Pickled Shrimp and Celery

Shrimp season is on its way out - celebrate the last hauls of the year with this unique preparation. Not as acidic as most vinegar pickles, think of the brine as a marinade, infusing both ingredients with delicacy and aroma. Picked Dungenness crab would make a decadent substitute, though may fare better when tossed with the celery post-pickling (just before serving) to avoid a vinegar takeover of its buttery qualities.

Serve for the salad course or make it the main dish with a side of roasted sweet potatoes or delicata squash slices.

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

For the pickling brine
1/2 Cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 Cup mirin
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Thick slices fresh ginger
5 Black peppercorns
5 Juniper berries
1 Cinnamon stick

2 Bunches celery, outer stalks removed until just the tender heart stalks and their blanched leaves remain
1 Cup white wine
8 Black peppercorns
2 Bay leaves
Salt
1 1/2 - 2 pounds shrimp
Really good extra-virgin olive oil
Pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Put all of the pickling brine ingredients in a non-reactive pot along with one cup of water and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the brine into a wide shallow dish. Can be make up to 1 week in advance. Keep refrigerated.

2. Keep the celery hearts whole and put them into a large pot with the wine, bay leaves, and a generous pinch of salt. Add just enough water to cover the celery. Cover and simmer over medium heat until the celery is crisp-tender when pierced with a knife, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the celery to a cutting board. Cut the hearts crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces and add them to the pickling brine.

3. Using the same pot and liquid in which you cooked the celery, poach the shrimp until just cooked (if still in their shell, leave it on until after they are cooked to avoid them curling to tightly or flaring into a "butterfly"). Drain the shrimp in a colander, peel (if necessary), and put in a bowl. Pour the celery and pickling brine over the shrimp; make sure everything is submerged. If there isn't enough brine to cover everything completely, just give the celery and shrimp a turn now and then. Cover, refrigerate, and allow the shrimp and celery to "pickle" for about an hour.

4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp and celery to plates. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with celery leaves and chopped chives. Serve cold.


Based on a recipe from Canal House Cooks Every Day, by Christopher Hirsheimer & Melissa Hamilton.

Red Bell Pepper and Shallot Curry

Building a masala (curry) from scratch with fresh spices creates an intoxicating depth of flavor for minimal effort, and is one of the foundational techniques of Indian cooking. This curry dish makes the most of late season peppers and tomatoes and is a good starting place for cooks who are used to pre-ground curry blends, as it calls for a small and widely available set of spices.

If you don't have black mustard seeds, you can substitute yellow, but know that their flavor profile is quite different. It is worth seeking out black (sometimes also called brown) mustard seeds if you plan on making this and other masalas part of your repertoire. Black mustard's pungent kick ties the aromatic qualities of this dish (and many other Indian dishes) together in a way that yellow mustard just can't imitate.

Serve this curry with rice and a protein for a complete meal. It is also lovely over a bed of steamed potato chunks or with sauteed wild mushrooms added with the bell peppers. There is a good amount of pepper heat in this recipe as written, so scale back the chile peppers if you want to tone it down.

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 bunch green onions, white and green parts separated, chopped into thin rounds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
2 cups (11 oz) thinly sliced shallots
1 pound tomatoes, chopped
3 large jalapenos (or other chile peppers), finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon mild paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black mustard seeds (grind in a mortar and pestle or, if you don't have one, place in a plastic bag and pound with a rolling pin until coarsely ground)
3 to 4 red bell or sweet Italian peppers, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch thick strips

1. Heat oil in a heavy, medium pot on medium-high for 30 seconds. Add the cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for 30-45 seconds, or until they become darker brown. Immediately add shallots and the white parts of the green onions and saute for about 8 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and golden. Add tomatoes, chile peppers, salt, turmeric, paprika, and mustard seeds. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the masala for 10 minutes, or until oil separates and glistens on top.

2. Stir in the bell peppers and cook, covered, for 3-5 minutes, or until they reach your preferred texture. Stir in the green parts of the green onions and serve immediately.

Based on a recipe from Vij's at Home, by Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij

Wild Mushroom and Herb Polenta

A quintessential fall recipe, pairing earthy wild mushrooms with the zesty brightness of fresh herbs, most of which will hang on until the first frost. Built like a pizza, this dish is easy to assemble and brings a touch of effortless elegance to the weeknight table. Serve with a salad of baby lettuces and frisee tossed in a light vinaigrette. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Cups wild mushrooms (chanterelles, porcini, hedgehog, etc.), brushed clean, large ones halved or even quartered
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon truffle oil (optional - could also used truffle salt from Springwater Farm in place of regular salt)
Salt and black pepper
2 1/2 Cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 Cup polenta
3 oz Parmesan, grated
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon chopped chervil (sub parsley if unavailable)
4 oz soft-ripened cheese (such as Fraga Farm camembert or Willamette Valley Cheese brie), cut into thin slices

1. Heat half of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add half of the mushrooms and fry just until cooked, 5-10 minutes; try not to move them much so you get golden-brown patches on their surface. Remove from the pan and repeat with the rest of the mushrooms and oil. Off the heat, return all the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic, tarragon, thyme, truffle oil, and some salt and pepper. Keep warm.

2. Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan. Slowly stir in the polenta, then reduce the heat to the minimum and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The polenta is ready when it leaves the sides of the pan but is still runny. If you are using instant polenta, this shouldn't take more than 5 minutes; with traditional polenta it could take up to 50 minutes (if it seems to dry out, add some more stock or water, but just enough to keep it at a thick porridge consistency).

3.  Preheat the broiler. When the polenta is ready, stir in the Parmesan, butter, rosemary and half the chervil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the polenta over a heatproof dish and top with the soft-ripened cheese slices. Place under the broiler until the cheese bubbles. Remove, top with the mushrooms and their juices, and return to the broiler for a minute to warm up. Serve hot, garnished with the remaining chervil.

Based on a recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Farro with Tomato & Onion

This delightfully easy one-pot recipe is highly adaptable: use any tomato you like and any onion. Try shallots instead, extra garlic, a different herb. Add chevre or feta crumbles to serve, or Italian sausage, or grilled zucchini or fennel (or all of the above). It's charming enough to make you want to eat it again and again, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to find your favorite permutation.

The least flexible part of this recipe is the type of farro you use; it is designed for semi-pearled (30 minute cooking time) or pearled (15 or fewer minutes cooking time) farro, both of which can soften before the tomatoes are completely obliterated. If you use unpearled farro (1 hour+ cooking time), expect something akin to a red-sauce farro-risotto, delicious in its own right.

Serves 2 as a main dish

Ingredients

2 cups water (or chicken broth)
1 cup farro
1/2 large onion, cut in half (lengthwise) again and sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced
1 pint of red cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in halves or quarters (if you use slicing tomatoes: remove skins, then cut into chunks, about 1 1/2 cups total)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
5-10 basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
Grated parmesan cheese for serving 

1. If using semi-pearled, place water and farro in a pan to pre-soak for 10 minutes. Put water, farro, onion, tomatoes, salt, pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a medium saucepan and bring, uncovered, to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking, until the farro is tender and the liquid reduced to a sauce. 

2. Plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, basil, and fresh pepper, or anything else you can dream up. 


Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Red Cabbage Agrodolce with Juniper Berries

6 servings

Sweet & sour (agrodolce) red cabbage is perfect either alongside a turkey dinner, or on a sandwich accompanying leftover roast. Neither too sweet nor too sour, the cabbage is instead transformed into a rich, meltingly tender, striking purple savory side dish, particularly festive with the addition of juniper berries.

Ingredients

1 medium head red cabbage (about 2 pounds)
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. whole juniper berries
2 Tbsp. sugar
1⁄2 cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps

1. Quarter and core the cabbage. Cut the leaves into 1⁄2 inch wide ribbons.
2. Add the olive oil to a wide skillet. Heat the skillet over a medium-high flame. When the oil is hot (shimmering, but not smoking), add the onion and the juniper berries. Cook, stirring, until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the cabbage to the pan, tossing the ingredients together, then stir in the sugar and vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the cabbage is tender and the flavors have mellowed and melded(about 20 minutes). Stir the cabbage occasionally as it cooks, adding water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, if the pan becomes dry. Reduce the heat if the cabbage starts to brown. Once the cabbage has cooked to your liking, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold.

From Chef Kathryn Yeomans
The Farmer’s Feast
http://thefarmersfeast.me

Sarson Ka Saag

Ingredients
1 lb mustard greens and other field greens, coarsely chopped
½ cup water
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 fresh green chili pepper (ex. Serrano), minced
¼ cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted 2 minutes in a hot dry skillet
~ salt
~ butter
~ fresh lemon or lime juice

Steps

1. In a large saucepan, gently simmer the greens in water with the ginger and pepper.
2. When the greens are tender, slowly add the cornmeal and mash the mixture with a wooden spoon. Cook until thickened, 7-10 minutes.
3. Top with butter to taste, lemon or lime juice to taste, and cumin seed to taste.

recipe from Ayers Creek Farm

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients
2 lb. sweet potatoes
1 small onion, finely diced
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp. flour or matzoh meal
~ salt
~ pepper
~ vegetable oil
~ sour cream
~ applesauce

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Shred sweet potatoes in a food processor or by hand and place in a large bowl. Add onions, eggs and flour (or matzoh meal). Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Heat about ½ inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Oil is ready when a sweet potato piece sizzles in the pan.
4. Stir mixture again to incorporate the starch settled in the bottom of the bowl. To shape latkes, take a 3-4 tablespoon amount of the mixture, squeeze excess liquid out and shape into pancake. Fry pancakes until well-browned. Remove from oil when done and set on paper towels to drain. Place latkes in preheated oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining pancakes. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.
5. If reheating latkes, set in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in a 450 degree oven. Heat until hot, 10-15 minutes. Turn latkes several times while in oven.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Wilted Greens

Ingredients
2 lbs small red potatoes
1 medium red onion, halved lengthwise and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil bunches arugula, washed and coarse stems discarded
~ cider vinegar, to taste

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Cut potatoes in half. Cut larger potatoes into quarters Toss potatoes and onion slices with oil in a bowl. Transfer potatoes and onions to a shallow baking pan and roast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and tender, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Transfer hot potatoes and onions to a bowl. Add arugula, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, tossing until greens are wilted.

Tuscan Beans (Beans all’Uccelletto)

recipe by Kathryn LaSusa Yeomans

Beans are a wonderful source of inexpensive protein. The benefit of farmers market beans is that they are so much fresher than those you’d procure at the grocery store. You may find that the flavor and texture are quite different than what you’re used to, and that the cooking time is less, due to their freshness.

Limited on time? Cook a large amount of beans and freeze what you will not use right away, along with the cooking liquid, in food storage containers or in plastic bags in the freezer. Thaw containers to use as needed in any recipe that calls for canned or fresh beans. And use the cooking liquid for soups – it’s delicious!

Ingredients
2 cups dried beans (soaked in cold water several hours or overnight if desired)
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
7 fresh sage leaves
1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled & seeded , or 1 pound of canned whole tomatoes, separated from the juice (break each tomato into 4 pieces with your fingers)
~salt and pepper

Steps

1. Pick over the beans, removing any stones or little clumps of earth, and then rinse the beans thoroughly. Soak them if desired. Drain the beans and place them in a pot. Add fresh cold water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer steadily but gently until tender but not mushy (start checking the beans after about 40 minutes). Turn off the heat and let the beans settle for 10 minutes. Stir in 1⁄2 tsp. salt and let the beans cool in the pot so that they absorb some of the cooking liquid.
2. To prepare the cooked beans, gently heat the oil in a skillet large enough to comfortably accommodate all of the beans. Add the garlic and cook for several minutes until the garlic has flavored the oil and the cloves have colored a light golden brown. Add the sage leaves to the oil. Let them sizzle for a few seconds, and then add the tomatoes. Be careful when adding the tomatoes to the hot oil, as they may splatter. Let the mixture cook for 2 minutes.
3. Drain the beans, reserving the bean cooking liquid. Add the drained beans to the pan, along with a cup of bean cooking liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, adding reserved bean water as the mixture thickens, so that you keep the beans creamy, almost a little soupy. Adjust seasonings and serve drizzled with good olive oil if desired and accompanied by a slice of rustic country bread.