Here are some farmer-approved recipe ideas for your winter veggie cooking adventures- enjoy:
Roasted Vegetables (from MarthaStewart.com)
Instead of plain-old white mashed potatoes, get your holiday starch from beta-carotene-rich vegetables such as butternut squash and carrots.
*Farmer Erin's Note: You can use almost any vegetable in this roast. Any winter squash, celeriac, turnips, radishes (they're delicious cooked!), fennel, potatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, etc. We like throwing in some apple chunks too. Also you can use other herbs like sage, parsley, thyme, etc.
Ingredients
Serves 8
- 1 small butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds), pared, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
- 1 pound carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1 pound parsnips, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1 small rutabaga (1 pound), pared, halved, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
- 1 pound shallots, peeled, halved if large
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions
1. Combine the vegetables and rosemary on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Cover with foil.
2. Place the vegetables on the second rack in the oven. Roast 1 1/2 hours, uncover, and roast 30 minutes longer, tossing occasionally until vegetables are tender and golden brown.
Carrots & Rutabaga Mash
Ingredients
- 1 pound peeled and chopped carrots
- 1 pound peeled and chopped rutabaga
- 1/2 stick, 4 tablespoons, butter
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Directions
Boil carrots and rutabaga together until just soft. Drain and add butter. Smash together using either a potato masher or food processor until it looks like a puree. Season with lots of pepper and a little salt. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh parsley
Garlicky Kale Crostini (MarthaStewart.com)
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 small baguette, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 1 large head kale, stems removed, leaves torn or coarsely chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- Splash of red-wine vinegar
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place bread on a large baking sheet. Transfer to oven until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and rub cut sides of bread with 1 clove garlic; set aside.
3. Chop remaining 3 cloves garlic; set aside. Wash and drain kale; do not dry. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add kale and cook, stirring to coat with oil; season with salt. Cover and reduce heat to medium, cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. If leaves begin to scorch, add a splash of water to skillet.
4. Transfer kale to one side of skillet and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to bare side of skillet; add reserved chopped garlic and the red pepper flakes. When garlic is fragrant, stir to combine with kale.
5. Remove skillet from heat and add vinegar; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper; serve on toasted bread slices warm or at room temperature.
Kale Chips
Serves 12 to 15
- 1 pound kale (1 to 2 bunches), thick stems removed and leaves sliced crosswise into 2-inch ribbons
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Flaked sea salt or coarse salt, for sprinkling
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss kale with oil, and spread in a single layer on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake, tossing kale and rotating sheets halfway through, until crisp, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets. Sprinkle with lemon zest and salt, and toss to coat.
Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing (from MarthaStewart.com)
Ingredients
Serves 8
- 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
- 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts
Directions
1. Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
2. Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.
| 4 | heaping cups coarsely diced kuri squash seeds and skin removed (buy a 2 -3 pound kuri squash) |
| 1 | quart vegetable stock |
| 3 | tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 | medium yellow onion, sliced |
| 1 | sweet apple, cored and sliced |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| – | Pinch of cayenne pepper |
| 1-2 | teaspoons salt |
| ½ | teaspoon freshly ground pepper |
Creamy Red Kuri Squash Soup with Cinnamon
Louisa Shafia’s new cookbook Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco -Conscious Life
(can substitute any kind of winter squash)
Serves
4-6
Directions
Place the squash in a soup pot with the stock and a dash of salt and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain the squash, reserving all the stock.
Using the same pot, over high heat add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add onion and saute until it begins to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the apple, cinnamon, cayenne, and a dash of salt and saute until the apples are soft and lightly browned, about 5-8 minutes.
In batches, if necessary, combine the squash, onion, apple, and stock in a blender. Puree until smooth, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil as it blends. Add a little extra stock or water if the soup is too thick.
Taste and season with salt. Serve hot with a few grinds of black pepper.
Parsnip-Apple Mash
item-saved-on:
Earthy parsnips are sweetened with apples and blended into a delightfully silky puree.
Ingredients
Serves 10 to 12
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 2 pounds parsnips, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- 1 pound tart apples (about 3), such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 1/2 cups water
- Coarse salt
Directions
1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook parsnips in a single layer until just golden on bottoms, about 10 minutes. Flip, and add apples, water, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Raise heat to medium-high, and simmer, covered, until parsnips and apples are very soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered to retain moisture, until slightly cooled, about 5 minutes. Puree mixture in a blender until smooth. With machine running, add remaining tablespoon butter.
Celery Root & Potato Puree
This easy side dish is an impressively tasteful (and uncomplicated) addition to any holiday meal.
Ingredients
Serves 8
- 4 pounds celery root (about 2 large), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 pound new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Coarse salt
Directions
1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add celery root and potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Working in batches, transfer celery root, potatoes, half-and-half, and butter to a food processor; puree until smooth. Season with salt. (To store, refrigerate, up to 1 day. Reheat in a heatproof bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water.)
Celery Root and Apple Slaw
Celery root, also called celeriac, has a crunchy texture and a mild celery taste that pair well with tart green apple and a savory-sweet dressing. Allow enough time to let the slaw stand so that the flavors have a chance to mingle.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 small celery root (about 12 ounces), trimmed, peeled, and cut into matchsticks (2 cups)
- 1 apple, cut into matchsticks (2 cups)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh cider
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and toss. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.
Creamy Celeriac Soup
www.seriouseats.com
I've been meaning to pick up some celeriac for awhile now, just because it may be the ugliest vegetable in the grocery store. People are always passing it by, poor thing. On the outside it's a tangled mess of dirty, fuzzy roots and knobs, but once peeled it has the faint aroma of celery, a pale color, and a smooth texture. While I always thought it was simply the root of a celery plant it's actually a related, but separate, species. Above ground it grows a few stalks and leaves, but the majority of the growth happens underground in the root. This preparation, which I found on the River Cottage website, is a very classic French approach to the vegetable, pureed in a soup.
- makes 4 servings –
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1-2 celeriac (about 2 pounds), peeled and roughly chopped
1 large leek, sliced (about 3/4 pound)
1 smallish potato, diced (about 1/4 pound)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
7 tablespoons (3.5 ounces) heavy cream
Salt and pepper
3 slices good thick bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
Procedure
1. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the celeriac, potato, garlic, and onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables gentle until they soften, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until the celeriac is completely tender.
3. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a skillet until just crispy, then drain on paper towels.
4. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Return to medium heat, and season to taste. Whisk in the cream and serve immediately, topped with the bacon.
One thing I have done a lot of in the last few years is give powerpoint presentations about the farm, the CSA model, and the importance of buying local & organic. I've talked to church groups, rotary clubs, business group luncheons, college classrooms, country clubs, and more. 
