July 11, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring New Potatoes

 

What's In The Box

Red Norland New Potatoes: These red-skinned, white flesh potatoes were dug this week and have thin, delicate skin. Read more in this week’s vegetable feature article about what makes “new” potatoes so special. As you prepare and eat them, notice how crispy and juicy they are when raw. Also notice how their flavor is different from stored potatoes. Gently wash them before using, but don’t scrub too hard or the skin will easily come off. Eat them within about a week and store them in the refrigerator.

Fresh Italian Garlic: This week’s garlic was harvested about a week ago. While the exterior skin is starting to dry down, it is still considered “fresh” as it is not fully cured. You’ll notice the skin surrounding the cloves is still moist and may be a little difficult to remove. The cloves inside are juicy, crisp and have a bright flavor. Store at room temperature.

Fresh White Onions: This week’s onion variety is “Sierra Blanca,” a fresh, white onion intended to be eaten fresh. If left to dry at room temperature, it will form a very thin, dry skin, but it does not have a thick skin that would help it to store for months. This is an excellent onion to use raw on sandwiches and salads…. especially when sliced thinly.

Broccoli: Store broccoli in the refrigerator loosely wrapped in a plastic bag until ready to use it. Use the florets and stem to make a simple soup, stir-fry, or salad.

Cauliflower: We just transplanted our final crop of cauliflower that we’ll harvest later this fall, just before winter sets in! In the meantime, we have a bit more of our spring-planted crop to harvest for you.

Silver Slicer and/or Green Slicer Cucumbers: Salt will draw the moisture out of cucumbers. If you don’t want your cucumber salad to get soggy, salt the cucumbers first and drain off the liquid before adding them to the salad or mixing them with the dressing.

Zucchini and/or Scallopini Squash: You can’t go wrong when using zucchini to make baked goods! Zucchini has a high moisture content which helps to make baked goods that are moist! (Note: Some boxes may receive Sweetheart Cabbage or Kohlrabi in place of this item)

Rainbow Chard: This gorgeous bunching “green” is a summer green related to beets! You may use chard in any recipe calling for beet greens, but it may also be turned into the base for a raw salad, added to soups and stews, or simply sauteed with olive oil and garlic. Use both the leaves and the colorful stems.

Green Top Orange Carrots: This week we are transitioning form our early season “Nantes” variety to one called “Bolero.” We plant this variety a bit in the spring, but also again in the fall. It is known for its strong, vigorous green tops (that are also edible) and sweet, delicious carrots that are crispy and firm!

Green & Yellow Beans: Beans are a low calorie, high fiber food. While they may be eaten raw, they are more delectable if blanched or lightly cooked.

 

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Kung Pao Potatoes

Potato, Cauliflower & Green Bean Curry

Bacon, Potato & Swiss Chard Scramble

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

Swiss Chard & Almond Pasta

20 Swiss Chard Recipes That Highlight the Versatility of This Green

Summer Minestrone

Summer Farmer Skillet

Cucumber Salad Sandwich

Garlic Smashed Cucumber Salad

Zucchini & Green Bean Sauté with Feta

Lemony Zucchini Muffins

Carrot Bread

Carrot Green Smoothie

Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup

Vegetable Feature: New Potatoes

Even though we’ve featured potatoes in past newsletters over the years, we continue to draw attention to “New Potatoes” every year because we don’t want you to miss out on how special they truly are!  There is a short period of time early in the summer when we first start harvesting our potato crop that we have the opportunity to eat “New Potatoes.”  New potatoes are not a variety or a color of a potato, but rather a term used to describe potatoes that are harvested off of a plant that still has green leaves on it.  Our usual practice is to mow down the potato vines about a week in advance of harvest.  In the week between mowing down the vines and actually harvesting the potatoes, changes take place in the plant that help to set the skins and make them easier to handle without damaging the skin.  It also gives them a more durable skin to protect the flesh and make them better for storage.  These potatoes were dug just this week from plants with green vines.  Freshly dug new potatoes have a flavor and texture unlike other potatoes throughout the season.  If you want to truly know what a potato tastes like, eat a new potato!  New potatoes have a fresh, pure potato flavor and their skin is tender and delicate.  When you cut them you’ll notice they are very crispy and sometimes a little brittle because they have retained all their juiciness!  Once cooked, the flesh is moist, creamy and smooth with a distinctive flavor that’s hard to describe.  Trust me, when you taste it you’ll know what I mean!  

The new potatoes in your box this week are a variety called Red Norland.  They are an early red-skinned potato with creamy white flesh.  They need to be handled with care so as not to disturb the skin and expose the flesh.  We’ve given them the “white glove treatment” through the harvest and washing processes to preserve the integrity of their skins as much as possible, but we encourage you to handle them with care as well.  Wash them just before use and  give them just a gentle scrub if needed. There is no need to peel them as the skins are so thin and really delicious, so my recommendation is to just skip that step.

I encourage you to slow down and really savor the flavor of these new potatoes as these first few weeks will be the only time during the season you’ll be able to have this taste experience of freshly dug potatoes.  You really don’t need to do much to them and, in fact, I’d encourage you to do as little as possible!  Honestly, most often I simply boil or roast them with fresh garlic and top them off with butter, salt, pepper and sometimes fresh herbs.   

 

In general, potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark place, but not in the refrigerator.  We store our potatoes in a warmer cooler at about 48-50°F which is most ideal.  Unfortunately, most home settings do not have the luxury of having multiple refrigerators along with the option to run them at different temperatures.  Thus, for potatoes intended for long term storage we generally recommend to store them in a cool, dry location outside of the refrigerator where they will not be exposed to light which can cause the potatoes to turn green and bitter.  If the potatoes have set their skins, in general they will store for a few weeks at room temperature in a brown paper bag (never in a plastic bag).  However, because new potatoes are so fresh and we have not allowed them to set their skins, they will not store as well and are best eaten within one week.  Additionally, this is probably the one time that we will recommend that you put your potatoes in the refrigerator!

Parmentier Potatoes

Photo from www.greedygourmet.com

This French potato dish was named after Antoine Augustin Parmentier. Parmentier was a pharmacist turned potato advocate after he experienced the nutritional benefits potatoes offered him when he was a prisoner in Germany during the Seven Years War. He survived on a diet of potatoes; thus, it is understandable that he would become a passionate advocate for them!  At the time, potatoes were not revered in France and were seen as a cheap vegetable. Parmentier worked hard to popularize potatoes throughout France and eventually they became an integral part of French cuisine!

The cooking method here is a two-step process of blanching first, then roasting. This is another simple recipe that really highlights the flavors of a few ingredients. 

2 pounds potatoes, left whole if small or cut into 2-inch pieces

3 Tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
2. Parboil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water over a high heat for 5 minutes. Do not overcook! They should still have a slight crunch to them.
3. Once the potatoes are parboiled, drain them in a colander and let them rest for a few minutes to dry. Alternatively, pat them dry with a clean towel.
4. While you are parboiling the potatoes, put the oil in a large roasting pan and place it in the oven. You want the oil to be hot but watch it carefully as you do not want it to get so hot it starts to smoke.
5. When the potatoes are parboiled and dried, carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and gently place the potatoes in a single layer.
6. Turn them around a bit for all surfaces to get covered in oil.
7. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Then, stir in the garlic and fresh herbs.
8. Roast for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crispy.
9. Season to taste and serve immediately!

Recipe adapted slightly from Michelle Minnaar’s recipe at greedygourmet.com.