Week 3: 9/17 - 9/20
Thursday 3pm - till Sunday Night | SELF SERVE 13197 10TH St. South. Afton, MN. 55001 | 612.770.7194
What we're up to:
This week we have been concentrating on getting our last plantings in for the late fall and winter. Tomorrow we will be planting our heated tunnel for winter greens and pulling the reminder of summer crops out of there. We did get a light frost last night on the farm that reignites our engine to get these crops out before it is too late. Looking at our tomatoes, we have about 1 week left and we will be ready to move them over their winter fields and hopefully push some late season growth as well.
In Your Bag This Week
Garlic: hardback varieties do well in our climate as well as harden off easily for storage. Garlic is great for your immune system as well as delicious! Store in a dry place out of the sun. carrots: sweet and crisp with an earthy smell, carrots are always welcomed to the table. cook or eat raw, you can't go wrong. Store in a bag in your fridge. Escarole: The color and texture of the leaves varies—those on the outside are darker-green and a bit tougher, while the interior leaves are pale-yellow and more tender. Flavor-wise, escarole is part of the chicory family, which means it’s related to stuff like endive, radicchio, and other bitter greens. And yes, as the family name “bitter greens” suggests, escarole is a tad bitter. cook it or use it raw but pair it with fatty things or citrus flavors to compliment the bitter flavor. Store in a bag in the fridge. Bib Romaine: great in salads, wraps or sandwiches! Store in a bag in the fridge. Celery: this is not for eating raw! lol, it has too much flavor because we do not blanch it-this is however the best cooking celery you can find! Start making stews and soup and baked casseroles again, the cooler weather is here. Store in a bag in your fridge. Hakuri Turnips: These are a salad turnip which means you can eat them raw. the root has a sweet juicy flavor and the greens are slightly peppery like arugula. I like to eat them in a salad or sauté them with some bacon then finish it off with a little maple syrup. Store in your fridge in a bag. Thyme: A true fall smell-pull the tiny leaves off the woody stem by holding the top of the stem and dragging your pinched fingers down the stem. fresh thyme can be used raw or cooked. Store hung upside down in a dark, dry place or in water on your counter. Collard Greens: Big leaves can be used like kale but have a slightly sweeter flavor. Look up pot liquor meals for a southern meat dish or just chop and sauté, add some onions and garlic and finish it off with some cream for a great side. Store in a bag in your fridge. Farm Mix Microgreens: Mild and tasty, its a great base for any salad or make it a simple side by adding olive oil, salt and pepper. Store in your fridge.
French Lentiles with Chicken & Escarole | Serves: 6 | total time: 1h 50 mins
Ingredients
1 parsley bunch, stems and leaves divided (2 cups chopped parsley)
1 medium yellow onion (1¼ cups chopped onion)
2 medium carrots (⅔ cup chopped carrots)
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped (2 teaspoons chopped garlic)
½ Fresno chile, chopped (2 to 3 teaspoons)
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken legs, patted dry
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
2 cups (14 ounces) French lentils, rinsed and picked over
4½ cups water
4 cups small-torn crusty bread (1 baguette)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
1 small escarole head, leaves separated (11 to 12 cups leaves)
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Roughly chop the parsley stems and place them in a food processor. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and chile, and pulse until finely chopped; set aside.
3. In a large, wide Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper, and add them to the pot, skin-sides down, and cook until deeply browned on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the chicken legs to a plate, skin-sides up. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove the crispy chicken skin, roughly chop and set aside.
4. Return the pot to medium-high heat, add the onion mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 5 minutes. Add the chicken, lentils and water, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer, 7 to 10 minutes.
5. Transfer the pot to the preheated oven and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°.
6. While the chicken and lentils are cooking, in a medium bowl, combine the torn bread with ⅔ of the parsley leaves, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.
7. When the lentils and chicken are cooked through, remove the chicken and transfer to a cutting board. Using two forks, remove the meat from the bones in large pieces and return the meat to the lentils; discard the bones. Return the chicken to the pot and stir in 1 tablespoon of the vinegar. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Alternate layering parsley bread mixture, chicken-skin pieces and ½ of the escarole leaves over the top. Return the pot to the oven and bake until the bread pieces are golden and the chicken skin and escarole are crispy, 12 to 15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, whisk the mustard with the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the remaining escarole and parsley leaves, tossing to coat. Top the chicken and lentils with the escarole-parsley salad and serve.
Chickpea & Escarole Soup | Serves: 8 | total time: 55 mins
Ingredients
1.25–1.5 lbs escarole, from 1-2 small heads or 1 large
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt
6 cups cooked chickpeas, from 1 lb. of dried, see notes above
8 cups liquid: a combination of the chickpea cooking liquid + water or vegetable stock, see notes above
1 rind from a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano, optional
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
Parmigiano Reggiano, optional, for serving
good, fresh crusty bread or olive oil toasted bread, for serving, optional
Instructions
Roughly chop the escarole and place in a large bowl. Cover with cold water. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir to distribute. Cover. Immediately turn heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until onions are translucent and beginning to take on some color.
Remove the lid from the pot, and add the escarole, scooping it from the bowl of water with your hands, leaving the water behind — some water clinging to the greens is fine. Let the escarole cook for a minute undisturbed, then use tongs to stir and encourage it to wilt down, which will happen quickly, 1-2 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and their cooking liquid — if you are using the slow cooker chickpea recipe, you can dump the entire contents of the slow cooker into the pot (remove the onion half and bay leaf first). This is roughly 6 heaping cups of chickpeas and 4 cups of cooking liquid. Add 4 more cups of water. Add the parmesan rind if using. Season with freshly cracked pepper. Let simmer 25-30 minutes or until the broth, chickpeas and escarole taste nicely seasoned. Taste for salt. If you are using the slow cooker chickpeas, whose broth is nicely seasoned, plus a parmesan rind, you likely won’t need to add more salt. But if not, add salt to taste.
To make the crusty bread, heat a large skillet over medium heat with some olive oil. Cook slices of bread on one side until golden. Flip, and cook the other side till crisp and golden.
Ladle soup into bowls. Dunk in a slice of olive oil toasted bread. Crack pepper over top. Shave parmesan over top if you wish.
Schmaltzy Hakurei Turnips with Rosemary | Serves: 6 | total time: 30 mins
Ingredients
2 pounds hakurei turnips with tops
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup, divided
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup melted schmaltz (such as Fatworks) or unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Trim turnip stems to 1/2 inch; reserve greens. Cut trimmed turnips into 3/4-inch wedges to equal 5 cups. Coarsely chop turnip greens to equal 8 loosely packed cups. (Reserve any remaining turnips and greens for another use.) Step 2 Whisk together oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, vinegar, Dijon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add chopped turnip greens; massage to coat greens. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Step 3 Meanwhile, toss together turnip wedges, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons schmaltz in a bowl. Arrange turnip mixture in a single layer in a 12- to 14-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until turnips are crisp-tender and browned, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Step 4 Meanwhile, toss together turnip wedges, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons schmaltz in a bowl. Arrange turnip mixture in a single layer in a 12- to 14-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until turnips are crisp-tender and browned, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home.
Please bring your bag back next week so we can re-use them!
thanks!