Wednesday, May 13, 2020

May 14, 2020 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Sorrel!

Cooking With This Week's Box


Sorrel: Pasta with Sorrel Butter & Nettles (see below); Strawberry-Orange Sorrel Smoothie (see below); Frosty Sorrel & Banana SmoothieSpring Greens Soup





Chives: Pasta with Sorrel Butter & Nettles (see below); Spring Greens Soup




Welcome to our second week of “Cooking With the Box!”  For those of you who are joining us for the first time, I am Chef/Farmer Andrea and every week I meet you here to walk you through the box.  I offer recipe suggestions and links for every item in the box in hopes that something will strike your fancy or inspire you to make your own creation.  Lets not forget that cooking and eating can be a lot of fun, so dive in and try some new recipes!

Frosty Sorrel & Banana Smoothie
Lets start off with our featured vegetable, sorrel.  Sorrel is most commonly used in soups and sauces for fish, which are quite tasty but certainly not the only thing you can do with sorrel!  One of this week’s featured recipes is Pasta with Sorrel Butter & Nettles (see below).  This recipe starts with making sorrel butter.  If you have extra remaining, you can either use it in your morning scramble, spread it on a piece of toast, or freeze it to use another day!  This recipe includes chicken (optional) and nettles and comes together pretty quickly.  When you serve it, be sure to garnish the dish with freshly grated Parmesan and chopped chives.  The second featured recipe is for a Strawberry-Orange Sorrel Smoothie (see below).  I love putting sorrel into smoothies.  It just seems to be an invigorating way to start the day and sorrel pairs well with berries, bananas and other fruits.  This is a sister recipe to my Frosty Sorrel & Banana Smoothie from 2017.

I was recently reminded of a recipe I created several years ago for Spring Greens Soup.  This is a powerhouse soup that uses sorrel, ramps, sunchokes, nettles & chives!  This is the week to make this recipe while you have all of the vegetables.  Nettles are often used in soups such as the Spring Greens Soup, but there are a lot of other options for using this vegetable as well.  There were some great suggestions from members in our private Facebook Group over the past week.  I had forgotten about this recipe for Coconut Chicken & Chickpea Curry with Nettles.  We published this recipe in 2018 and it features not only nettles but sunchokes as well.  Another member shared this link for a Vegan Nettle & Ramp Pesto.  It’s nice to have a jar of pesto in the refrigerator as it may be used in a wide variety of ways to create a quick meal.  I also have two suggestions for less traditional ways to use nettles.  I’ve mentioned the Lemon and Stinging Nettle Cupcakes before, but I’m telling you they are delicious!  I also came across this recipe for Nettle, Sorghum and Bourbon Cocktail.  Surely you can find something to do with your nettles!!

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus, photo by Rocky Luten for food52.com
Can we ever get our fill of asparagus this time of year?  I want to try this recipe for Absurdly Addictive Asparagus.  With a name like this, how can we not try this!?  The recipe calls for leeks and garlic.  I would suggest substituting ramps and green garlic.  You really can’t go wrong with asparagus and eggs.  I’d suggest trying Andrea Bemis’ recipe for Spring Vegetable Quiche with Cashew Herb Crust.  It’s a nice gluten free alternative to a regular pie crust.

This recipe for Parsnip Gratin with Gruyere and Thyme was another recipe from the Facebook Group.  It calls for 2 ¼-2 ½ pounds of parsnips.  Last week and this week’s boxes each have about 1.5 pounds each.  I also like this recipe for Spicy Honey-Glazed Parsnips.  It’s basically roasted parsnips kicked up a few notches!

Rustic Ramp Tart, photo from food52.com
This is our final week of ramps, so make sure you select your recipes carefully—it will be a full year before we see these again!  I’m going to make Chef Boni’s Ramp Deviled Eggs.  I also want to make this Rustic Ramp Tart.

I love the flavor of overwintered spinach when it’s cooked.  This week I want to make Sauteed Mushrooms & Spinach with Spicy Garlic Sauce, using green garlic of course!  It’s an easy dinner to make served with a side of rice.  I also have my eye on this Indian-Style Creamed Spinach made with coconut milk.

That does it for this week’s box.  We’re crossing our fingers that we see a few warm days and a touch of rain this week.  We have a few crops coming up soon, but they’re still a little small.  We’re hoping to have baby arugula and some fresh radishes next week.  We also have some cute little mini-romaine lettuce growing in our tunnel greenhouse.  I think they’re going to make it and if they do, lettuce wraps will be on the menu!  Have a great week!—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Sorrel


By Chef Andrea

Eating with the seasons can be an exciting, yet sometimes challenging adventure in the spring.  For many people, some early spring vegetables may be less familiar and come with a bit of a learning curve.  Most of the early spring vegetables are perennial plants that are either wild harvested, such as ramps and nettles, or are crops we planted in a previous year that start poking through on their own early in the spring.  Some of these vegetables include sorrel, chives, rhubarb and asparagus.  They play an important role in nourishing our bodies and have unique nutritive properties that help us transition from winter into a new season.  If you are not familiar with these vegetables, they might be a little intimidating at first.  However, don’t let a vegetable intimidate you, just dive in and start learning how to enjoy something new!  Don’t worry, we’ll help guide you along the way!

This week we are featuring sorrel, a unique perennial plant that is amongst the first greens of the season.  Sorrel leaves have a pointy, arrow shape and are thick in texture and bright green in color.  You’ll recognize sorrel by its tart and citrus-like flavor if you nibble on a raw leaf.  It has a bright flavor that will call your taste buds to attention.  It is a very nutritious green that contains antioxidants as well as vitamin C, fiber, iron, magnesium and zinc.

Sorrel Hummus
Sorrel may be used in a wide variety of preparations and may be eaten either raw or cooked.  Raw sorrel can brighten any salad and is excellent when blended into cold sauces, vinaigrettes, dressings, dips or smoothies.  Because of its bold, tart, invigorating flavor, it is often treated more like an herb when used raw and will give the end product a bright, cheery green color.  When cooked, sorrel behaves in a very interesting way.  First, its color changes from bright green to a drab olive green almost immediately.  Don’t worry, this happens to everyone and it’s just the way it is with sorrel!  The other unusual thing about sorrel is how it “melts” when added to hot liquids.  The leaves will almost immediately change color and start to soften.  The longer it’s cooked, the more the leaves break apart and you can stir it into a coarse sauce.  This is one of the reasons it’s often used in soups and sauces.

The acidity of sorrel makes it a natural companion to rich foods such as cream, butter, sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, duck, and fatty fish (salmon & mackerel).  Additionally, it pairs well with more “earthy” foods such as lentils, rice, buckwheat, mushrooms and potatoes.  As with many other spring vegetables, it pairs well with eggs and is often used in quiche, scrambled eggs, custard etc.  Don’t be afraid to think “outside of the box” and explore some other interesting ways to use sorrel such as in desserts including sorbet, ice cream and panna cotta or beverages including smoothies and cocktails!  Sorrel also pairs well with citrus fruits and berries.

Spiced Lentils with Nettles & Sorrel Yogurt Sauce
We have featured a wide variety of sorrel recipes in past newsletters and I encourage you to take a look at the searchable recipe database on our website.  I have a few favorites that I mention every year because they are easy, delicious and have been well-received by other members over the year.  Sorrel Hummus, Sorrel-Lime Cooler and my Frosty Sorrel & Banana Smoothie rank as my top three.

If you’re looking for a vegetarian main dish, the recipe for Spiced Lentils with Nettles & Sorrel Yogurt Sauce is excellent.  There is also a recipe for Spring Greens Soup that uses not only sorrel but four other vegetables from this week’s box!

We hope your spring is off to a good start and you are enjoying these early boxes.  Don’t forget we have an awesome Facebook Group available to all CSA members.  This is another great resource to find recipe suggestions and talk to other members about vegetables!

Strawberry-Orange Sorrel Smoothie


Yield: 2 servings

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup milk (dairy or dairy-free alternative)
¾ cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 ounces sorrel
¼ cup maple syrup
6-10 ice cubes

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Put the lid on and blend on high speed until all ingredients are thoroughly blended and the mixture is smooth.

2. Serve immediately.

Recipe by Chef Andrea 

Pasta with Sorrel Butter & Nettles


Yield:  3-4 servings

Sorrel Butter:
2 ounces sorrel leaves, roughly chopped
1 stick butter, softened
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pasta:
9-10 oz dried pasta (bow ties, shells, fettucine or pappardelle)
1 Tbsp olive oil
12 ounces (2 each) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups loosely packed nettle leaves (1 bunch)
6-8 Tbsp sorrel butter
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½-⅔ cup chives, minced
Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. First, prepare the sorrel butter.  Put roughly chopped sorrel in the bowl of a food processor and blend briefly until coarsely chopped.  Add the butter, lemon juice and black pepper.  Blend until all ingredients are well combined.  Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions or about 5 minutes until al dente.  Drain the water and set the pasta aside.

3. While the pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan on the stove top over medium heat.  Add the olive oil and once the oil shimmers, add the chicken.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Cook until browned on one side, then flip the pieces over.

4. Add the nettle leaves to the pan along with the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Put a lid on the pan and continue to cook the nettles and chicken for 2-3 minutes or until the nettles are wilted.  Remove the lid from the pan and cook until nearly all the moisture in the pan has evaporated.

5. Add the sorrel butter to the pan.  Once melted, add the pasta and gently toss to combine all ingredients and thoroughly coat the pasta with the butter.

6. Once the pasta is fully heated through, remove the pan from the heat.  Adjust seasoning to your liking with salt and black pepper.

7. Serve garnished with freshly grated Parmesan and chives.

Recipe by Chef Andrea

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