Harmony Valley Farm: November 17, 2022 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Radicchio

Thanksgiving is coming up next week and we’re sending you a full box of vegetables to create a tasty feast! Of course I realize this one feasting day is not the only meal you’ll be preparing before the next CSA delivery in two weeks, so this week’s Cooking With the Box suggestions include a variety of recipes ranging from ones that are appropriate for every day cooking to some recipes that may be considerations for the big Thanksgiving day feast. I’ve also included a few recipes to utilize leftovers as well as some appetizer type ideas for the start of holiday gatherings!

Lets start with this week’s featured vegetable, radicchio. This is a stunning vegetable and you can create some gorgeous salads using it. This week’s featured recipe for Radicchio & Grapefruit Salad (See Below) is incredibly easy and delicious. It’s best to dress the salad with the vinaigrette just before serving. If you like things a bit more sweet, you could use oranges along with or in place of the grapefruit. I also included links to a few other recipes including this Fig, Pomegranate, Radicchio, Orange & Feta Salad which is so beautiful. Lastly, if you’re not into raw radicchio ideas, try this Radicchio & Caramelized Onion Quiche. You can never go wrong with quiche!

We’re happy to still have some green items in the box despite the fact that it’s snowing this week! Turn this week’s broccoli into Broccoli, Cheddar & Wild Rice Casserole or use it to make this Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Dried Cranberries.

As for the kale, how about a traditional recipe for Colcannon (Irish Mashed Potatoes with Kale) or a less traditional Kale Bacon Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts.

If you’re looking for some festive recipes, check out this cocktail recipe for Cranberry & Ginger Bourbon Smash or Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Savory Bacon Pecans. I have also made this No-Bake Paleo Pumpkin Cheesecake for holiday desserts using either sweet potatoes or this week’s Autumn Frost squash. Lastly, this

Butternut Squash & Caramelized Onion Galette could make a lovely vegetarian main dish for Thanksgiving if you’re not into turkey!

I hope you enjoy some delicious meals over the course of the next two weeks until we meet again. We have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season as we reflect on a bountiful harvest season. I’ll see you back here in a few weeks to finish up the final two CSA boxes of the season before we all hunker down for the winter! Happy Thanksgiving

—Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Radicchio

by Andrea Yoder

This week’s featured vegetable is a gorgeous farming gamble with a bittersweet story. The brilliant burgundy red and white leafy vegetable in this week’s box is radicchio. 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. When I visited Italy several years ago, I was excited to see many different varieties of radicchio, most of which I’ve only ever seen on the pages of vegetable seed catalogs! 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 we grew this year, Chioggia Radicchio, is one of the most common and is 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.

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 more balanced and enjoyable. 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. We also have to cover the radicchio with a double layer field cover held up off the crop by wire supports. 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. 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. Thus, every year it’s a gamble as to whether or not we’ll be able to harvest this crop. This year we gambled and won!

I am always curious about the health benefits of different foods, and one has to assume that a vegetable with the intensity of color you see in radicchio has got to have some valuable nutrients! 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….” 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.

The key to 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. So what I’m saying is, please give this beautiful, bittersweet vegetable a try!

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, grapefruit, 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, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and caramelized onions.

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 & Grapefruit Salad

Yield: 4 servings

¼ cup walnut pieces (or other nut of your choice)

1 large red grapefruit

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

¼ tsp fine salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 cups lightly packed, torn radicchio leaves

¼ small red onion, thinly sliced

2 ounces soft goat cheese

In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts, tossing or stirring frequently, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a small bowl, and let cool.
Using a sharp paring knife, trim the top and bottom off the grapefruit. Stand it on one end and, cutting downward following the curve of the fruit, remove all the rind and white pith. Hold the fruit over a medium bowl and cut each grapefruit segment from its membrane, letting the segment drop into the bowl. Squeeze any juice from the remaining membrane into a small bowl or jar.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper and 1 Tbsp of the grapefruit juice. (Reserve the remaining juice for another use, such as drinking it!) Just before serving, add the radicchio to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat.
To serve, arrange about ¾ cup of the radicchio onto each plate then evenly divide the grapefruit segments, onion, goat cheese and the walnuts over each portion. Alternatively, you can also arrange the salad in a large salad bowl and serve it family-style.

Recipe written by Ellie Krieger and published in The Washington Post.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

November 17, 2022 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Radicchio

Cooking With This Week's Box

Vegetable Feature: Radicchio

Radicchio & Grapefruit Salad

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