Wednesday, October 7, 2020

October 8, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Lemongrass!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Italian Garlic: Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (see below); Thai Style Chicken Soup (see below);  Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken; Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage with Spicy Garlic Dressing


Variety of Large Tomatoes OR Orange Italian Frying Peppers: Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (see below); Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon; Thai-Style Slaw—with or without Chicken 

Cauliflower OR Butterscotch Butternut Squash: 47 Best Cauliflower Recipes; Roasted Cauliflower Larb; Cauliflower Melts



Lemongrass: Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (see below); Thai Style Chicken Soup (see below); Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken; Lemongrass Mojito; Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps;  Roasted Cauliflower Larb



Green Boston, Mini Green Romaine, Greenleaf or “Hornet” Redleaf Lettuce: Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (see below); Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps


Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
photo from gimmesomeoven.com
This week we’re featuring Lemongrass!  If you’ve never worked with fresh lemongrass, you’re in for a treat.  This is one of our tropical crops and is often used in cuisine from Southeast Asia including Vietnamese and Thai recipes.  So we’ll go to that part of the world for a little cooking inspiration, starting with this week’s featured recipes.  The first is for Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (see below).  This is a main dish salad that incorporates lemongrass into a sweet and spicy dressing that is used to dress the salad.  You can use some of this week’s lettuce as the base of the salad topped with grilled beef, slices of tomatoes, shredded carrots or even some diced sweet peppers.  The second recipe is for Thai Style Chicken Soup (see below).  This soup has a broth base that is enriched with coconut milk.  In addition to the aromatic lemongrass, this soup gets its flavor from leeks and ginger with a little heat from chili peppers.  If you have some Korean peppers or jalapenos from a previous week, either would work for this soup.  I also came across this recipe for Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken which uses lemongrass to infuse flavor into a marinade for the chicken which is grilled.  Bouncing back to Thailand for a moment, I also want to mention this recipe for Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps which were featured in our newsletter previously.  Lastly, if you have some lemongrass remaining use it to make a Lemongrass Mojito!

It looks like we’ll be able to harvest leeks for one more week, so keep collecting recipes to put them to use!  If you didn’t have a chance to read Last Week’s Leek Blog Post or see our featured recipes for leeks, we hope you’ll take a minute to do so.  I had forgotten about this recipe for Apple & Leek Quiche, a great weekend brunch item.  Another popular recipe from a past newsletter is this Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon & Bacon.  If you have been following this blog for several years you have probably heard me recommend this recipe before, but only because it’s so delicious!

Thai-Style Slaw--with or without Chicken
When it comes to cabbage this week, we’re all about the purple!  This week’s boxes will contain either purple Napa Cabbage, a gorgeous addition to our veg lineup, or standard purple cabbage.  If you receive the purple napa cabbage, we hope you’ll let us know what you think about it.  We think it’s gorgeous and want to plant more next year, but we’d value your input.  Use it to make Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage with Spicy Garlic Dressing.  This is a good recipe to use your Korean chili peppers in if you still have some.  You could also make this Thai-Style Slaw—with or without Chicken.  We featured this recipe in a previous spring newsletter which used a different cabbage.  It’s an adaptable recipe though, so I think the purple napa would be a good choice.  The recipe does call for snow or snap peas, which are obviously not in season!  I would recommend substituting some sliced sweet peppers or shredded carrots instead.  If you receive the more familiar purple cabbage, use it to make this Red/Purple Cabbage Slaw with Maple-Mustard Dressing.  This is a tasty fall slaw.

While we’re talking fall salads and slaws, I’ll mention Ali’s recipe for Best Broccoli Salad.  I really like this recipe because it has a creamy, yet light dressing and she uses tamari, almonds and pumpkin seeds as well as dried cranberries to jazz it up.  If you’re at a loss with what to do with broccoli this week, head over to thekitchn.com and check out their article entitled “Our 27 Best Broccoli Recipes."  Surely you’ll find something there such as this simple Broccoli & Feta Pasta Salad.  This is a nice dish to build upon, so feel free to add some diced sweet peppers or tomatoes to jazz it up!

Italian Panini with Broccoli Raab and Soppressata
photo from applegate.com
Now that we’ve talked salads, lets shift gears to sandwiches such as this delicious Italian Panini with Broccoli Raab and Soppressata!  I was first introduced to Soppressata, a spicy, dry, Italian salami, when I lived in New York and took a trip to Little Italy.  I was hooked and it is one of my favorite salami-type meats.  Pair it with the sweet and flavorful broccoli raab to make a warm, toasted panini sandwich!  Serve it with a vegetable salad or go crazy and make some Homemade French Fries!  This link includes instructions for making baked or fried French fries and also has some delicious flavor variations to offer.

Sweet Pepper Poppers
photo from findingzest.com
If you aren’t into sandwiches this week, maybe pizza sounds better?  If so, use your broccoli raab to make this Broccoli Raab, Potato and Rosemary Pizza.  Turn it into an appetizer dinner and make some of these Sweet Pepper Poppers or Mozzarella Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers.

Now is the time of the season to fully embrace our brassica crops such as broccoli and cauliflower!  I came across a great collection of “47 Best Cauliflower Recipes” which includes Roasted Cauliflower Larb.  Larb is a Thai dish featuring a flavorful filling that is served in lettuce leaves.  This is a fitting recipe for this week as it uses lemongrass and lettuce leaves.  This is also a nice vegetarian alternative to the lettuce wrap recipes mentioned earlier.  I am also intrigued by this recipe for Cauliflower Melts.  These are tasty looking cheesy, open-faced sandwiches based on cauliflower!

I hope you enjoy another week of cooking these beautiful vegetables!  Before you know it we’ll be eating sweet potatoes and Brussels Sprouts!  Have a good week and I’ll see you next week! --Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Lemongrass

By Chef Andrea

Lemongrass in the field!
Lemongrass is on our list of unique crops that we do not grow every year, but cycle into our growing plan every few years.  It’s been awhile since we have grown it, but we’ve had some members asking for it so we added it to this year’s lineup!  Despite the fact that we are far from the tropics, we accept the challenge of growing tropical plants such as ginger, sweet potatoes and lemongrass.  We start lemongrass early in the spring using “seed” pieces of a lemongrass plant that we stick in potting soil.  The seed piece puts down roots and the plant starts to grow new leaves that emerge from the center of the seed piece.  Once we’re well past the last frost in the spring, we transplant lemongrass into the field.  We choose to plant it on beds covered with plastic mulch which helps trap heat and makes the plant feel like it’s growing in a tropical climate!  Since it is a tropical plant, it will not survive a frost.  So last week, before the temperatures dropped into the 30’s, we dug the whole crop and tucked it away in our cooler that is held at a warmer temperature so we could pack it for you this week!

Lemongrass is considered an herb by many, and you’ll find it is very fragrant and aromatic.  There are three parts to lemongrass and all parts of the plant can be used;  the leaves, the middle stalk and the bulb.  The bulb contains the most refreshing lemon essence and only needs to be used in small amounts.  The stalk has good flavor, but is not as intense as the bulb’s and the leaves have a good lemon flavor followed by more of a “greens” taste.  When using the leaves, it takes about three times more product to achieve the flavor intensity of a bulb.  You can make a bundle with the leaves and use it to flavor pasta or rice while it is cooking.  Remove and discard the bundle when finished cooking.  You can also steep the leaves in hot water to make tea.  The middle section can be cut into sections a few inches in length.  You’ll find this section to be tough but flavorful.  Add them to sautéed dishes, to marinades and to flavor soups;  discard before eating.  You can also use the stalk as a skewer for cooking kabobs or chicken satay or as a stirring stick for refreshing beverages.  The bulb is the most tender portion and can be sliced into thin pieces and added to soups, salads and other entrees where it can be eaten instead of discarded.  The secret to cooking with the bulb or the stem is to pound it with the back of a knife to release the oils before using.

Starting lemongrass in the greenhouse this spring. 
Lemongrass combines well with ginger, garlic, basil, chilies, coconut milk, cilantro, cinnamon and clove.  It is frequently used in Thai, Vietnamese, African, Indian and even Mexican cuisine.  Soups, curries, marinades and teas are more common uses, but don’t limit the use of lemongrass to just these.   You can use lemongrass anywhere a refreshing, crisp lemon taste is desired.  You could even get adventurous and use it to make your own homemade curry paste using fresh chiles, ginger, etc.  Lemongrass can be stored wrapped in plastic and put in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  You can also freeze it whole or cut it into smaller pieces and dry it for later use by hanging to air-dry or by using a food dehydrator.

While lemongrass provides great flavor, this grass also happens to be good for you!  Lemongrass is rich in a substance called citral, traditionally distilled from the leaves and stalks.  Citral has shown to be helpful in decreasing ailments such as muscle cramps and headaches.  It is also a digestive aid.  Studies have also shown that the components of the grass when boiled (in a tea for example) create multiple anti-oxidants that are believed to help prevent cancer.  We hope you enjoy this tropical treat, both for its flavor and its health benefits!

Fiery Grilled Beef Salad (Yam Neua)

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Dressing:
¼ cup loosely packed chopped cilantro stems
2 Tbsp chopped serrano or jalapeño peppers
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp coconut-palm sugar or golden brown sugar
1 ½ Tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
¼ tsp white pepper
½ cup fresh lemon juice

Salad:
1 lb beef steak (round eye, top sirloin, or flank steak)
1 large stalk lemon grass, tough outer leaves discarded, lower stalk trimmed to 4 inches and finely sliced
1 small red onion, cut in half and finely sliced
*½ lb small pickling cucumbers, peeled and finely sliced
1 tomato, cut in half and sliced into thin wedges
½ cup loosely packed fresh mint
A few leaves of lettuce to line the platter (optional)
  1. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a blender or mixing bowl.  Blend well to dissolve the sugar.  Set aside.
  2. Build a hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler.  Grill or broil the meat slowly, several inches from the fire, to keep it juicy.  Cook until medium-rare, turning occasionally, about 5 to 8 minutes total.  Transfer to a cutting board.  Holding your knife at a 45-degree angle, cut the steak crosswise into very thin slices.
  3. Transfer the meat, with its juices, to a mixing bowl and toss with the remaining salad ingredients.  Add the dressing and toss to mix well.
  4. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving platter, if desired, and transfer the salad to the platter.  Serve warm, for best flavor, or at room temperature.
*For a seasonal substitution, use shredded carrots in place of cucumbers.  

Recipe borrowed from True Thai, The Modern Art of Thai Cooking, By Victor Sodsook with Theresa Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen.  Yam neua is a Bangkok classic, served in homes as well as in cafés and restaurants all over the city.  


Thai-Style Chicken Soup

Yield: 4 servings

1 tsp oil
1-2 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large leek, finely sliced
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ¾ cups coconut milk
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 lemongrass stalk, split
1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 tsp sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the chilies and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the leek and cook for 2 minutes longer.
  2. Stir in the stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the chicken, fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger, sugar, and lime leaves, if using.  Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes longer.  Remover the lemongrass and stir in the cilantro just before serving.
Recipe borrowed from The Soup Bible, Consulting Editor: Debra Mayhew

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