Harmony Valley Farm: Black Spanish Radish

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 an intriguing root vegetable with some unique attributes. For starters, they are one of the very few vegetables that are supposed to be black! They have a charcoal black skin which is a stark contrast to the snow white flesh inside. They are classified as a winter storage radish and may be stored for months. We actually harvested these last fall and have been holding them in our cooler for nearly seven months! Because of their long storage potential, they are used more by people in colder climates such as northern Europe where they are an important winter food.

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

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

May 3, 2018 - This Week's Box Contents

Cooking with this Week’s Box

Black Spanish Radishes: Black Radish Salad or Roasted Black Radishes with Brown Butter, Chives & Rice (See Below)

Overwintered Spinach: Creamed Spinach and Ramps & Spring Spinach Chop Salad with Creamy Buttermilk Ramp Dressing

Overwintered Sunchokes: Chili Roasted Sunchokes (See Below) or Chile and Lime Sunchoke Salsa

Overwintered Parsnips: Parsnip Muffins or Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

Chives: Spring Parsnip Mash or Curried Egg Salad

Ramps: Chef Bonnie’s Ramp Deviled Eggs or Creamed Spinach and Ramps or Spring Spinach Chop Salad with Creamy Buttermilk Ramp Dressing

I don’t know about you, but I know I’m ready to start cooking with fresh food again! I hope you had an enjoyable winter and are ready to jump back into some seasonal CSA cooking. If you aren’t familiar with the items in this week’s box, please take a little time to read this week’s main article. I also want to mention that we have an awesome Facebook Group that all CSA members are welcome to join. This is a great place to share recipes with other members as well as learn from and encourage each other. We also have all of our previous years’ newsletters archived on our website and have a searchable recipe database as well. Please use these resources to learn more about your food and find tasty recipes.

Lets get cooking. Black Spanish radishes may be a bit intimidating at first, but they are really quite manageable. If you like the crisp radish flavor, I’d recommend trying the Black Radish Salad featured back in one of our early 2007 newsletters. This is one of my original recipes and calls for mint and basil. If you don’t have these herbs available right now, you could also use some chives or any other fresh herbs of your choosing. If you are not much of a radish eater, try cooking them. You’ll likely be surprised by their sweet, mellow flavor. Try the recipe featured in this week’s newsletter for Roasted Black Radishes with Brown Butter, Chives & Rice. (See Below)

This week is Richard’s birthday week, so perhaps we should include some of his favorite recipes. For starters, he is a good Midwestern man who loves ranch dressing. One of his favorite ramp recipes is for Spring Spinach Chop Salad with Creamy Buttermilk Ramp Dressing. It’s reminiscent of ranch dressing, but much better! He’s also a fan of Creamed Spinach and Ramps and if there are any ramps left over, a batch of Chef Bonnie’s Ramp Deviled Eggs are always a hit with Richard! We’ll finish off the week with a German Chocolate Cake as we celebrate another year of Richard’s life!

We always enjoy overwintered parsnips and usually eat them several times as simple oven-roasted parsnips that are sweet as candy. This is also a good time of year to turn them into a baked good such as Parsnip Muffins or Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting.

Just in case you didn’t have a chance to read the newsletter, I’m going to mention here that some people do have some abdominal discomfort when they eat sunchokes while others are unaffected. If you are eating them for the first time, try a small serving to start with. You may find a small quantity is well-tolerated. Roasted sunchokes are my favorite way to eat this vegetable because they get crispy on the exterior and are moist and fluffy inside. This week’s newsletter features my recipe for Chili Roasted Sunchokes (See Below). You can eat them on their own or make a combination of roasted sunchokes and black radishes. I also like to make sunchoke croutons to eat on top of a spinach salad. It’s a great way to eat a small portion where you can enjoy their flavor and crunch. I also like to make this Chile and Lime Sunchoke Salsa that is great on top of a piece of salmon or chicken tacos. Yes, I think chili and lime are great flavor complements for sunchokes!

Last but not least, we need to find a use for the pretty little bunch of chives. Andrea Beming has a great recipe for a Spring Parsnip Mash that includes fresh chives or check out Heidi Swanson’s recipe for Curried Egg Salad. Her version includes bits of apples & fresh chives to complement the curry seasonings.

Enjoy cooking out of the first box of the season and I look forward to meeting you back here next week with more delicious spring recipe ideas!—Chef Andrea

Roasted Black Radishes with Brown Butter, Chives & Rice

Yield: 4 servings as a side or 2 servings as a main

1-1¼ pound black radishes
2-3 tsp olive oil
Salt & black pepper, to taste
1 ½ Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ tsp red chile flakes
3 cups cooked rice
2 Tbsp minced chives
1 ½ tsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the black radishes into medium dice. Put the black radishes in a bowl and drizzle with 2-3 tsp olive oil. You will need just enough oil to thoroughly coat all the pieces. Season the radishes with salt and pepper and toss to evenly distribute the oil and seasonings. Place the radishes in a skillet or pan with an ovenproof handle.
Roast the black radish in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pieces are starting to brown and are tender. You may have to turn the radishes once or twice during the cooking time. Remove the pan from the oven and put on the stovetop. Turn the burner on to medium heat. Add the butter and red chile flakes to the pan. Once the butter is melted, cook until it starts to turn golden brown and nutty smelling, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to combine. Continue to cook the rice, stirring it frequently, until the rice is heated through.
Remove the pan from heat and add the chives, vinegar and honey. Stir to combine, then adjust seasoning to your tastes by adding more salt, pepper, honey and/or vinegar as needed. Serve hot as a side dish or as a main item. If you have leftovers, consider reheating and serving with a fried egg on top!

Recipe developed by Chef Andrea Yoder

Chili-Roasted Sunchokes (with a Crouton Variation)

By Chef Andrea Yoder
This is one of my original HVF recipes that I developed back in 2007! It’s still a favorite, so I thought I’d share it again along with a few variations you might want to consider.

Serves 3-4

1# sunchokes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut sunchokes into 1” pieces and put in a medium bowl.
Combine the oil, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper and pour over the sunchokes. Toss sunchokes in oil mixture until well coated.
Transfer the sunchokes to a baking dish or sheet tray and roast until tender, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss with the lime juice just before serving.

Variations:

Croutons: If you cut the sunchoke pieces into a small dice size and roast them until they are crispy, you can use them as a “crouton” to garnish a spinach salad or a warm bowl of soup.
Roasted sunchokes & black Spanish radishes. Consider using using ½ pound sunchokes and ½ pound black radishes. This is a good option for individuals who prefer to eat smaller quantities of sunchokes at a time.
If you aren’t a fan of the chili and lime combination, make up your own spice blend or use something that is already blended such as Madras curry powder.