Desiree Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Garlic

Ranui Gardens CSA
Last Pick of the Season 2012

In her well-researched tome, Vegetables, from Amaranth to Zucchini,  Elizabeth Schneider  describes the Desiree potato as a European favorite that is best steamed because it turns pearly alabaster with its flesh waxy, satiny and sliceable. “Pure delicate flavor with a high note–like sparkling wine.” This simple presentation is meant to showcase the potato’s quality.

2 pounds Desiree potatoes

3 to 4 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces mild blue cheese

Chopped parsley leaves, optional

Scrub the potatoes very well with a vegetable brush. Place them on a steamer rack over plenty of boiling water. Cover. Reduce the heat so that the water boils gently and cook until the potatoes are tender in the center when pierced with a knife tip, about 25 minutes. Lift the steamer rack and let the potatoes cool slightly.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the garlic into thin slivers. Heat the butter in a skillet on very low heat. Add the garlic and salt and cook, stirring often until the garlic softens. If the flame is good and low, this could take 10 minutes—just don’t let the garlic turn brown.

Mash potatoes slightly and arrange them in a warm serving dish. Drizzle the buttery garlic and blue cheese on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you want more color.

Figuring about 1/2 pound of potatoes per person–this recipes serves 4.

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Simple Leek, Garlic and Potato Soup

For a surprise color, I made this soup with the red-skinned and red-flesh Mountain Rose potato.

diced Mountain Rose potatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks, thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, about 1 1/2 cups

7 cups light vegetable broth

2 pounds potatoes, well-scrubbed and cut in 3/4-inch dice

7 or 8 cloves garlic, peeled

Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped green onion, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium flame. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable broth, potatoes and garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender.

Puree the soup on the pot with an immersion blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If your vegetable broth is low sodium, you will need to add more salt. If you prefer a smooth texture, strain out any skins that did not puree completely.

Serve in bowls, garnished with the chopped green onions.

Makes about 8 servings.

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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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Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers with Dill and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We are a vegetarian family for the most part—our consumption of eggs and cheese make us lacto-ovo vegetarians. I suppose we are really flexitarians, to use the recently coined term for those who occasionally eat meat or fish. And that package of frozen salmon burgers from Costco hanging out it the freezer comes in handy for a quick meal or when our non-veg friends come to dinner.

This week girlfriend Laurie pulled off a last-minute dinner for 9 people—the aforementioned burgers slathered with basil pesto, served on a bed of mashed potatoes. Laurie says she learned about the salmon burgers and pesto at our house–thanks Laurie for the potato idea.

Dill marries well with potatoes and it is a fine complement to salmon. Its distinctive flavor is lost with heating so always add it after cooking. Yogurt adds tang to the potatoes—but milk and butter or buttermilk or crème fraîche are other ideas. I sometimes add coconut milk because I always have a can in my pantry. Most folks peel their potatoes before cooking and mashing—but I say why bother when you have gorgeous organic, pesticide-free Ranui Gardens potatoes. If you have time, roast the potatoes for a more buttery addition. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes are classic.

About 3 pounds potatoes, well-scrubbed

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled

½ to 1 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

Sprigs of fresh dill

Cut the potatoes into chunks about 1-inch in measure. Place in a saucepan with the garlic and cover with water. Add the salt, cover and simmer, until the potatoes are tender. Drain.

Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and garlic together. Mash in the yogurt, enough to moisten as you prefer, and fresh dill. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground pepper.

To cook the salmon burgers:

While the potatoes are cooking, heat some olive oil in a large skillet. Slip in the salmon burgers and cook about 5 minutes, until light golden on the bottom. Flip the burgers and cook another 5 minutes. (This is where you would slather generously with basil pesto—but today we are featuring another herb—dill.)

Cook another 5 minutes—you will see some of the salmon fat oozing white on the sides and top. Keep warm.

To serve: Spoon some of the garlic dill mashed potatoes on a plate and set the salmon burger on top. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs.

 

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Garlic and Leek Soup

It’s our final CSA week for 2010. Oh we will miss the weekly box. At our house we just don’t dine as well when the veggie bin lacks abundance–without the need to be aggressive about using things up. A Ranui greens salad every night–ah summer. Let’s be gluttons with the garlic and make this variation on the traditional Spanish Sopa de Ajo. I’ve been hoarding some thyme and parsley from the last couple of weeks, maybe you all have too. You can place a poached egg on top of the croutons and cheese in the bowl for a more substantial meal.

2 heads garlic, separated into cloves and peeled

8 cups vegetable stock

1 to 2 teaspoons Real Salt, depending on how salty your stock is

Pinch saffron, optional

Freshly ground pepper

2 whole cloves

2 sprigs thyme

4 sprigs fresh parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 or 5 baby leeks, trimmed, cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup dried orzo or other small pasta

2 cups Garlic Croutons

1/2 cup grated queso fresco or mozzarella cheese

Add the garlic to the veggie stock along with the salt, saffron, if using, some pepper, the cloves, thyme, parsley and oil. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for about one hour. Strain and discard the garlic, clove and herbs.

While the garlic is simmering, sauté the leeks in the butter until soft and just golden.

Stir the orzo into the broth along with the sautéed leeks. Simmer until the orzo is just cooked.

To serve, put some croutons in the bottom of a soup bowl and sprinkle with the cheese. Ladle the soup over this and the optional poached egg.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Garlic Croutons

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 2 cups)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the olive oil and garlic in a bowl, add the diced bread, and toss until well coated. Transfer to a baking sheet pan and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the croutons to the bowl, sprinkle with the paprika, and toss well.

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Roasted Golden Beets and their Greens with Garlic Orange Dressing

This week we enjoy the first of farmer John’s garlic by roasting an entire head of garlic in the same casserole as the beets; turning the garlic into delicious buttery goo and infusing the beets with garlic essence.   I love these sweet roasted beets, juxtaposed with their barely bitter greens and tangy salty feta cheese–sweet, sour, salty and bitter all in one bite.  Make this recipe soon after you get the beets, because beet greens deteriorate more quickly than other greens, and the cheapatarian in me does not want to see them go to waste. Spread crackers or crostini with the roasted garlic cloves not used in the dressing.

1 pound golden beets

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon Real Salt, or to taste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon minced onion

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ cup feta cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the beet tops, leaving a 1-inch tail, reserving the top greens. Scrub the beets. Break the garlic up into individual cloves, but don’t peel them. Put the beets and the garlic cloves in a small casserole, add about ½ cup of water and cover with a lid or foil. Bake until a knife slips easily into the largest beet, about 1 hour; the time will vary depending on the size of the beets.

Meanwhile tear the beet greens off the stems, discarding any yellowed or wilted greens. Cut them into 1-inch ribbons. Set aside.

When the beets are tender, let them cool enough so you can slip off the skins, then trim the tips and tails and cut the beets in wedges or slices.

Squeeze about half the cloves of the soft, cooked garlic into a bowl and mash it well with a fork. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, minced onion, salt and cayenne, and whisk together well. Toss the beets with half of this dressing.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet. Add the beet green ribbons. Cook and stir until the greens are wilted and tender to your bite. Toss in the remaining dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the greens to a serving plate.  Place the cut and dressed beets over the greens. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, if desired

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Basil Pesto

If you were to peek into our freezer in January, you would find several recycled cottage cheese or miso containers labeled and dated Pesto; from this summer’s harvest they will read Pesto 2009. I dip into the tubs for pasta sauce, as seasoning for soup and the times when an interesting recipe calls for fresh herbs and I don’t have any.

Stashing a bit of frozen pesto is the most squirrel-like thing I do. And because I use a food processor there is very little time involved–the work is in stripping the basil leaves off the stems. Purists be appalled, but any flavor or texture nuance lost by not using the traditional mortar and pestle is more than made up for with timesavings. You say it still seems like too much work and you can buy pesto in jars at the store—to me that is like saying dried parsley or cilantro, or basil, is an adequate substitute for the fresh leaf.

Here in Park City the sports shops have all the summer gear on sale and over Labor Day weekend they switched over—to skis, boots and winter clothing. I’m getting ready for winter in the kitchen; I’m stocking my pesto larder using the fresh basil in this week’s CSA box. I like this recipe—it calls for more garlic and less olive oil than many. In the middle of winter, a dollop of basil pesto reeking of garlic will bring a rich punch to our dinner. Today, harvest day, I’ll make basil pesto around dinner hour, reserving a little of the emerald opulence. I’ll mix it with an equal amount of pasta water, making sauce for pasta just boiled.

2 large garlic cloves

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, broken in pieces or already grated (don’t even think of using that sawdust in the green can)

2 cups tightly packed, stemmed fresh basil

1/2 cup walnuts (or pine nuts to be extravagant)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add the ingredients in the order directed for efficient use of the food processor. With the motor of the food processor running, mince the garlic by dropping it through the feed tube. Process until it is very fine. Add the cheese, basil, walnuts and salt. Process for about 10 seconds, stopping to move things around if they get hung up. With the machine running, pour oil through the feed tube in a thin stream, processing until everything is well blended.

Makes about 1 cup. Scrape into small containers immediately and freeze. To use in winter, thaw the pesto only enough so you can scrape some out.

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Creamy Cucumber Salad

Garlic, ripe for picking

Even with organic cucumbers, I like mine peeled. And I prefer the seeds removed; it’s a longstanding kitchen habit and I think you will appreciate the more pleasant eating too. Another detail—soak the red onions in ice water to mellow the bite of the onion.

This recipe can be varied in many ways. Add more yogurt and bump up the seasonings to make a saucy condiment—to curries or grilled meats. The full-fat Greek yogurt will be creamier, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt will make a thinner dressing. But if you are watching your calories…

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, soaked for 10 minutes in ice water, drained

2 or 3 cucumbers

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt or low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped dill leaves, optional

2 tablespoons fresh sweet basil, 1/8-inch chiffonade

While the onion is soaking, peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and using a spoon, gently scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice about 1/4-inch thick–or thinner or thicker, it’s your preference. Mix with the yogurt, garlic,

salt, cayenne pepper and fresh herbs. Taste and correct seasoning. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

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