Harmony Valley Farm: November 4, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Radicchio!

We’re rolling into the home stretch with only three more CSA vegetable boxes remaining after this week! As I write these words it is frosty and cold outside, the coldest morning we’ve had this fall! We’re nearly finished with our field work, but we do still have some vegetables out in the field that we hope will be ok after this frosty morning so we can harvest them over the next few weeks. In two weeks when we deliver the next CSA Box, we hope to include a harvest report so you know what our fall has been like! Until then, lets turn our attention to this week’s box which includes a couple exciting items! First of all, lets talk about the gorgeous heads of radicchio! So this week’s “green” is actually not green, but rather a gorgeous magenta/burgundy color. If you are not familiar with this vegetable, take a moment to read this week’s vegetable feature article. As for recipes, our featured recipe this week is a Radicchio and Caramelized Onion Quiche (See below). It takes a little time to make a quiche, but none of the steps are complicated and leftovers are always a plus! If you’re looking for some other ideas for how to use radicchio, check out this article entitled 36 Radicchio Recipes That are Ridiculously Good.

Gingery Sesame Noodles
Photo from halfbakedharvest.com

Another exciting item in this week’s box is Fresh Baby Ginger! If you’ve never had our ginger, please take a moment to read a little more about it in our 2020 Baby Ginger Feature Article. Last year we featured recipes for making Ginger Syrup and Homemade Pickled Ginger. Of course you could also use it in your meals this week to make Gingery Sesame Noodles or this Ginger Garlic Soup! Fresh baby ginger is different than ginger you typically buy in the store. Because fresh ginger has a thin skin, it’s best to use it within one week while it’s at the peak of quality. We recommend storing it at room temperature until you use it. If you won’t be using it all within a week, you can also preserve it by freezing it. I usually cut the ginger into small 1 inch pieces before freezing it. This allows me to remove one or two smaller pieces when I need them without having to thaw the entire piece. When you’re ready to use frozen ginger, just let it rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before you cut it for use.

Brussels sprouts are another frequently loved vegetable in this week’s box. If you used some of your Korean chili peppers to make your own Gochujang (Korean chili-garlic sauce) and you still have some remaining, pull it out and make these Maple Gochujang Roasted Brussels Sprouts! The other recipe I included this week is for Grilled Brussels Sprouts. I’ve never even considered grilling Brussels sprouts, but I have to admit this sounds good! Be sure to either thread them onto a skewer or put them in a grill basket while grilling them, especially if they are small.

Now that we’re into chilly weather, it’s time to pull out some of those classic, warm, nourishing comfort foods such as Coq au Vin Chicken Meatballs or Classic Homemade Beef Stew. Both of these recipes make use of carrots as a “behind the scenes” ingredient to flavor the cooking liquid.

That’s a wrap for this week’s cooking recommendations. Of course there are more delicious recipes in the list, so hopefully there is something that resonates with your preferences this week. The next delivery will be November 18/19/20, just one week before the big Thanksgiving Day holiday! Get ready as we’re going to start sifting through all the Thanksgiving recipes to find some gems we can use not only this month, but throughout the winter!

Have a good week, stay warm and eat well!

---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Radicchio

By: Andrea Yoder

Description: We don’t grow radicchio every year, but it holds a special place in our seasonal lineup as a late “green” and we like a good challenge! Radicchio is a bitter green that does best when grown in cool months, which is why it is one of the last crops we harvest late in the fall. It is a popular winter vegetable in Italy and there are many different varieties and shapes. Many varieties are named for the regions in Italy which they are thought to have originated or where they are grown. Our winters are more extreme than the mild winters in most parts of Italy, thus not all varieties are conducive to our growing region. The variety that is best suited for our growing conditions is Chioggia Radicchio, named for the city of Chioggia which is a coastal town located in northeastern Italy along the Adriatic Sea. This variety is similar to Boston lettuce in the way it grows round, compact heads, although a head of Chioggia radicchio is usually more densely packed than Boston lettuce.

Growing Information: One of the reasons it is best to grow radicchio in cool weather is because the cold treatment helps to balance the bitterness with a touch of sweetness making the overall eating quality much better. The challenge for us though is protecting it from critters and extreme cold temperatures. Deer are particularly fond of this crop, so we put up a tall fence to deter them. Some years we also have to cover the radicchio with a double layer field cover held up off the crop by wire supports for additional frost protection. In Italy, many people harvest radicchio from their gardens all winter long. We have a shorter window for growth and harvest and while radicchio can take some frost, very low temperatures in the teens and twenties can cause frost damage. If you see a bit of browning on the edges of the outer leaves, that’s the cause. The other challenging part of growing radicchio is that the rate of growth slows significantly with cool temperatures making it difficult to grow a sizeable head before our winter truly sets in. This year, however, we were thrilled to be able to harvest pretty good sized heads that are densely packed!

Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions & Radicchio

Nutritional Benefits: Radicchio is rich in minerals and vitamins. The compounds which lend to its bitterness also help aid digestion and help support the liver in detoxifying the body. One article found at lacucinaitaliana.it describes radicchio as “a precious ally for our health because it is a true mine of antioxidants, able to counteract free radicals and cellular aging….” If you are not a fan of bitter vegetables, you may take one bite of raw radicchio and say “Andrea, why did you give me this vegetable?!” To answer your question, “Because it is good for you AND can be very delicious!”

Preparation & Use: The key to preparing bitter vegetables is balance. Bitter is balanced by sweetness, acidity and fat, so while you may not find a big bite of a leaf to be to your liking, you may find you really like this vegetable when it is incorporated in dishes with other ingredients that help to balance and complement the bitterness. I also prefer to thinly slice radicchio instead of eating it in big pieces. Lastly, cooking can help to mellow out the bitterness and techniques such as grilling and roasting help to bring out some of the sweetness in this vegetable as well.

Given radicchio’s popularity in Italy, many of the classic pairings and ways radicchio is used go back to Italian cuisine. Radicchio may be eaten both raw and cooked. In its raw form, radicchio is often paired with other greens as well as fruits such as apples, pears, figs, oranges and persimmons to make delicious fall salads. It is also often incorporated into pasta dishes, risotto, savory pies, omelets, baked au gratin, or used as a topping for focaccia or pizza. Many dishes will pair radicchio with other ingredients such as walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, chestnuts, fatty cheese such as Parmesan, Gorgonzola (blue cheese) or Taleggio. It is also often paired with seafood as well as bacon or other pork products, eggs, olive oil, olives, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and caramelized onions.

Storage: While we encourage you to use the radicchio within a week or two, you’ll find it stores pretty well and you can likely keep it for several weeks. Store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator to keep it from wilting. You can use the entire head, including the core. Carefully peel back the layers, wash well and pat dry before using.

Radicchio and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Yield: 8 servings

1 recipe Perfect Piecrust (see below)

1 large egg white

3 Tbsp grated Gruyere cheese (about ¾ ounce)

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 ¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp sugar

1 medium radicchio, halved and thinly sliced (about 8 ounces)

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups heavy cream

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

Pinch fleur de sel (Flaky sea salt)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a ⅜-inch thickness and press into a 9-inch pie pan. Line the dough with foil and fill with pie weights, rice, or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and foil and bake for additional 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden.
Take the crust out of the oven and brush the bottom of the crust with the egg white and sprinkle on the Gruyere cheese in an even layer. Return the crust to the oven and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ tsp salt, and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and browned, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the radicchio and the remaining tablespoon oil and ¼ tsp salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the radicchio is very wilted and jammy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook 1 minute more.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, nutmeg, the remaining ¾ tsp salt, and pepper.
When the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is melted, sprinkle on ½ cup of the radicchio-onion mixture and carefully pour in the custard. Dot the top with the butter pieces, sprinkle on the fleur de sel, and return to the oven. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the top of the quiche is puffed up and golden and the middle is almost set. Allow the quiche to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, before serving with the remaining radicchio-onion-mixture sprinkled on top.

Recipe created by Melissa Clark as featured in her book, Cook This Now.

Perfect Piecrust

Yield: 1 (9-inch) single piecrust

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp kosher salt

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces

2 to 5 Tbsp ice water

In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 1-second pulses). Add the ice water, 1 Tbsp at a time, and pulse until the mixture is just moist enough to hold together.
Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic, and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out and baking.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

November 4, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Radicchio!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Vegetable Feature: Radicchio

Radicchio and Caramelized Onion Quiche

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