Potato Croquettes Stuffed With Spicy Beets
Adapted from Farmer John's Cookbook

I said above that some recipes in Farmer John's Cookbook seem wacky on their face and this is one of them. What are beets doing in a potato croquette? And why? One reason why is that this is one way to sneak beets into your meal and eat them without really perceiving their beetiness. This recipe is a favorite of mine - the spicy, tanginess of the beets counterbalances the potato's creaminess. I dressed the croquettes with Honey-Buttermilk dressing from Joy of Cooking (newer version).



[I pre-roast and peel about 3 medium-sized beets the day before to save time.] First, boil about 2 lbs. of peeled Yukon Gold potatoes; drain and mash with 1 T. minced onion + 3 T. butter, a glug or two of buttermilk + salt & pepper to taste. You want the potatoes to be a little sticky and pliable because you have to stuff them later. (I liken the consistency to pie dough right before you add water.) While the potatoes are boiling, chop the beets into 1/4" dice & place in a medium bowl with 1/2 t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. ground coriander, 2 T. chopped cilantro, a pinch of cayenne, 1 T. lime juice and salt & pepper to taste. (After I mix the spices & herbs with the beets, I take a fork and give the mixture a good mash - I want it to be smooth, not chunky.) Then, I pat about 4 T. of potatoes into rounds of potatoes and place on plates. (You want them to be about 4" in diameter, but they can be as big or small as you want.) I place about 1 T. beet mixture in the middle of the rounds,


Potatoes awaiting molding into croquettes

then mold the potatoes around the beets. Coat the potato croquettes in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs and fry about 5 minutes on each side:




Finished Croquettes with light dusting Maldon sea salt


Croquette, Inside

What's great about terrific produce is, you don't have to do much to it.
I've become really addicted to the corn, sage and pancetta/bacon combination (featured in a Zuni Cafe cookbook pasta recipe).
So yesterday, I made a little salad lunch with fresh tomatoes, oven roasted tomatoes, sauteed pancetta, fresh corn and sage all drizzled with good balsamic and olive oil. I served it with toasted baguettes with a smear of fresh goat cheese from the green city market.

Though I think I've seen it, I don't remember ever cooking with red celery before:

Red Celery from Genesis Growers:

The first thing I noted was how thin the stalks are. This bears little resemblance in appearance to commercial celery. The taste is familiar, however - just way more intense. Raw, the leaves tasted great, but the stalks were a little stringy. So I decided to braise them in an effort to make them tender.


Red Celery Braising in White Wine:

The braising liquid turned a pretty pink color in no time, and it picked up intense celery taste in mere minutes. After about 15 minutes, I thought the celery had mellowed nicely and become pleasant-textured. Even after braising, however, this is still strong stuff, so I thought it demanded to be served with equally strong accompaniments.


Braised Red Celery With Minnesota Wild Rice, Sunny Side Up Farm Eggs, and Celery Leaf Gremolata:

The gremolata has raw minced garlic, chopped celery leaves, grated lemon peel, a squeeze of lemon and a dash of olive oil. The fantastic eggs are from Mint Creek Farm, and the earthy, full-of-flavor wild rice is a souvenir from a recent road trip into the depths of Northern Minnesota.

I've been making a versatile pasta dish that includes a bunch of CSA veggies. I adapted it from a recipe in Real Simple magazine. Here's how it goes.

Saute chopped onions in olive oil for a few minutes, then add minced garlic. After about 30 seconds, add 2-3 medium diced tomatoes, a can of chick peas, and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Stir and simmer. Meanwhile, cook pasta (I've used capellini and linguini, but any pasta works). After about 10-15 minutes, add chard to the simmering veggies. Cover for a few more minutes. Drain pasta and add to veggie mix. Serve with a topping of parmesan cheese.

I used chard last night, but sauteed zucchini when I made the dish a few weeks ago.

Last night, I also took the big heirloom tomato from my CSA box and cut thick sliceds. I mixed 2T of balsamic vinegar, 2T olive oil, some chopped onions, salt, and pepper, and drizzled over the tomato slices.

I don't have a CSA but I do have a small garden on the roof where I grow some tomatoes, peppers, zucs, cucs, broccoli, chard, lettuce, beans, herbs, etc. I thought I would share a very simple BLT pic. The thing I would like to point out is the tomato. It's an heirloom variety called Kellogg's Breakfast and it's a beefsteak size. These didn't do well this year but the ones I got were great. Very nice tomato flavor with a very meaty, dense texture. You'll notice the cross section doesn't contain too many seeds. Really nice tomato if you can find it.

Edit: BTW, it's made with my new favorite BLT bread: Dominick's "Artisan" French Bread loaf. It's really not like a baguette at all. It has a slightly thicker but chewy crust and the bread itself is airy and "smooshy." It does well with a quick toast but still remains a little "smooshy" - which I like. Oh yeah, and that's not Miracle Whip. Cheers.

tyrus wrote:I don't have a CSA

tyrus-

Thanks for posting. As you may have noticed, I changed the thread title somewhat after some discussion to reflect that this thread is also appropriate for seasonal cooking. So, people who grow their own food or buy from the farmer's market and who want to share their recipes or suggestions for using their vegetables are welcome to do so here as well.

Thanks for the information on the Kellogg's Breakfast variety -- it looks delicious.

aschie30 wrote:

tyrus wrote:I don't have a CSA

tyrus-

Thanks for posting. As you may have noticed, I changed the thread title somewhat after some discussion to reflect that this thread is also appropriate for seasonal cooking.

You know, I must have seen that as I was posting but it didn't register as I remembered the original thread about cooking from your csa. Thanks for opening it up...

Those potato croquettes look wonderful! I am happy I have received a substantial amount of fingerlings this week. I also received a large amount of celery--any ideas what to do with that? Not sure how to use it up.

EDIT: DUH! There's a red celery recipe above--but would that work with normal celery?

Recently, I made an heirloom tomato, gruyère, carmelized onion and niçoise olive tart, based on this recipe from Gourmet. (I am so glad that Whole Foods now sells pitted niçoise olives; those little buggers are hard to pit.)


tart crust

+ carmelized onions

+ gruyère cheese

+ tomatoes, olives & light salting

Finished tart


I baked this off about 20-30 minutes longer than the baking time stated in the recipe. This is a very buttery crust, and I like to bake off the butter until its tan colored.

<<Note: Recipe Index updated!>>

aschie30 wrote:Recently, I made an heirloom tomato, gruyère, carmelized onion and niçoise olive tart, based on this recipe from Gourmet.

Looks beautiful - how did it taste? I often make an Alsatian onion tart similar to the type served at Le Bouchon which is simply caramelized sweet onions (a lot of them), a little garlic, eggs, cream, basil, parsley, nutmeg, salt, pepper and gruyere cheese (occasionally I add some olives and bacon). I also typically use an all butter crust.

From earlier in the season, a meal of mushrooms, gnocchi with green beans and garden-grown basil pesto, and fiddlehead ferns.

Crustless quiche



4 eggs, 1.25 cups of milk, grated cheese, sauteed chard, sweet onions, and sweet corn.

Into a buttered pie pan and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Best,
Michael

BR wrote:

aschie30 wrote:Recently, I made an heirloom tomato, gruyère, carmelized onion and niçoise olive tart, based on this recipe from Gourmet.

Looks beautiful - how did it taste? I often make an Alsatian onion tart similar to the type served at Le Bouchon which is simply caramelized sweet onions (a lot of them), a little garlic, eggs, cream, basil, parsley, nutmeg, salt, pepper and gruyere cheese (occasionally I add some olives and bacon). I also typically use an all butter crust.

It tasted like a Provencale-style pizza (more butter & flakiness in the crust than regular pizza dough; gruyère instead of mozzarella). The one thing I forgot to add on the finished tart was some fresh thyme. I love an Alsatian-style onion tart a la Le Bouchon's. It's a great way to use simple ingredients like onion and eggs, and butter + flour for dough; yet, is an extremely satisfying meal with a simple green salad.

Michael - your crustless quiche looks amazing - the middle looks especially creamy.

aschie30 wrote:Michael - your crustless quiche looks amazing - the middle looks especially creamy.

Thanks. It wasn't all that creamy. It actually set up quite firm, which is how I like it. It actually tasted much better on day two.

aschie30, that tart looks terrific. And, good to know a source for pitted olives (though Graziano's oil-cured olives are worth pitting at home).

Last week I made a Cobb Salad inspired by Cooks Illustrated using cherry tomatoes from my garden, corn and baby romaine from the Lincoln Square farmers market and watercress from Golden Pacific (I was surprised to find it there--95 cents). I'm not really a fan of hard-boiled egg so I used fresh corn for color. I used gorgonzola from Graziano's as well. And I realized I didn't have any lemons for the dressing so I used a few teaspoons of chopped preserved lemon which I quite liked.

I roasted some Italian Sweet Peppers:






Peeled them and pureed with olive oil, then added to a saucepan that had some sweating garlic. Seasoned, added some pasta cooking water, and served with spaghetti alla chitarra with basil and a few dollops of sheeps milk chevre....

Lots to choose from at the Green City Market yesterday. I first found sweet onions and decided to make a cream of sweet onion soup, lightly caramelizing the onions with some garlic in bacon grease and butter, simmered in white wine and homemade chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme. I then pureed it and seasoned it with salt, white pepper and nutmeg and topped it with the reserved bacon (not shown in picture below), green onion and basil:




I also found some beautiful green tomatoes, some heirloom tomatoes, dandelion greens and French marigolds. I absolutely love fried green tomatoes so I turned this into a fried green tomato salad. The breading for the green tomatoes was a mixture of flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper; the heirloom tomatoes were served raw. I served the salad with a vinaigrette featuring the wonderful buttermilk from Blue Marble (2nd picture below):








I have plenty of buttermilk left over so some buttermilk biscuits are in store for the week.

With the cooler weather and two green peppers almost past their prime, I was happy to come across a recipe in the September issue of Real Simple magazine yesterday - white bean chili with jalapeno bulgur.

First I cooked 3/4 cup of bulgur with 1 1/2 cup of water for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile I chopped and sauteed a large onion and two green peppers for about 6 minutes, then added 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt, and pepper for another minute. I sliced up 4 roma tomatoes and mixed in a 1 1/2 of water, brought to a boil, and stirred in 2 cans of cannellini beans. Simmered for 10 minutes.

After the bulgur was done, I squeezed juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1 seeded and chopped jalapeno, and the recipe called for some chopped scallions but I didn't have any on hand. Then, I spooned some bulgur mix over the chili mix and ate.

It came out with a lot of flavor, which I'm sure will be more intense today. I'll be nice to have some warm chili with the mid-60s weather expected this weekend.

This week, my CSA box included a too-big zucchini (for the second time.) Last time, I made the mistake of not de-seeding it before I made soup. The seeds were just slightly smaller/softer than pumpkin seeds. So, before I pureed the soup, I had to pick out seeds. Couldn't strain because of the flesh. It was ridiculous. And the soup wasn't a great recipe. So the effort was not worth it.

This time, I made zucchini-potato latke. I was planning to go all zucchini but until I was done de-seeding and peeling the rind, I didn't have as much flesh as I needed. So, here is the recipe I roughly followed:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/call ... index.html

Tasty with a dollop of quark cheese.

Not from my CSA box, but I love the fried shisito peppers from Mado. I found some today (thanks happy_stomach!) from Green Acres at the Green City Market. Not a whole lot to it; fry them in olive oil. As a seasoning note, I find that they take a lot of salt. But, man, are they addictive. The best $3 I spent all week.

aschie30, those look great. I also saw those at the market this week and immediately thought of Mado. Sounds like a happy $3 I will be spending shortly.

I have been remiss in posting during the high holy days of summer (tomato season), but there are quite a few goodies to be enjoyed right now:

- no-fuss ratatouille a la Kennyz: halve cherry tomatoes, chop up zucchini and asian egplant, slice onions, whole garlic basil and thyme with an olive oil lacquer in a dish uncovered for 250ish until it looks a bit dry on top. Delicious on toast as noted above. Far easier than my more involved, multi-pan version. Thanks Kenny!

- gazpacho: a traditional recipe from The Spanish Table for the first go around (recipe to be posted soonish)

- the summer vegetable gratin from Cook's Illustrated.
* 1 lb zucchini in 1/4" slices, salted and set over a colander for 45 minutes and toweled dry
* 1.5 lb tomato in 1/4" sliced, set on paper towel and salted for 45 minutes then toweled dry
* 2 sliced onions cooked in olive oil until brown and caramelized
* 1 tbs thyme, pepper, 3 tbsp olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves combined in a bowl
* 1 slice bread food processed until crumbs tossed with 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 oz grated parm and 2 minced shallots
+ brush ovenproof dish with olive oil
+ layer zucchini on the bottom, brush with 1/2 oil mixture, top with onions, top with tomatoes, brush with rest of oil mixture
+ bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes until tomatoes brown slightly at the edges
+ remove, crank to 450 and then top with breadcrumb mixture
+ bake 5-10 minutes or until top is browned to your liking
+ chiffonade of basil to serve


Dinner tonight was toasted D'Amatos bread topped with sherry vinegar dressing, sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, arugala, sea salt and olive oil drizzle with ratatouille and more arugula on the side.

Did I mention I love tomato season?

I am separated from my farm box for a couple of weeks while I visit my parents in Massachusetts. Luckily the seasonal cooking continues. My parents are intense gardeners and planted an abundance of cabbage, including chinese and regular cabbage. Here is my dad's multicultural cabbage preservation, with kimchee on the left and sauerkraut on the right:



As the weather gets cooler, my own thoughts turn to preservation, pickling, and jam-making.
Cheers, Jen

aschie30 wrote:Not from my CSA box, but I love the fried shisito peppers from Mado. I found some today (thanks happy_stomach!) from Green Acres at the Green City Market. Not a whole lot to it; fry them in olive oil. As a seasoning note, I find that they take a lot of salt. But, man, are they addictive. The best $3 I spent all week.

I haven't eaten at Mado yet but those look fabulous!
Did you deep fry or pan-fry/saute?

Just wanted to add--BR, your pics are inspiring. I've never made fried green tomatoes but you've inspired me to try. And the presentation is gorgeous (I'm especially envious of your soup bowls)...

thaiobsessed wrote:

aschie30 wrote:Not from my CSA box, but I love the fried shisito peppers from Mado. I found some today (thanks happy_stomach!) from Green Acres at the Green City Market. Not a whole lot to it; fry them in olive oil. As a seasoning note, I find that they take a lot of salt. But, man, are they addictive. The best $3 I spent all week.

I haven't eaten at Mado yet but those look fabulous!
Did you deep fry or pan-fry/saute?

I pan-fry; just a decent glug of olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet turned up to med-high heat. Peppers should sizzle when they go in.

Fall is coming, and sweet potatoes have arrived:

Nichols Farm Sweet Potatoes:


I decided to adapt what I belive is a Japanese method of mashing potatoes, mixing in seasonings and egg yolks, then forming into balls with a tea towel before baking. I believe that in Japan this method is used most often to make confections, but I was asked to bring a side dish for an Asian-themed dinner party, so I made something savory.

First, I steamed the potatoes, peeled them, and mashed with lots of butter, some fresh sage, a little honey, a pinch of cinnamon, and some salt and pepper.

Steamed Sweet Potatoes Mashed With Butter, Sage, Seasonings:



Then I mixed in a couple of egg yolks, and dropped hefty spoonfulls onto a textured kitchen towel. A tea towl would be most traditional, but I didn't have one of those. Cheese cloth would work too. This step is necessary because the "batter" is too wet to work with by hand alone - so I formed balls by wrapping it up and manipulating it within the towel, which formed a nicely textured exterior.

Balls formed with a textured kitchen towel:





I brushed egg yolk onto each ball, topped with black sesame seeds, and baked at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned.

Baked Sage-Sweet Potato Balls With Black Sesame Seeds:

Turnips and Illinois sweet onions (who knew?) in garam masala and olive oil, roasted in a grill basket.

Beet salad with rosemary, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts.
Adapted from Fine Cooking #101.
Cook beets, toss with sherry vinegar, salt, and olive oil. Top with remaining ingredients from title. Enjoy. An excellent use of beets. The original recipe used oregano, but I had rosemary.

The inspiration:


The salad:


The closeup:


The beet hunks look kind of like tomatoes, or maybe sashimi. "Beet sashimi".
My husband and I were contending over the last beet hunks from this bowl. I'm so glad I traded in my eggplant for this lovely bunch of beets from the swap box.

Jen

Jen-

The beet salad looks phenomenal!

-Mary

I have a squash problem:


The above lovelies I baked until soft, then mushed through the food mill to freeze as puree. That yielded some excellent pumpkin muffins. My husband and daughter are "not that into squash", and I wanted to make something new. So:

Roasted acorn squash with chile-lime viniagrette
from Gourmet, via Smitten Kitchen:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/unfli ... od-things/


Woo, extreme closeup!


This was a great change from the usual squash with sweet spices and butter flavor set. I used a forlorn jalapeno, also from the farm box, and cilantro-- such lively and bright flavors, with the sweet, soft, and rich squash. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself. I also made the beet salad again-- my husband happily polished that off while I noshed on squash.

Jen