Green & White Gazpacho

We Ranui Gardens CSA members are lucky that John loves garlic and grows about 10 varietals of hardneck garlic. Hardneck garlic is valued for complexity of flavor, fares well in cooler climes and has a shorter storage life.

Early in the season we enjoyed scapes, the edible green stalks shooting out of the middle of hardneck garlic plants.  Cutting off the scape sends more nutrition to the garlic in the ground, though if the scape is not cut, the tip forms bulbils, or flowers, also edible.  We’ve also had “green” or young garlic in our boxes this year, pulled from the ground before the cloves are well formed. Now Ranui’s garlic is mature and cured, having cured for three to four weeks and we are getting some in our boxes as often as zucchini.

This time of year I make gazpacho, a cold soup of Spanish origin, with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic. (And why not add some of those tender small zucchini?)

There are thousands of gazpacho recipes out there, variations on the hot weather and summer harvest theme. Because tomatoes are not in the mix, this recipe is untraditional. But it does have a good dose of garlic.  I wrote an article about Garlic and Gazpacho for Salt Lake City’s Catalyst Magazine’s August issue. Here is the recipe I gave. Hint: If you hit a clove of garlic with the side of chef’s knife, the skin will loosen and make it easy to peel.

3 cloves garlic, (peeled and crushed)

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 small green pepper

2 green onions, chopped

2 tbs. chopped fresh basil, cilantro or parsley

2 cups cold vegetable broth

2 cups plain yogurt

2 to 3 tbs. sherry wine vinegar or fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

White pepper

Cherry tomatoes, red or gold, cut in tiny wedges

Fresh basil, cilantro or parsley, chopped, for garnish

Put the garlic, half of the cucumbers, green pepper, green onions, basil and vegetable broth in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the remaining cucumbers and puree. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the yogurt, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Chill until cold. Serve garnished with the tomatoes, and more green onions and fresh herbs.

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Pesto Potatoes

Pesto Potatoes on the Grill

Earlier today at work, as I walked from a busy bakery to my office, I passed one of the cooks opening tubs of tofu. I notice tofu, more than I would a pot of turkey chili, mostly because it’s not on the menu everyday at Deer Valley and more so because I love tofu! Before going home, I watched the same cook arrange those triangles of tofu, hot and emerald green with pesto, on a bed of arugula. At his urging, I helped myself to the extra piece on the back line—even knowing I was going to have pesto potatoes before the sun had set behind the mountain.

Robbie mentioned pesto potatoes this morning and he says he thought about them all day. He must have thought well, because the ones he made us for dinner were perfect.

Early Rose Potatoes

He used Early Rose potatoes from our Ranui Gardens CSA box and dipped into the stash of basil pesto  tucked away in our freezer. (Every time we’ve had basil in the box we make up a batch of pesto.)

Pesto Stash in random containers

Any time you cook potatoes, if you have organic ones, by all means scrub them and leave the skin on. The Early Rose potato has a thin and smooth skin.  If you don’t know your farmer and her growing practices, ask. Potatoes make the Dirty Dozen pesticide list, so it might be best to peel them if they have been sprayed. These are so good you can eat them with your fingers.

 Pesto Potatoes

4 to 6 potatoes, sliced crosswise 1/2- to 5/8 inch thick.

Olive oil, as needed

Basil Pesto, as needed

Par-cook the potatoes in a steamer or nuke them in the microwave until they have begun to cook but are still pretty firm. (You can cook them entirely on the grill but it takes a lot longer. The par-cook step helps get dinner on the table sooner.)

Heat the grill to high if the potatoes are par-cooked, to medium high if not par-cooking them.)

Brush both sides of the potato slices with olive oil. Arrange them in a single layer on a grilling tray.  and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender and have some golden grill color, turning the potatoes to cook both sides. Brush one side of the potatoes with pesto and cook about 10 minutes more, until the pesto becomes part of the potato.

Serve immediately.

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More Zucchini

Well I guess since zucchini is green it falls into the category of greens, and farmer John did say there would be lots of greens in our Ranui CSA boxes. This is the third week straight with zucchini.

What to do?  At least it’s the Roman varietal zucchini in our boxes; Costata Romanesca does have more substance and real flavor than the brunt—of–jokes classic green zucchini .

Zucchini Ideas:

Grill zucchini simply, with olive oil and salt and pepper, which is what we did last week.

Or bake up some Chocolate Zucchini muffins—a variation from the Chocolate Zucchini Bread in my Chocolate Snowball cookbook.

Go to fellow blogger Gwen’s  terrific recipe for stuffed zucchini—and read her funny comments about zucchini.

This post from another blogger has ideas for the top 10 best things to do with too much zucchini. As I read Cheryl’s ideas I was giggling out loud—“lol” in internet vernacular.

This summer I’ve been writing monthly for Catalyst Magazine here in Utah. Go to Catalyst’s July issue to learn fun zucchini facts and trivia as well as my advice to pick and enjoy the blossoms before they turn into the green phallic fruit.

Here is a variation on the recipe for Squash Blossom Soup from that same Catalyst article. Enjoy this soup hot or cold.

For efficiency, use an immersion blender to puree the soup, it stands right in the soup pot and eliminates the muss and fuss of hot soup transfer and exploding out of the blender. An immersion blender is a purchase worth every penny.

Cotija cheese is a Hispanic-style cheese–somewhat salty and doesn’t really melt–you may substitute any cheese you want or skip it altogether.

Squash Blossoms on the Grill

Zucchini Soup

1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

About 5 cups grated zucchini

3 cups veggie broth

1/4 cup cilantro, basil or parsley leaves

Dash cayenne pepper

Real Salt or sea salt

1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese, optional

1/4 cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, optional

Avocado slices, optional

In a large saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and the broth, cilantro and cayenne. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until the zucchini is soft. Puree in a blender, or with an immersion blender.

Season to taste with sea salt and more cayenne.

Serve garnished with garnishes of crumbled cheese, pumpkin seeds or slices of avocado, if you wish.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Quinoa and Parsley Tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh

High protein quinoa substitutes for traditional bulgur wheat in this Middle Eastern parsley and grain salad. Quinoa is considered a complete protein because it contains all 8 essential amino acids. It’s also higher in unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains. You can use red or tri-color quinoa, I used regular quinoa this time.

Rinsed quinoa

Remember to rinse the quinoa well as this will get rid of the saponin it contains.  Saponin is a natural pesticide quinoa produces so birds won’t eat it. It doesn’t harm humans; it just makes the quinoa bitter if not rinsed well.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed with hot water

2 cups water

1 bunch fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped arugula leaves

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges, or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

½ cup grated carrots

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Real Salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the quinoa and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Just as with rice, do not stir—tilt the pan to see if there is any water left. Set aside.

well-chopped parsley

Meanwhile, trim and discard the parsley stems. Chop, chop, chop the leaves until they are very fine, no piece larger than the head of a pin. you should end up with a heaping 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.

Transfer the quinoa to a bowl, fluffing with a fork. Stir in the chopped parsley, arugula, carrots and tomatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and cayenne. Pour over the quinoa and toss well. Season to taste with more salt and lemon juice, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to chill.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Green Garlic, Basil and Edamame Salad

Bright green, freshly frozen and shucked, edamame is soybeans, right out of the bean pod. Perhaps you have enjoyed edamame in the shell as finger food, sprinkled with high quality finishing salt, at a sushi restaurant or at Deer Valley’s Royal Street Café. Edamame adds color (and protein) to any salad, and works well in any dish where you might normally use cold beans or green peas. Since we have sweet basil in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week, it’s in this salad. Chiffonade/slice the basil leaves and add them at the last minute. Or feel free to skip the basil and substitute a different herb, such as chopped flat leaf parsley. This week’s green garlic is looking more mature than two weeks ago and more like the garlic we will see in a couple of weeks with its papery skin skin separating each clove. Now it is still very moist and maybe at the most flavorful of its cycle.

1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 stalks green garlic, trimmed and minced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut in chiffonade

¼ cup grated aged cheese, like Parmesan

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the edamame. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, and then drain the edamame. Place in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil and cheese. When everything is mixed, season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss again and serve over Ranui lettuce mix.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Green Garlic, Spinach and Tortilla Soup

A milestone birthday came my way last month, and to celebrate we threw a party–with house made margaritas. Now I can easily say no thanks to a margarita made with bottled mix, but if the recipe is pure tequila, triple sec and fresh lime juice, that’s another story. And not just any lime juice, it must be key lime juice, or jugo de limones, from the smaller, sweeter limes of Florida and Mexico.

Limones and Serrano chiles

Our Latino market here in Park City sold me a case of fragrant limones—for $20. And the day of the party, my girlfriend Laurie came over and hand-squeezed them all. It took her 3 hours. In the end it was probably worth her sore wrist, because this month her husband celebrates the same milestone birthday and she has ample fresh-squeezed proper lime juice now stored in her freezer, ready for many more batches of house made margaritas. Ole! Ole!

What I am illustrating here is that you really must use the same limes for this soup, loosely based on Yucatan Lime Soup, famous where these limones are abundantly falling off the trees. Our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week contains sorrel, spinach, and green garlic and I have a temporary crown on one side of my mouth, so soup like this is in order.

Green Garlic, Spinach and Tortilla Soup

4 corn tortillas, preferably organic

Grapeseed or olive oil

1 bunch green garlic, washed and chopped in its entirety

2 serrano chiles, seeds and veins removed, finely minced

1 quart vegetable stock

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns

¼ cup chopped sorrel leaves

1 cup chopped washed spinach leaves

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

¼ cup fresh-squeezed juice from key limes

Real Salt, as needed

Avocado slices, optional

Brush the tortillas with oil and cut them in strips, about 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. Toast in the oven or toaster oven until just lightly toasted, which should take 4 to 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the strips—they can quickly go from perfectly toasted to burnt. Set them aside.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a soup pot on low flame. Sauté until the green garlic is translucent but not brown, stirring often. Add the vegetable stock and the tomatoes, along with the bay leaves, thyme and cracked peppercorns. Bring the pot to a simmer. Add the sorrel and spinach and cook and stir another minute.

Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. Add the lime zest and juice. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately, garnished with the tortilla strips and avocado, if desired.

Serves 4.

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Polenta Tart with Green Garlic and Spinach

I have to say that I don’t care for microwave ovens—although I have one. When I do use the “micro,” I make a point not to stand in front of it, and that’s about the extent of precaution. I use mine to defrost things every once in a while and I use it to make polenta. It is a no muss/no fuss method of cooking polenta and I can be prepping the other parts of the meal while the polenta is nuking away. So I am going to give you my microwave polenta technique, and unless you are more adverse to the machines than I, or your kitchen is not so modernly equipped, you also will enjoy ease of polenta prep.

This tart “crust” is polenta. Which makes it gluten-free and lower in calories than a butter tart crust, besides perfectly complementing the filling in an Italian sort of way. Prepare the crust in a 9-inch tart pan with removable ring, or a 9-inch springform pan.

trimmed green garlic

I am not sure if John planted some garlic specifically for a green garlic harvest or if he is thinning the crop to allow more space for bulb development of what’s left in the rows, but this week we are enjoying green garlic in our Ranui Gardens CSA box. Green garlic looks a lot like green onions or scallions and can be prepared in pretty much the same way. You will want to trim green garlic as dictated by its relative youth, or how close it was to becoming fully formed garlic; if the green part is very tender, you can chop the entire stalk, otherwise trim away some of the green as you might for scallions. Wash green garlic well, as you would leeks, for dirty soil can hide in the stalks. There is no need to worry about tearing away the papery skin around the bulbs because it’s not there, so merrily mince it all.

Polenta Crust in 9-inch tart pan with removable ring

Polenta Tart with Green Garlic and Spinach

For the polenta:

3/4 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup water

½ cup polenta grits

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/8 teaspoon Real Salt

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

For the filling:

1 bunch fresh spinach, about 8 ounces, well washed, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1/2 to 1 cup chopped green garlic

1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil

Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper

About 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 egg

8 ounces ricotta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

3 tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons fresh chive petals

Tomato sauce, optional

Whisk the vegetable broth, water, olive oil salt and polenta and in a microwave-proof bowl. Cover and cook on highest power for five minutes. Stir well, cover again and cook for another five minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, cover and cook for two more minutes.

9-inch springform pan

Allow the polenta to cool a minute or so, then dollop into the lightly oiled pan of choice. While the polenta is still soft and warm, spread it around the bottom and sides of the pan with your fingers, wetting them if needed. Distribute the polenta as evenly as possible, but it can look rustic, since this is a rustic tart.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet and sauté the green garlic until it is limp. Stir in the spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has completely wilted. Sprinkle with a dash of balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat the egg and ricotta cheese in a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the cooked garlic and spinach, thyme and chives, reserving the purple thyme blossom for garnish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into the polenta crust.

Chive and their blossoms

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until there are hints of golden brown in the crust and the ricotta filling. Sprinkle with the purple chive flowers and allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Serve on plates with tomato sauce, if desired.

Serves 10 to 16. If it is a main course, you will cut wide wedges, if it is an appetizer, smaller.

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Pesto, Potato and Red Onion Pizza

When we entertain, which isn’t very often, Robbie and I like to do pizza, with all manner of toppings and themes, like Mexican perhaps. In the summer we use the grill, in the winter the oven—its very convivial to hang out at the bar in our kitchen, chatting and sipping and watching the pizzas go in the oven and come out, and tempting all of us with a new combo. Thank you Deborah Madison, who, in The Greens Cookbook, taught me all about pizza possibilities. Smoked cheese is my latest discovery—I love the extra lilt it gives to pizzas.

Pizza in America is not what people usually make at home—but a quick and easy order and delivery. Robbie even fell for a dinner invitation recently; when the host said we were having pizza, Robbie pictured homemade crust and creative toppings. Boy was he surprised when dinner came out of a box.

We went to Moab for a 3-day desert holiday on Monday and I was in charge of dinner that evening.

Bron French mandoline

I packed our pizza stone and the mandoline and made sure to bring the green chile pesto and the package of Iraqi flatbread, a gift from our friend Peter, that I had been hoarding in the freezer. In Salt Lake City, pick up this yummy Persian flatbread at Pars Market on Highland Drive.

Iraqi flat bread

I used the mandoline to quickly slice the potatoes thinly, and I even impressed myself with how easily the pizzas came together.

This recipe is for one pizza, but you can make as many as you wish. Use my whole wheat pizza dough recipe or pick up some Iraqi flatbread—the cooking time will vary, depending on which you use, the dough and the cooking vehicle itself.

Pesto, Potato and Red Onion Pizza

1 10-inch pizza crust, raw and freshly shaped, or pre-baked

Several Warba, yellow or red potatoes (6 to 10 ounces total) well-scrubbed and very thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Green chile or regular pesto

¼ cup very thinly sliced red onion

About 4 ounces smoked cheddar or mozzarella cheese, grated

Over low flame, heat a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced potatoes and the garlic and season with salt. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of water and cover the skillet. Cook another 5 minutes, just until the potatoes are tender. Take off the cover and let any remaining water cook away. Set aside.

Place the pizza stone in the oven or grill and preheat to 450 degrees or as hot as you can get the grill.

Put the pizza crust on a pizza peel or an upside-down pizza pan that you have sprinkled lightly with cornmeal. (The cornmeal acts as ball bearings so the pizza can slide onto the stone.)

Drizzle some olive oil on the crust and spread it around with a brush or your fingers. Spread about 3 tablespoons of pesto on next, followed by the red onion slices and some of the cheese. Now arrange the potatoes, so that all of the dough is covered except for ¾ of an inch around the edge. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the potatoes.

Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake it for 6 to 10 minutes, until the edges and bottom are deep golden brown.

Makes 1 pizza

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Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Soup

I don’t think it is officially Indian summer in Park City, though we are certainly enjoying very cool nights with daytime temperatures reaching into the high 70’s. Each morning we notice a few more hints of red oak in the green hills that never turned brown this summer. The only not-still-green are the grasses, and the seeds from those drying grasses are driving anyone around here with allergies to the brink of wishing for early snow. And those lovely yellow flowers of the desert sage—they aren’t so forgiving to the watery eye and runny nose crowd either.

I think I got hit with a double whammy this week. I have all the symptoms of these allergies and a cold besides. Makes me want onion soup for dinner.

onions above the kitchen sink

Our Ranui Garderns CSA box has included onions the last 4 or 5 weeks and I bought a bag of organic onions at the store the day before we received our first CSA onions. The first couple of weeks the onions came with their stalks. I braided them together and hung them in a holding pattern above the kitchen sink. I think onions are good feng shui, the ancient Chinese study of the natural environment, and I am hoping they will keep our kitchen protected. And maybe, even with my attempt to incorporate onions into many recent meals, we’ll still have a few onions left in a month, when our weekly CSA boxes cease for the season. Slicing this many onions can a tearful job. If you have a Cuisinart—use the slicing disc and you will be that much closer to soup for dinner, with time for a shot of tequila. About the tequila: I use 100% agave to deglaze the onions because that’s in our liquor cabinet and brandy is not. You won’t find misoin a classic onion soup either, though the tequila and the miso each add a subtle note.

caramelized onions

 

 

 

Caramelized Onion and Chickpea Soup

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, or butter or a combination of the 2

4 large onions, thinly sliced

all the onions

4 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tablespoons 100% agave tequila añejo or brandy

5 cups vegetable broth

¾ cup cooked chickpeas

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dark miso paste

Sat and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toasted baguette slices with basil pesto

Heat the oil and/or butter in a heavy bottomed skillet. Stir in the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and turning brown. This will take time—at least 45 minutes. If the onions start to brown too quickly, turn down the heat; don’t hurry their caramelization. Stir in the garlic in the last 10 minutes, after you see some hints of brown onion.

Deglaze the pan with the tequila, stirring it around. Transfer to a saucepan or small soup pot. Add the vegetable stock, the chickpeas and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

While the soup is cooking, toast some slices of baguette and slather them with basil pesto. Set aside.

In a small bowl smooth the miso paste with water. Just before serving, fish out the bay leaves and stir the miso into the soup. Season with salt, if needed, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, slipping a few pesto croutons into each bowl.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Raita with Basil and Walnuts

Raita is yogurt salad, pronounced (RYE-ta), classically served as a “cooling” condiment with Indian curry dishes. You don’t necessarily need to drain the yogurt, but it helps, especially with the low fat and fat-free choices, to keep the raita nice and thick. Greek yogurts, which we can now find easily in the market, are a good choice and they are more thick in the first place. Add some ground cumin to the walnuts as they finish toasting.

Try this raita with grilled vegetables or as a dip for toasted pita chips.

2 cups plain low-fat or fat-free yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted

1 large cucumber

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch sea salt

Drain the yogurt in a colander, lined with cheesecloth, for about an hour. It will some of its watery liquid and gain a nice thick texture.

Chop the toasted walnuts into 1/4-inch pieces. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise and, with a spoon, scrape away the seeds. Cut into 1/4-inch dice or grate like you would for carrots.

Stir together the yogurt, garlic, chopped basil, walnuts and cucumber. Season with the cayenne and salt.

Makes about 2 cups.

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