
1/3 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons store-bought or homemade harissa
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraiche or sour cream, buttermilk, dill, chives, garlic powder, black pepper, harissa, and salt. Use immediately as a dressing or dip, or store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Cauliflower, Broccoli and Pepita Salad
From alexandracooks.com
1 cup raw pepitas
1 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt or sea salt
1 small red onion or a couple of shallots
3 to 4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 head cauliflower
1 head broccoli
1 bunch (about 6 stalks) scallions
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted or not
1 jalapeño or other hot chili, minced
2 to 3 Medjool dates, finely diced, or other dried fruit (golden raisins, dried cranberries)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a few more tablespoons to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spread pepitas on a sheetpan, toss with 1 tablespoon (you could probably get away with using less) olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread out and toast for 7 to 10 minutes or until you hear them starting to pop. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, dice the onions or shallots and place in a small bowl. Cover with three tablespoons of vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Using the slicer attachment to your food processor, slice up the cauliflower and broccoli. I used almost the entire head each of cauliflower and broccoli and stopped forcing florets down the shoot once my food processor was loosely filled. The final yield was about 8 loosely packed cups.
Place sliced cauliflower and broccoli in a large bowl. Thinly slice the scallions (white and light green parts) and add to the bowl. Add sesame seeds, minced jalapeño and diced dates to bowl. Add cooled pepitas and macerated onions (with the vinegar) to the bowl. Add olive oil to bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss well. Taste. If the jalapeño has provided enough heat, omit the red pepper flakes; if not, add pepper flakes to taste. Add more salt if necessary. Add more olive oil and vinegar as necessary: I added two more tablespoons olive oil and one more tablespoon vinegar. I used a whole teaspoon of salt. Toss again and taste.
Polpette in Swiss Chard-Tomato Sauce
From Domenica Marchetti’s Substack
For the meatballs:
2 cups fresh bread crumbs, from sturdy, open-crumb bread
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 pound ground pork
3/4 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon dry white wine
Fine sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Sunflower oil for frying (see Cook’s Note)
For the sauce:
1 clove garlic, lightly smashed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Swiss chard, stems cut into bite-sized pieces, leaves sliced crosswise
Fine sea salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup golden raisins
4 cups tomato purée
For the polenta:
6 cups water
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more as needed
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
1/2 cup medium-ground polenta
3 tablespoons butter
Make the meatballs. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the bread is softened. Squeeze out the excess milk and place the bread in a large bowl. Add the pork and beef, garlic, cheese, parsley, wine, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour in the egg and mix everything together thoroughly. Form the mixture into small (two-bite) meatballs and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until browned.
Make the Swiss chard-tomato sauce. Place the garlic and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Cook, pressing on the garlic once or twice, for about 3 minutes, until the garlic releases its flavor. Stir in the chard stems, raise the heat to medium, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the leaves, cover, and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes and cook another 5 minutes, until the chard releases some juices. Stir in the raisins. There should be some pan juices from the chard at this point, but if not, pour in about 1/2 cup water and cook for a few minutes to allow the raisins to plump up. Stir in the tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meatballs to the sauce. Cover the sauce pot partially and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Make the polenta. Measure the water and salt into a medium Dutch oven and whisk in the cornmeal in a steady stream. Adding the cornmeal before the water heats up will prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often to prevent the polenta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 45 minutes, until the grains are fully cooked. The polenta should be thick and creamy but still pourable. If you find it is too thick towards the end of cooking, stir in a little more water. When the polenta is done, taste and season with more salt if needed. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter. Spoon the polenta a deep serving platter and spoon the meatballs and sauce on top. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmigiano on top and serve. Or spoon the polenta into individual shallow bowls and spoon the meatballs and sauce on top. Sprinkle each with cheese and serve.