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The end of the harvest season…

It always amazes me what a difference 1 week in Minnesota can make! Last week,  I was overheating in my light 3/4 sleeve shirt and jeans. While this week, my 3 layers, scarf, and head band were not enough to keep me warm. We continued to plant the garlic, which brings the entire garlic experience full circle. In June we started the battle with the weeds. I felt rewarded with the introduction of a garlic scape. July brought a heat index of 130. On a cloudless Tuesday, we yanked the garlic out of the insanely hot field, and loaded them onto the tractor to be heaved into the barn loft for curing. Weeks later, we sat in the sun talking and “breaking” the heads for planting. My last day at Loon was spent riding behind the tractor, pushing the last of the cloves into the dirt. I’ll remember this forever as the summer of garlic. I wanted to share a recipe I tried last week. Part of my decision to be a work share this summer was for the opportunity to be exposed to new vegetables. Here is the recipe for my new favorite way to make brussel sprouts. I adapted a recipe I found in Loon’s newsletter. I made this dish in my Flameware Skillet. It was delicious, and the leftovers kept for over a week.

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Swiss Chard and Carmelized Onion Tacos

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to do a work share at Loon Organics, a CSA just outside of Hutch.(aka Hutchinson, Minnesota)  In exchange for a little hard work and sweat, I receive an entire box full of delicious, organic vegetables every week. The gratification I experience from working outside is something I get to take with me as well. I am challenging myself to use the entire contents of each box. This takes a bit of planning, preparation, and research. Until this week, I had never used a garlic scape. I didn’t know of the existence of a Japanese salad turnip, and I had never truly considered the value in properly storing my produce. I have a cookbook from Featherstone CSA near Rushford, Minnesota. This book contains storing techniques, recipes, and other useful information about a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. I have linked the ingredients in this week’s recipe to their website for storage techniques. I would recommend picking up your own copy of Tastes from Valley to Bluff: The Featherstone Farm Cookbook.

This is a recipe from Loon’s first week newsletter. Its combination of Swiss Chard and garlic scapes makes for a healthy, satisfying, head bobbing good meal. You can always add a grilled chicken breast to please the carnivores at your table. It was prepared entirely in my Flameware Skillet.

Swiss Chard and Caramelized Onion Tacos
1 bunch of Swiss chard, thick lower stems removed (or sub spinach for chard)
1 1/2 tbl. oil or bacon drippings
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth Salt
12 warm corn tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) Queso Fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese
Salsa for serving

Slice the chard into 1/2-inch ribbons. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion then cook until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. To the onions add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Stir for about 20 seconds until you are hit with the aroma of the garlic then immediately add the broth or water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the greens. Adjust the heat to medium-low then cover the skillet. Cook until the greens are almost tender.
For Swiss chard this will be about 5 minutes. Spinach only takes about 2 minutes. Uncover the pan, adjust the heat to medium-high then cook until the juices have reduced significantly and merely glaze the greens. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it. Serve with the corn tortillas, crumbled fresh cheese, and salsa.

 

 

Vinegar-Poached Sturgeon with Thyme-Butter Sauce

Vinegar-Poached Sturgeon with Thyme-Butter Sauce

By Paul Wolfert

ACTIVE TIME: 35 MIN

TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS

SERVES: 4

This is a Paula dish we recommend trying with your homemade vinegar. Send us your pictures of this dish, and maybe we will feature them here on our blog!

INGREDIENTS

4 medium zucchini (1 1/2 pounds), sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick

Salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Four 6-ounce skinless farmed sturgeon or wild Pacific halibut fillets

3 tablespoons homemade red wine vinegar

3/4 cup water

Bouquet garni made with 2 parsley sprigs, 1 bay leaf and the leafy top of 1 celery rib, tied with kitchen string

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt. Arrange them in an even layer and let stand for 1 hour. In a small bowl, blend the butter with the thyme and season with salt and pepper.

2. Rinse the zucchini slices and pat dry; wipe off the baking sheet. Return the zucchini to the baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Spread the slices in an even layer and bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 30 minutes. Transfer the zucchini to a platter.

3. Sprinkle the sturgeon with 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and refrigerate for 10 minutes. In a large, heavy skillet, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of vinegar with the water, bouquet garni and shallot and bring to a boil. Season the poaching liquid lightly with salt and pepper and add the sturgeon fillets. Cover tightly and simmer over low heat, turning once, until the fish is barely cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sturgeon to a large plate. Strain the poaching liquid into a bowl.

4. Wipe out the skillet and set it over high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the sturgeon fillets, boned side down, and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook for 1 minute longer. Set the sturgeon on the zucchini and cover with foil to keep warm.

5. Add the strained poaching liquid to the skillet and boil over high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the capers and remove from the heat. Swirl in the thyme butter and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer the sturgeon and zucchini to plates, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

From Food & Wine Magazine October 2006 www.foodandwine.com

 

Chicken in Red Wine Vinegar

 

 

 

Chicken in Red Wine Vinegar

ACTIVE TIME: 25 MIN

TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 5 MIN

SERVES: 4

For Paula Wolfert, this rustic Lyonnais dish is comfort food. Slow cooking transforms red wine vinegar, tomato, shallots, garlic and a touch of honey into a perfectly balanced sauce for chicken. This is the recipe we recommend to try after crafting your own vinegar using our Vinegar Crock.

INGREDIENTS

14 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 large chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons crème fraîche

3 tablespoons chopped tarragon

 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, broth, honey and tomato paste to a boil, stirring well. Simmer the vinegar sauce until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes.

2. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add half of them to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining thighs.

3. Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the wine; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the vinegar sauce and bring to a simmer.

4. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to plates.

5. Add the crème fraîche to the skillet and boil for 3 minutes. Add the tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

WINE PAIRING RECOMMENDATION: Red-cherry rich 2004 Potel-Aviron Juliénas Vieilles Vignes.

Recipe by Paula Wolfert

From The Virtue of Homemade Vinegar

This recipe originally appeared in October, 2006. Food and Wine Magazine www.foodandwine.com

 

 

March is Tagine Month!

 

Sage Green Tagine

Sage Green Tagine

 

TAGINE, the name of both the dish and the pot it is cooked in, are traditionally done on the stovetop so the moisture condenses on the cool stoneware top and drops back into the flameware dish.  The lid on the tagine is designed  to encourage this condensation. The necessary moisture loss (to thicken the broth) occurs in the fit between the lid and base. The big advantage of the Clay Coyote flameware based tagine, over earthenware, is that you can do any high temperature pre-cooking like sauteeing  onions, garlic, browning meat, then lower the heat to cook the traditionally simmered tagine.
This piece can bake, broil, stew, simmer, saute, and serve.

We will be posting our favorite tagine recipes this month, as well as experimenting with new uses for the dish. I just recieved a tagine for my birthday. If you have been considering adding a tagine to your collection, March is the time to do it. We have a variety to chose from in our gallery. We also have a nice selection in our studio waiting to be glazed.

This is from Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking book. Betsy and Tom made this for our summer dinner party. It was amazing!

 

Moroccan Tagine next to couscous

Moroccan Tagine and steamed couscous

Moroccan Lamb Tagine with

Winter Squash and Toasted Pine Nuts

 

2 pounds thick bone in lamb shoulder arm chops

2 1/2 to 3 pounds butternut squash

Coarse salt

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads

1 large onion, grated, plus 2 medium onions, sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons La Kama

2 teaspoons smen (optional)

Pinch ground cinnamon

Pinch ground ginger

1 Tablespoon lavender or orange flower honey

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1.  Trim any excess fat from the lamb. Cut the chops into 1 1/2 inch chunks with the bones.

2.  Peel the squash and scrape out the seeds and membrane. Shred the squash. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt and drain in a colander for about 1 hour. At the same time, soak the saffron in 1/3 cup warm water.

Step 3

Step 3

3. Place the lamb, grated onion, saffron, and its water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons of La Kama, and the smen in the tagine. Stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for 1 1/2 hours.

4. Stir the sliced onions and continue to cook, covered, for 1 hour longer. Pick out the pieces of lamb and let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut out and discard the bones. Skim off the cooking liquid in the tagine. Season the meat with salt and pepper and return to the tagine.

 

5.  Rinse the grated squash under cold running water and squeeze in your hands over a bowl to catch the juices. Measure out and reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice; discard the remainder. Place the grated squash in a 10 inch nonstick skillet. Add the cinnamon, ginger, honey, remaining La Kama, 2 tablespoons of the butter, and the reserved 2 tablespoons of squash liquid. Slowly fry until the squash is thickened to a jam like consistency and colored a golden carmel, about 15 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 300F. Ladel 1/2 the sauce from the tagine over the squash and stir to combine. Spread the squash and stir to combine. Spread the squash evenly over the lamb. Dot with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and place tagine in the top third of the oven. Raise heat to 425F and bake, uncovered, until the squash is lightly glazed, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, be sure to set the tagine down on a wooded surface. Serve the tagine hot or warm, with the pine nuts scattered on top.

Do you have a delicious tagine recipe to share? We will be selecting one recipe to feature here on our blog. Send in your ideas, and you could be the March feature.

Coming soon…  Israeli  Couscous and lentil stuffed peppers