Cooking With This Week's Box
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| Nettles in the field |
Black Spanish Radishes:
Black Radish & Apple Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette (See Below)
Barbecue Seasoned Roasted Roots & Tubers (See Below)
Wild Ramps:
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| Photo of Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach from diethood.com |
Overwintered Spinach:
Overwintered Parsnips:
Overwintered Sunchokes:
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| Photo of Mushroom, Parmesan Watercress Omelet from marthastewart.com |
Red Potatoes:
Watercress:
Welcome to week 2 of our CSA season! It’s finally getting warm and the trees are finally starting to get their leaves. Our valley is vibrantly colored in shades of green and it’s so nice to have green vegetables back on our plates as well! This week we wild-harvested some peppery watercress for your box. If you’re not sure what to do with this pungent green, you might find a recipe or some inspiration with this article 23 Watercress Recipes We’re Just Wild About.
We also wild-harvested nettles for your box! Yes, these are stinging nettles, but if you just follow the guidelines that we provided for you in a previous blog post, you’ll be just fine and you can enjoy the nettles this week. They are packed with nutrients and flavor, so don’t pass them by. I’ve included some of my favorite past recipes in this week’s list of suggestions.
Now on to this week’s featured vegetable, which is not green but rather black! Black Spanish Radishes are another nutrient-packed vegetable that we enjoy in the fall, winter and spring. If you are not familiar with this vegetable, take a moment to read more about it in this week’s vegetable feature article. I’ve also included two tasty recipes for you that are simple to make.
Looking ahead to next week, we’re really hoping we’ll have enough asparagus to include in your boxes. Our first harvest this week only yielded 8# (you have to start somewhere!). We also have a nice crop of mini romaine lettuces that we hope will be ready in the next 1-2 weeks. Sorrel is sizing up nicely and before long we’ll have fresh radishes!
Have a great week of cooking and I’ll see you back here next week!
Chef Andrea
Vegetable Feature: Black Spanish Radishes
Black Spanish Radishes are in the Brassicas family, a class of vegetables known to have a wealth of beneficial nutrients. Black Spanish Radishes are unique in that they have the highest levels of a phytonutrient called glucosinolate. This nutrient plays an important role in supporting the liver in its role in detoxifying the body of toxins. If you are interested in more of the science about how this phytonutrient works in our bodies, there is an interesting article at www.wholisticmatters.com/Spanish-black-radish-whats-old-is-new-again.
Black Spanish Radishes may be eaten either raw or cooked. When eaten raw, they have a stronger flavor with a peppery bite that is similar to horseradish. They can be added to fresh vegetable or grain salads, sliced thinly and added to sandwiches, or eaten raw with creamy dips. I find the flavor and eating experience to be more enjoyable if they are sliced thinly so the flavor is not too overwhelming in one bite. These radishes are also delicious when fermented or made into kim chi. If you do not care for a strong radish flavor, you may enjoy Black Spanish Radishes more when cooked, which helps to mellow out their flavor. They may be roasted, added to soups & stews, stir-fried or sautéed. There are a lot of beneficial nutrients in the skin, so I recommend leaving the skin on.
Store Black Spanish Radishes in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or wrapped in a towel to keep them firm until you are ready to use them. They will store for quite awhile, but we encourage you to use these within the next 3-4 weeks for best results.
Barbecue Seasoned Roasted Roots & Tubers
Yield: 4 servings
Barbecue Spice Blend
¼ cup chili powder
1 ½ Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
1 ½ Tbsp coarse salt
1 Tbsp paprika
½ tsp smoked chipotle powder or smoked paprika
Vegetables
2 cups diced Black Spanish Radish
1 cup diced sunchokes
3 cups diced potatoes
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup minced chives
Salt, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Prepare the spice mixture. Combine all of the spices in a bowl and stir to combine. You will have about ¾ of a cup of the mixture, which is more than you will use for this recipe. Store extra spice mixture in a tightly closed jar. Use it with other roasted vegetable blends or use it to season meat such as beef steaks, pork chops, pork roasts, etc.
- Dice the radishes, sunchokes and potatoes. You may choose the size of the dice. I like a medium dice that is a nice balance of a moderate cooking time along with the right amount of surface area to hold the seasonings. The important thing is to cut all the vegetables in a similar size. You may choose any ratio of vegetables as long as you have about 6 cups in total.
- Place the diced vegetables in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with 3 Tbsp of oil. Toss to lightly coat all the vegetables. Sprinkle with about 3-4 tsp of the spice mixture and toss to combine.
- Spread the vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
- Roast for 35-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and slightly crispy on the outside. You will need to stir the vegetables about half way through the cooking time.
- Remove from the oven and taste one vegetable. If desired, sprinkle with additional salt and the chives. Stir to combine and allow the chives to wilt down a bit on the hot pan. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Chef Andrea Yoder, Harmony Valley Farm
Black Spanish Radish & Apple Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette
Yield: 6 servings
1 large Black Spanish Radish (about ¾ lb.), finely julienned
2 Tbsp honey, plus more to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
½ cup olive or sunflower oil
1 medium apple, finely julienned
¾ cup minced chives
Salt, 1 tsp plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Scrub the exterior of the Black Spanish Radish first, then cut in half and cut each half into finely julienned pieces. Place the radish in a medium mixing bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Next, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine the honey, Dijon mustard and vinegar. Using a whisk, stir to combine. While continuing to whisk the mixture, drizzle in the oil. Once fully combined, add freshly ground black pepper, stir and set aside.
- Cut the apple and put it in a small bowl. Drizzle some of the dressing over the apples, just enough to lightly cover all of the pieces when lightly stirred. This will prevent the apple from browning.
- Add the apples and chives to the black radishes. Drizzle with just enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat the vegetables. You will have extra vinaigrette, so do not put it all on the radish mixture! (See Note Below)
- Allow the slaw to marinate for about 10 minutes before serving. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding additional salt, black pepper and/or a drizzle of additional honey.
Note: This recipe was written to intentionally make
more vinaigrette than you need. The
reason for this is that this honey vinaigrette is a nice, simple one to keep in
your refrigerator. Spring is a time of
the year when we enjoy a lot of different salad greens, so having a simple
vinaigrette on hand will allow you to make a quick salad when you may be short
on time. The other way you may choose to
use the extra vinaigrette is to make a more substantial salad by tossing the
vinaigrette with spinach and then topping it off with this Black Spanish Radish & Apple
Slaw.
Recipe by Chef Andrea Yoder, Harmony Valley Farm
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