Classic Cesar Salad

With one or two heads of lettuce in every share so far, salads show up on our table nearly every night.  Tonight, with a big bunch of Romaine needing a home, a classic Cesar salad seemed in order.  We rarely use store bought dressing, opting instead to use simple oil and vinegar mixtures, so of course the Cesar dressing would need to be homemade as well.

I followed Bon Appetit's version of the classic recipe with one change in that I replaced the egg yokes with mayonnaise (so my pregnant wife could eat it), using 1 tablespoon per yolk. I made only half a recipe, which was more than enough for a big two-person portion.  For those who are a bit nervous about anchovies, they do not make the dressing taste fishy, but instead add a real depth of salty flavor that makes it a true Cesar.  

Share contents used:
Romaine lettuce

Peas and Lettuce

I love a good ham dinner.  For me, its not enough to enjoy it once or twice a year on holidays, so once in a while I'll pick up a ham steak to build a meal around.  Peas are a great accompaniment to ham, so for tonight's dinner I wanted to find a more interesting way to use them that would involve some of the CSA vegetables.  After a bit of searching, I came across a French preparation called Petits Pois à La Française, which simply means "French style peas".  The traditional preparation involves peas, onions, lettuce, stock, creme fraiche and butter among other things and seemed a bit too rich for my tastes.  There were, however a lot of simpler variations on this recipe, and what you see here is based on bunch of recipes from here and there.  This recipe was delicious with the frozen peas, but I'll probably try this again when I can get my hands on from fresh peas.  Bon Appetit!

Share contents used:

Romaine lettuce from week 4

Ingredients:

2 tbs unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1½ cups frozen green peas
1 cup frozen pearl onions
6 oz romaine lettuce, washed, stems removed, and sliced into small strips
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the garlic and onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions are thawed but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the peas, season with salt and pepper and cook until hot, about 4 minutes. Stir in lettuce and 1 tbsp. water, season with salt and pepper. Stir until lettuce is just wilted.  Serve immediately.

Lettuce Wrapped Fish with Herb Butter and Roasted Golden Beets

In my hunt for a non-salad use for lettuce, I came across the idea of using it as a wrap for fish. The lettuce holds in the fish's natural moisture during baking and traps the aroma of the herbs until you cut into the little packet. It is definitely a neat cooking method and the fish turns out moist and very flavorful.

As for the golden beets, a simple roasted preparation seemed the best way to enjoy their sweet, earthy flavor, and a nice compliment to the milder flavors of the fish.  For those who have never used golden beets, you don't have to worry about them staining your hands (and cutting board, clothes, counter top...) as red beets would.

Share contents used:
Red leaf lettuce
Scallion and parsley (from week 2, still good!)
Golden Beets







Roasted Golden Beets
2 cups golden beets, peeled and cut to a half inch dice
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Toss the beets, oil, salt and pepper together until coated.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast in a 400°F oven until starting to brown (15-20 minutes).

Lettuce Wrapped Fish with Herb Butter
3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 tbs chopped scallion (green part only)
4 6-ounce tilapia fillets (flounder or sole will work as well)
4 large red leaf lettuce leaves, washed and dried, center rib cut out

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F

Mash together butter, herbs, and scallions. Spread 1 Tbsp butter mixture on bottom of a 1 1/2-quart
shallow baking dish.

Season fish with salt and pepper. Divide remaining butter mixture and spread on each fillet. Fold or roll the fillet so it roughly fits a 3x3x1 inch box.  Thick fillets that won't fold can be cut and stacked.  Place 1 fillet on a lettuce leaf, then tuck leaf around fish to enclose fish and place in baking dish.

Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately with the roasted golden beets and a side of jasmine rice.

Linguine with Shrimp and Leeks

Five days into the first share, and there isn't much left.  Today I finally get into the leeks with a delicious recipe from Bon Appetit. The acid from lemon and spice from peperoncini compliment the buttery shrimp, and an abundance of thin sliced leeks adds a mild sweet onion flavor to every bite.  I highly recommend that you buy unpeeled shrimp and take the time to make the broth from the shells, as this adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the dish.  If you can't get unpeeled shrimp (or don't want to bother), regular seafood stock or clam juice will work as well, or even chicken stock.  Just don't use plain water, that will make the dish very bland.

Here is the link to the recipe: Bon Appetit

In addition to the leeks in the pasta, I used the last of the red leaf lettuce, the tomato and radish in a side salad.

Share Contents Used:
2 Leeks
Red leaf lettuce
Greenhouse tomato
Radish

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Most of the time, I hope to cook dishes that highlight the item(s) from the weekly share, and not bury them amid other flavors like I'm doing here. However, we were already planning lasagna this week, and I had no intention of  skipping one of my favorite dishes.  Normally, the recipe uses frozen spinach that has been thawed and dried, so it was not a big stretch to substitute the fresh leaves from the share.

This recipe is based on one that I learned from my lovely wife, which she originally got from the Food Network.  I have made a few changes to the ingredients and assembly procedure.  You start with a bechamel sauce at the bottom of the lasagna pan and then build the lasagna from there.

The tomato sauce is my own recipe for a basic marinara that I prefer to use, but you can substitute your favorite if you like.



We also put together small tossed salad as a side using some of the other items in the share.

Share Contents Used:
All 6 oz of the spinach in the lasagna
A few leaves of the red leaf lettuce plus a couple radishes for the side salad.







Recipe for Spinach Mushroom Lasagna is as follows:

Bechamel Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Tomato Sauce:

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 tbs olive oil

1 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1/4 tsp dry basil

1/4 tsp dry oregano

Dash of cinnamon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute the onion with the olive oil in a medium saucepan until soft.  Do not let them brown.  Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano and cinnamon.  Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.

Optional Step - Remove from heat and blend until smooth using a stick blender.  (I do this because I prefer the smooth texture that I get by doing this, but you can skip it if you don't mind a slightly chunky sauce.)

Lasagna:
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup yellow onion, fine dice

1 16 oz container baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped

6 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 15 oz container whole milk ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 cooked lasagna noodles
Bechamel Sauce

Tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add the onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are slightly browned and all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms.  Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted.  Add the ricotta, parmesan and pepper and stir until the cheese is warm and everything is completely mixed.  Remove from the heat and keep warm until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Pour all the bechamel sauce over the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the bechamel, top each noodle with some of the ricotta mixture. Spread around 1/2 a cup of the tomato sauce over the ricotta and then sprinkle with a little mozzarella.  Repeat the layering procedure until all the ricotta filling is used, ending with lasagna noodles on the top.  Spread around 1 cup of tomato sauce over the top of the last noodles and sprinkle generously with mozzarella . Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with additional tomato sauce if desired.