Cooking With This Week's Box
Leeks:
Pear and Leek Galette with Goat Cheese and Walnuts (See
Below)
Edamame:
“Fantastic” Sweet Corn:
Sweet Peppers:
Jalapeño Pepper:
Variety of Tomatoes:
Watermelon:
White, Purple or Yellow Cauliflower or Broccoli Romanesco:
Peter Wilcox Potatoes:
Purple Dancer or Lilac Bride Eggplant:
Poblano Peppers:
Italian Garlic:
Hello Everyone!
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| Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon and Bacon |
We continue to have trouble fitting everything in your
CSA box! When we make the preliminary
CSA box contents list for the week, we often have 2-4 items that literally will
not fit in the box! Thus, we’re faced
with prioritizing what will go in the box this week versus what will wait until
another week. This week we wanted to
make sure we had enough room for sweet corn and a big bag of tomatoes!! We also
decided to make some room for leeks, which is also this week’s featured
vegetable. While Leek and Potato Soup is
a traditional way to enjoy leeks, they may be used in a wide variety of
applications such as this week’s featured recipe for Pear and Leek Galette
with Goat Cheese and Walnuts (See Below).
I’ve also included links to a few other recipes to utilize leeks such as
Carbonara with Leeks, Lemon and Bacon; Apple, Leek and Cheddar Quiche;
and Roasted Poblano, Sweet Corn and Potato Soup.
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| Grilled Mexican Street Corn photo by Megan Keno for simplyrecipes.com |
This may be our final week for watermelons, so why not try
something different such as Frozen Watermelon Daquiris or Watermelon Barbecue Sauce?!
If you do decide to employ the barbecue sauce recipe, consider making a pan of Corn Bread with Fresh Sweet Corn or Grilled Mexican Street Corn to accompany the barbecue!
And just what are you going to do with all those
tomatoes!?! Well, you could keep it
super simple and make Homemade Tomato Soup or Marcella Hazen’s Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter. If you haven’t tried last week’s recipe for Brown Butter Tomatoes,
you have to give it a try—they are so delicious!
I hope you are enjoying the bounty of these late summer
boxes brimming with tomatoes, corn, peppers, fresh potatoes, etc. The first frost may be in our near future,
but until then we’re going to continue to harvest as much as we can! We do have some fall treats coming up pretty
soon, such as winter squash and sweet potatoes!
This week we started taking the tops off the Brussels sprouts and
Richard keeps bringing me little specimens of sprouts so I can see just how big
they are right now. Have a great week
and I’ll see you back again next week!—Chef Andrea
Vegetable Feature: Leeks
By: Chef Andrea Yoder
Description: We continue our journey through the season with yet another selection from the allium family. This week leeks are the selection we’ll be enjoying from the allium family! We plant them from seed in the greenhouse in late February. We then transplant them in the field early in the season, just after we transplant all of our storage onions. They need more time to grow than onions, which we harvested about 6 weeks ago. We typically wait until later in the fall to harvest them. In fact, leeks can take some frost, but once the temperatures start to get into the twenty’s we risk damaging them. This year however, we decided to shake it up a bit and move up the harvest so we can enjoy them with some of the late summer vegetables!It’s important to understand how leeks are grown as it directly affects how you prep them for use in your own kitchen. Leeks have a long white shank that turns to more of a bluish green color as you reach the top of the leek. Throughout the growing process, dirt is hilled up on the leeks to cover the shank and block sunlight which keeps it white. As a result of this process, dirt may get between the many thin layers of the shank, which is the portion of the leek most often used.
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| Leeks "hilled up" in dirt to keep the shank white. |
Preparation & Storage: While you need to take care to carefully clean the entire leek, the upper portion may have a bit more dirt between the layers and may need a little more attention. I find it easiest to wash the exterior of the leek and then slice them. Place the chopped leeks in a sink of clean, cold water and swish them around to remove any dirt. Remove the leeks from the water and place in a colander to drain. If there isn’t much dirt between the layers, you may also just place the sliced leeks in a colander and rinse them.
If you’ve never cooked with leeks, it’s important to note that leeks are not “just another onion.” While the flavor profiles are similar for all alliums, each one has its own distinct characteristics and qualities that set them apart. Leeks are much different than the chives and ramps we delivered early in the season or the Sierra Blanca white Spanish onions we delivered in early summer. Leeks are more mild and subtle in flavor. They are best cooked using more gentle methods such as braising, lightly sautéing or cooking them into soups, sauces and broths. When cooked using these more gentle methods, the texture of leeks becomes silky and tender. Leeks have fewer sugars than onions, so they do not caramelize in the same way as an onion. When you are sautéing leeks, do so at a low to medium temperature just until they are soft. Do not try to brown them.
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| Spaghetti Squash and Leek Skillet Gratin |
Leeks pair well with many late summer and fall vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, celeriac, and other root vegetables such as parsnips and carrots. They are often incorporated into cream soups, gratins and egg dishes such as quiche. A traditional use for leeks is to make Leek & Potato Soup, of which there are many variations. Many recipes utilizing leeks also include complementary ingredients such as white wine, lemon, cream, cheese, apples, walnuts, chicken, bacon, fish and fresh herbs to name just a few ingredients.
Storage: Leeks will keep for several weeks if stored in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in plastic. We hope you enjoy this delicate allium and appreciate the subtle way it adds flavor to your meals this week!
Pear and Leek Galette with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
Yield: 8 servings
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| photo from coleycooks.com |
For the Crust:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
4 ½ ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
2-3 Tbsp cold water
For the Filling:
1 Tbsp butter
2-3 medium leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced, white and light green parts only (about 3 cups)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary, divided
6 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 large pear, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water for egg wash (optional)
Crust:
- Mix together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter, then use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour. Do this until the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces, about two minutes.
- Whisk together the egg and two tablespoons cold water, then pour into the flour mixture. Use a fork to stir until it just comes together, adding one or two additional tablespoons of water until it forms a ball. Do not knead the dough or mix any further. Press into a disk then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days in advance.
Filling & Assembly:
- Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add Dijon mustard, cream and 1 tsp rosemary. Cook until the cream has reduced by half and the mixture is thick, about 5-8 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Let cool completely.
- When ready to assemble the galette, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick and 14-16 inches around. Gently roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and transfer it to the center of the sheet pan. It should hang off the sides slightly.
- Spread the cooled leek mixture evenly around the dough, leaving a 2-inch border on the outside. Crumble goat cheese on top, then arrange the pears in a circular pattern. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of rosemary, salt, pepper, and chopped walnuts.
- Carefully gather the outer border of dough and fold it up and over the filling to form a 1 to 2 inch crust. Brush the outer crust with egg wash if desired (this will produce a prettier, more golden brown crust).
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe borrowed from coleycooks.com.
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