Pickled Vegetable Slaw

Fall weather is descending fast around here marking the start of my favorite part of the year. This stretch from mid-September through to the end of the year brings so much of what I love about food and cooking. The big holiday feasts are always the main events of the season, but there are so many smaller events and activities before those that keep me plenty busy. Today’s activity comes from the desire to hold onto the bright, beautiful flavors of summer before they disappear until next year. Already, my freezer is stocked with blanched vegetables (beans, corn, etc.) that take well to freezing, but for those that are best when raw it’s time to break out the pickling jars again.

I read about this technique of pickling mixed vegetable slaw a few months back on Smitten Kitchen, and it jumped to the front of my mind when I did a clean out of the fridge to find a big bell pepper, a lone carrot and a whole bunch of radishes from past CSA shares that have been languishing. To that I added a couple small bell peppers that my backyard plants managed to produce despite looking pretty worn out, as well as a red onion to complete the medley of vegetables for this slaw.

Fish Tacos with Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw

If there were a contest to decide the world's most perfect food, I am sure that tacos would be near if not at the top of the list.  They would certainly get my vote.  For me a taco is a blank canvas of corn or flour tortilla that invites creativity and experimentation.  There is a little taco shop near my house that has made its name with interesting fillings like pork with orange peel, chorizo and black bean, and even cactus!  Delicious as they are, they are small, so you need at least 4 for a meal and at $3-$4 each, I'd go broke pretty quick if I didn't make my own.  Tonight my thoughts turned from the local taco shop to the southwest and fish tacos!  The best fish tacos I've had have been on my trips to Southern California, but since six hour plane rides are not a good ingredient in any meal, I've had to make do with cooking them myself. The key to good fish tacos is (big surprise) the fish.  I've played around with this recipe for a couple years, trying different fish and seasonings before settling on what's shown here.  I use tilapia because of its mild flavor and that it stays in one piece and won't flake apart when cooked, cod works as well if you can't get tilapia, but may fall apart easier. For seasoning, I've tried it seems almost every possible spice combination, but ultimately settled on Old Bay seasoning.  Part of me felt a bit lazy doing this ("a real cook makes his own spice rub!") but in the end the folks at Old Bay know what they are doing when it comes to seafood seasoning.

The other toppings for the taco change every time I make it depending on what I have on hand, but there are typically three of them; a cheese, a vegetable and a sauce or salsa.  Tonight I dug in to the remnants of last week's share for the vegetable and pulled out some radishes and the kohlrabi bulb to make a simple light slaw. The two complimented each other nicely to give a cool crunch to the taco.  A charred ear of corn provided a bit of sweetness (and a fun popcorn smell) to balance the peppery radish.

Share contents used:
Radish
Kohlrabi

Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw
One fresh ear of corn
1 cup julienned radish
1 cup julienned kohlrabi
Lime juice
Salt

I used a mandolin to julienne the radish and kohlrabi, but if you don't have one you can use a knife. Start by peeling the kohlrabi and then cut it in half.  Place the flat side on the cutting board and cut in into thin slices.  stack the slices and then cut again into matchsticks.  Slice the radishes the same way (no need to peel those).

Normally I would use the grill to char the corn, but I didn't feel like getting the grill set up and heated for just one ear (also its 90 degrees and humid out), so I turned to my gas stove.  After removing the corn from the husk, I placed it over the open flame, turning occasionally with tongs until it had nice char marks on all sides.  A word of caution on this technique, some kernels may pop and splatter you with hot corn juice, so an apron and/or potholder may be in order. Immediately after you've completed the char, wrap the corn in foil so the residual heat will cook the kernels all the way through.

When the corn is cool, cut it off the cob.  Toss the kernels together with the radish, kohlrabi and the juice of half a lime.  Season with salt to taste.

Fish Tacos
1 lb tilapia fillets (or other firm white fish)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs Old Bay Seasoning
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Corn tortillas
Queso Fresco (or any soft, crumbling cheese)
Lime wedges
Mango sauce (see below)

Preparation
About 15 minutes before you will eat, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in a 275 degree oven to warm.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and Old Bay.  Cut the fish into 1 inch cubes, then season with salt and pepper and toss with the flour mixture until lightly coated.  Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the coated fish and cook until the fish is cooked through and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.  

Assemble the tacos by spooning a few pieces of fish into a warm tortilla.  Top with some of the crumbled cheese, mango sauce and the corn, radish, kohlrabi slaw.  Serve with lime wedges and any other toppings that you enjoy (sour cream, tomato, etc.)

Mango Sauce
3/4 cup ripe mango, fine dice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp Serrano chili pepper, minced
1 tsp Thai hot chili paste
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to meld.

Radish Leaf Soup

I suppose we all have preconceived notions about food and cooking.  Things that we've been doing or thinking for ever without much thought as to why, usually not even realizing that we may be missing out on something.  This week, I discovered one of mine.  When radishes were included in previous shares, I'd just cut off and discard the leaves without much thought, assuming they were not useful for cooking. This week it occurred to me that I might be wrong about that and saved them separately from the radishes.  A little searching uncovered a variety of uses for the greens, many involving soups.  Even though hot soup is not something one normally thinks about in June, this week has been unusually cool and rainy, making a pot of soup seem like a good idea.

The recipe below is pieced together from several recipes I found online. There is a lot of variation possible here, so you should experiment with other ingredients.  The common item in almost all the recipes I found to include with the radish leaves were potatoes, but everything else could be changed.  The result was quite good; a dominating potato flavor accented with a "green" taste from the radish leaves.  Using sliced radish as a garnish added a nice peppery crunch, and we found ourselves adding more halfway through the bowl.

Share contents used:
All the radish leaves plus a couple radishes

Ingredients
2 tbs butter
4 cups fresh radish leaves, washed and coarsely chopped
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
1 cup onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced for garnish

Preparation
Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often until soft.  Add the radish leaves and continue stirring until the leaves are wilted.  Mix in the potatoes then add the broth.  Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Using a blender, puree the soup until smooth then return to the pot (or use a stick blender in the pot if you have one).  Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with a few thinly sliced radishes floated on top as a garnish.

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

Asparagus and Quinoa Salad

Straight from the pages of Bon Appetit.  How could I not try this recipe where quinoa is combined with two of the items in my week 1 share. Because we did not have any handy, I omitted the walnuts in the recipe.  Also, I used yellow quinoa as that was what I had.

Share Contents Used:
Asparagus, 5 spears
2 Radishes


Other Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 tbs Lemon juice
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper





Cook the quinoa per package directions.
Chop the asparagus into 2 inch pieces and split down the middle if necessary.  This is a raw preparation for the asparagus, so you don't want them too thick.
Thinly slice the radishes
Toss the cooked quinoa (while still hot), asparagus, radishes in a bowl along with lemon juice, olive oil and the salt & pepper to taste.

I served this as a side to some fantastic fresh sea scallops that I picked up on the way home from work.  What a treat!

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.