My CSA Journal III

Another week, another CSA post.

WEEK #6
Red kuri squash
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Celeriac
Parsnips
Rutabaga
Carrots

Roasted squash with garlic: based on an Alice Waters recipe. I took one buttercup and one red kuri squash, and I seeded, peeled, and cut them up into half-inch chunks. They were put in a non-stick baking pan, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, stirred every so often. Meanwhile, I ran four cloves of garlic through a garlic press and gently sautéed them in a little olive oil. After removing the squash pieces from the oven, I tossed them with the garlic oil and some chopped cilantro. These were good as is or topped with a little yogurt. The red kuri had a smooth, rich, buttery taste, and the buttercup was sweeter and mushier, tasting somewhat like yam.

Curry root vegetable latkes: based on a recipe circulated on the CSA newsletter. I grated 1¼ pounds of potatoes and celery root, one parsnip, four small carrots, three small beets, and one small onion. In a large bowl, I beat four medium eggs and mixed in ¾ cup flour, ½ tablespoon curry powder, ½ tablespoon salt, about 1 teaspoon ground pepper, and 1 cup chopped cilantro. The grated vegetables were folded into this mixture with my hands. To fry, I coated a large skillet with vegetable oil and heated it for a few minutes on medium heat. Then, I spooned large dollops of the latke batter into the oil and pressed them quite flat (about ¼ inch thick) with a spatula. After five minutes, the first side was crisp and browned, and I flipped them to repeat with the other side. This recipe yielded 20 latkes, and they tasted great topped with plain yogurt.

A Mediterranean chilli of sorts: I fried three tablespoons of sesame seeds until they turned dark brown and then added one medium onion and three cloves of garlic, all chopped. After the onion softened, I added seven large button mushrooms sliced thick and sauteed them until they stopped releasing liquid. Then, into the pot went one can of chopped tomatoes and one can of water, along with a bunch of diced root vegetables: one small celery root, two small rutabagas, and a couple of carrots. I seasoned with one teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground thyme, 2 teaspoons paprika, one teaspoon ground ginger, and seven bay leaves. This mixture was simmered until the vegetables softened, about half an hour. Then, I added a couple handfuls of cubed cooked chicken and about 2 cups of cooked pinto beans. I simmered for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors, turned off the heat, and stirred in a cup of chopped cilantro. This stew would also have been good with preserved lemon, but I didn't have any on hand. In any case, the cilantro provided some of the brightness that the lemon would have.