Cooking With This Week's Box
Green Scallions or Desert Sunrise Cipollini Onions: Scallion Beef Stir-Fry Chinatown Favorite; Pork and Chinese Scallion Stir-Fry; Mushroom and Green Onion Stir-Fry
Fresh Porcelain Garlic: Roasted Garlic Green Beans; Pork and Chinese Scallion Stir-Fry; Mushroom and Green Onion Stir-Fry; Chinese Amaranth & Garlic Soup
Sweetheart Cabbage or White Cauliflower or Broccoli: Spicy Pickled Cauliflower; Broccoli Cauliflower Soup; Summer Farmer Skillet
Green and/or Italian Zucchini: Zucchini Pizza Casserole; Beef Taco Hot Dish; No-Bake Zucchini Bread Granola Bites; Summer Farmer Skillet
Green & Yellow Beans: Summer Farmer Skillet; Crispy Green Beans with Pesto; Roasted Garlic Green Beans; How To Blanch and Freeze Fresh Green Beans
Amaranth or Rainbow Chard: Chinese Amaranth & Garlic Soup; Summer Amaranth & Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas; Sesame Noodles with Swiss Chard & Chicken; Swiss Chard Salad with Lemon, Parmesan & Breadcrumbs; How To Preserve Beet Greens & Chard
Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers: Quick Refrigerator Pickles; Basil Cucumber Salad; Cucumber Basil Agua Fresca
New Potatoes: Smashed New Potatoes with Lemon and Lots of Olive Oil (see below); Butter-Steamed New Potatoes (see below); New Potatoes Cooked in Their Jackets with Spices (see below); Summer Farmer Skillet
Italian Basil: Crispy Green Beans with Pesto; Basil Cucumber Salad; Cucumber Basil Agua Fresca; Vegan Beet Salad with Basil
Green Top Red or Chioggia Beets: Beet Lemonade; How To Preserve Beet Greens & Chard; Vegan Beet Salad with Basil
I hope you’re enjoying your summer activities and meals. We have some tasty ingredients awaiting you in this week’s box and more summer goodness yet to come! This week’s featured vegetable is new potatoes. These aren’t just any old potato—new potatoes are different. They are creamy and delicious with tender delicate skins and a fresh potato flavor that can’t be matched any other time of the year. I’ve included three simple recipes for you to consider trying this week, and all of them are centered around the concept of simplicity because in my opinion, these potatoes shine best with simple flavors and preparations. The first recipe for Smashed New Potatoes with Lemon and Lots of Olive Oil (see below) comes from Joshua McFadden’s book, Six Seasons, A New Way with Vegetables. Serve these as a side along with grilled chicken or fish or enjoy it as more of a main meal item with a vegetable salad to accompany. The second recipe for Butter-Steamed New Potatoes (see below) comes from Darra Goldstein’s book, Fire & Ice, Classic Nordic Cooking. This recipe represents some northern European influences and uses a combination cooking method of baking and steaming…in butter! The third recipe for New Potatoes Cooked in Their Jackets with Spices (see below) comes from Madhur Jaffrey’s book, An Invitation to Indian Cooking. The cooking method is simple and the flavor of the new potatoes is complemented by spices commonly used in Indian cuisine. What I like about all of these recipes is the fact that all three, regardless of the origin, acknowledge that the best way to prepare a new potato is to keep the flavors and method simple!
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| Beef Taco Hot Dish, photo from therealfoodrds.com |
Before I go any further, I want to mention this recipe for Summer Farmer Skillet. This recipe is not new to those of you who have been following along with this blog over the past few years. This is a recipe we eat a lot in the summer and it’s great because it’s adaptable, it only requires one pan, and you can include a lot of different vegetables in it! This week I made it with potatoes, onions, green beans and zucchini. The “green” that I used as the topping was cabbage, but you could also use amaranth or rainbow chard as well!
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| Basil Cucumber Salad photo from wholeandheavenlyoven.com |
Growing up, green beans were one of my least favorite vegetables. That could be because my mom always overcooked them, or possibly because I had to pick them from the garden and snap them for winter preservation. In my adult life, I’ve come to appreciate just how delicious fresh green beans can taste. Since we have some basil in this week’s box, I thought this recipe for Crispy Green Beans with Pesto would be fitting. It’s been awhile since I have roasted green beans, but I want to make these Roasted Garlic Green Beans this week using the fresh garlic!
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| Cucumber Basil Aqua Fresca, photo by David A. Land for epicurious.com |
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| Vegan Beet Salad with Basil photo from hellyeahitsvegan.com |
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| Sesame Noodles with Swiss Chard & Chicken photo by Alexandra Stafford for food52.com |
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| Scallion Beef Stir Fry photo from thewoksoflife.com |
Ok, I think we’ve covered every item in this week’s box! Looking ahead to next week, it looks like there’s a chance we might have some tomatoes to pick! We’ll be digging more new potatoes over the weekend, so you can expect to receive more of those next week. Tomatillos are on my radar….we’ll have to see if they fill out in time for next week. Have a great week!—Chef Andrea
Vegetable Feature: New Potatoes
“Everyone has eaten a potato, but not everyone has eaten a truly new potato, freshly dug from the soil just days before serving. Once you do, your life is forever changed, because a new potato is everything good about a potato but more delicate, sweeter, and refined.”—An excerpt from Chef Joshua McFadden’s, Six Seasons, A New Way with Vegetables.
Potatoes are a vegetable everyone’s familiar with, but not all are created equally and this week’s potatoes are, in our opinion, very special. There is a short period of time early in the summer when we have the opportunity to eat “New Potatoes.” New potatoes are not a variety, 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 last Saturday from plants with green vines. Freshly dug new potatoes have a flavor and texture unlike other potatoes throughout the season. It is a fresh, pure potato flavor and the skin is tender and delicate. Once cooked, the flesh is moist, creamy and smooth. Simply delicious!
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, but we encourage you to handle them with care as well. Wash them just before use and just give them a gentle scrub if needed.
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. If potatoes are stored in colder temperatures (such as your home refrigerator), the starches will convert to sugars which is not what we want in a potato (save that characteristic for sweet potatoes!) So in a home setting, it’s best 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, this week’s new potatoes will not store as well and are best eaten within one week.
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| New Potatoes with Garlic and Butter (Recipe in the HVF archives) |
"Simple cooking methods are best for these early-season potatoes—think boiling, steaming, and pan-roasting—and delicately flavor with fresh herbs……One of the beauties of a new potato is its undeveloped skin. That means no peeling, folks."
So save your complicated potato recipes for another time and just focus on simple recipes and preparations that allow the flavor of the new potatoes to come to the forefront. All they really need is a little cooking time, a little butter or oil and light seasoning. In searching different cookbooks for references to new potatoes, this seems to be the general consensus in cultures around the world. I thought it was interesting to note a special reverence and emphasis on simplicity was given to “new potatoes” in recipes from all around the world including northern Europe, France, and India to name just a few. I’ve featured several of these recipes for you this week. Give one of them a try and pay particular attention to how delicious and creamy these potatoes are this week!
As we progress through the season, you will be receiving more varieties of potatoes. It’s important to know that some potatoes are classified as “waxy” while others are classified as “starchy,” or possibly a mix of the two classifications which we label “all-purpose.” These classifications are assigned based on the type of starch that comprises the flesh of the potato and it’s important to choose the appropriate cooking method for each type. Waxy potatoes are generally more moist and hold together better. They are best used for roasting, boiling or steaming, and are a good choice for soups and potato salad. I do not recommend mashing them because they usually become sticky and pasty. This week’s variety is a waxy potato. Starchy potatoes tend to be more dry and fluffy. This is a variety of potato appropriate for mashing as well as for making roasted potatoes, pan frying, etc. Starchy potatoes are also useful in soups, but they’ll likely fall apart which is actually good for thickening. As we progress throughout the season, make sure you read the “What’s In the Box” portion of the newsletter each week as we’ll give you information about the specific potato varieties as we deliver them so you’ll know the best ways to prepare and enjoy them. In the meantime, enjoy the fresh flavor and creamy texture of these freshly dug new potatoes!
New Potatoes Cooked in Their Jackets with Spices
Yield: 4-6 servings
1 ½ pounds new potatoesA piece of fresh ginger, about 1 ½ inches square, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ tsp ground turmeric
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
¼ tsp whole cumin seeds
½ fresh hot green chili, finely sliced (optional), or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Wash the potatoes well, but do not peel. Quarter them lengthwise, then dice them. Set aside in a bowl of cold water.
- Put the ginger in the electric blender with the turmeric and 3 Tbsp water. Blend at high speed until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a 10-12 inch heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the whole cumin seeds, and after about 10 or 20 seconds, when they change color, add the paste from the blender and cook for about 1 minute. Put in the sliced green chili if you are using it, and cook another 30 seconds.
- Drain the potatoes and add them to the pot. Fry them, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir. Put in the cilantro, lower heat a bit, and fry another 5 minutes, stirring gently. Add the salt, garam masala, coriander, lemon juice, cayenne pepper if you are using it, and 3 Tbsp warm water. Stir, scrape bottom gently, and cover. Reduce flame to very low and let the potatoes cook about 25 minutes, until done. Stir very gently every 10 minutes or so.
- To serve: Lift out carefully and serve in warm shallow dish or platter. Try these potatoes with roast pork or lamb. They are very versatile in an Indian meal and can be served in an all-vegetarian lunch…—or they can be served with almost any meat or poultry dish.
Recipe borrowed from Madhur Jaffrey’s book, An Invitation to Indian Cooking.
Smashed Potatoes with Lemon and Lots of Olive Oil
Yield: 4 serving
1 ½ pounds new potatoes, rinsed and just lightly scrubbed if they need it
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil
Put the potatoes in a pot and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Add salt until the water tastes like the sea. Bring to a gentle boil and boil the potatoes until they are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
With a ladle or a measuring cup, scoop out about ½ cup of the cooking water and drain the potatoes well. Put them back in the pot and crush them using a potato masher or a big fork or a wooden spoon. Squeeze on the lemon juice, season with ½ tsp salt and many twists of pepper, and add ¼ cup olive oil. Sprinkle on a Tbsp or so of the cooking water and crush a few more times and then taste. Adjust with more lemon, salt, pepper, or olive oil until the flavor is irresistible. Add a bit more cooking water if you like in order to make the texture chunky but a bit creamy.
Recipe from Joshua McFadden’s book with Martha Holmberg, Six Seasons, A New Way with Vegetables.
“I first encountered butter-steamed potatoes as a newlywed living in Stockholm. I had carried James Beard’s Delights and Prejudices across the ocean to serve as my kitchen bible. There I discovered a recipe for pommes fondantes, tiny, peeled potatoes steamed in nothing but butter over low heat. That year in Sweden I spent a lot of time standing over the stove, shaking the pot to make sure the potatoes didn’t burn. Now, though, I make these darlings in a much more carefree manner, one I discovered in Norway. For all their ease, they are just as delectable.”
Author’s Note: “This side dish is so perfect on its own that I hesitate to suggest any additions, but if you must, a handful of freshly picked herbs—especially chives and dill—is fantastic.”
Butter-Steamed New Potatoes
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound new potatoes, unpeeled
4 Tbsp butter
½ tsp salt
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Gently wash the potatoes and drain them in a colander. Leave whole or cut into pieces 1-inch diameter or smaller.
Place the butter in a small gratin dish just large enough to hold the potatoes. Set the dish in the oven for the butter to melt, then add the potatoes and salt, and toss with the butter. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.
Sprinkle the potatoes with the dill and serve immediately, right from the gratin dish.
Recipe adapted slightly from Darra Goldstein’s book, Fire & Ice, Classic Nordic Cooking. In the introduction to this recipe she shares:
“I first encountered butter-steamed potatoes as a newlywed living in Stockholm. I had carried James Beard’s Delights and Prejudices across the ocean to serve as my kitchen bible. There I discovered a recipe for pommes fondantes, tiny, peeled potatoes steamed in nothing but butter over low heat. That year in Sweden I spent a lot of time standing over the stove, shaking the pot to make sure the potatoes didn’t burn. Now, though, I make these darlings in a much more carefree manner, one I discovered in Norway. For all their ease, they are just as delectable.”
