Romesco sauce

A delicious sauce for topping roast vegetables, meats or smearing on bread. The chickpeas creates a gluten free option, but traditionally, stale bread is used.

• 2 roasted red peppers, skin and seeds removed

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup water

• ⅓ cup mix of almonds and peeled hazelnuts

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

• ¼ cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

In a blender, place the peppers, olive oil, water, nuts, tomato paste, vinegar, chickpeas, garlic, paprika, salt, and pinches of pepper. Blend until smooth.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼- inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts (or your choice of nuts or seeds - pistachios are great)
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon or a few drops of vinegar to brighten it if you like. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mix with pasta, spread on pizza crust, dabble on fish, combine with quinoa, great with most anything!  ....Yum.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼- inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts (or your choice of nuts or seeds - pistachios are great)
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon or a few drops of vinegar to brighten it if you like. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mix with pasta, spread on pizza crust, dabble on fish, combine with quinoa, great with most anything!  ....Yum.

Tomato Leek Sauce

This recipe is adapted from the Washington Post. It is delicious and versatile. Serve it over any cooked grain (try the barley, wheat berries or triticale from the farm), over potatoes, pasta, fish or chicken for an easy meal. Add a hot pepper for some heat or some fennel or fennel seeds for a change of pace. 

Ingredients:     

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups thinly sliced cleaned leeks (white and light-green parts)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs thyme

4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped, plus their juices

1/3 cup sauvignon blanc or other dry white wine

Coarse or flaky sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the leeks, garlic and thyme. Stir to coat, and reduce the heat to medium; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes plus their juices and the wine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed. The mixture will thicken and begin to look like a chunky sauce. 

Discard the thyme sprigs. Taste, and adjust the seasoning before serving or cooling and storing.

Hot Weather Baba Ghanoush

I have long made baba ghanoush, but only this year was I so inspired to cook the eggplant outside to keep the kitchen as cool as possible. This is a flexible recipe and you may cook the eggplant in your oven, but I tried it outside and loved staying cool and loved the taste. The recipe may be cut in half. Experiment with how much of each ingredient you like. 

2 pounds eggplant (about 4 medium)

2 T tahini

4 T lemon juice

1 clove garlic (roasted garlic is also delicious in this recipe)

parsley

salt to taste

olive oil to taste

Place eggplant on medium hot grill and bake approximately 25-35 minutes, or until outside is charred and center is super soft. If the juice drips out, that's great. Let cool slightly and scoop eggplant out into colander or salad spinner. Let drip in colander for 1/2 hour or spin to get some of the water out (it will be creamier and thicker if you do this step). Add additional ingredients, except parsley and olive oil, and puree in food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Add olive oil, if desired, to make in creamier. Add a little cayenne or zatar to spice it up. Serve with pita, flatbread, veggies or crackers. Great in a pita sandwich stuffed with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Muhammara Dip

2 red bell peppers, or 4 red Italia peppers
1 cup walnuts, toasted
2/3 cup breadcrumbs, toasted
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil

 Cut core from peppers and broil for 7 - 10 minutes, until skin is charred. Peel skin. Blend the peppers and walnuts in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the olive oil and pulse until smooth. With the processor running, add the olive oil slowly and blend until the oil is completely incorporated. Turn off the processor and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl as you go. Serve the muhammara in a small bowl, chilled or room temperature.

Recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Jersusalem.

Cucumber Raita

1 large cucumber (about 1/2 pound) cut in half, seeds removed.
1 cup plain yogurt (try Sidehill Farm from the farm shop)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (more to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (more to taste)
1 small chile, minced (optional)

 Grate cucumber on the large holes of a grater. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt, toss and let sit in a colander in the sink for 15 minutes. Rinse briefly and squeeze dry in a kitchen towel. Transfer to a bowl. Beat the yogurt with a fork or a whisk and add the cayenne and garam masala. Toss with the cucumbers. Add the cilantro and chile and toss again. Taste and adjust salt. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with any kind of curried stew, with meat and rice, or just plain!

Recipe from The New York Times

Beet Dip

6 medium beets (1 1/2 pounds), trimmed
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 small red chile, seeded and minced
1 cup strained yogurt (try Sidehill Yogurt from the farm shop)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup (try Dufresne Sugar House from the farm shop)
1 tablespoon zaatar
2 tablespoons goat cheese (try Westfield Chevre from the farm shop)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
salt, to taste, and warm bread, for serving (try El Jardin or Bread Euphoria in the farm shop)

 Preheat the oven to 350°. Put ¼ cup of water in a roasting pan, add beets and cover with foil. Roast for 1 hour, til tender. Let cool, at least slightly. Peel the beets and transfer to a food processor. Add garlic, chile, and yogurt and pulse til blended. (To make strained yogurt: put 1.5 cups of yogurt in cheesecloth and squeeze gently.) Add olive oil, maple syrup, zaatar and puree. Season with salt. Scatter goat cheese and scallions on top.

Recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Jersusalem.

Radish Leaf Pesto

2 handfuls of radish leaves
1 oz grated Parmesan or pecorino
1 oz nuts (almonds? pine-nuts?)
1 clove garlic or 1 scape
½ tsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp olive oil (plus more to taste)
salt, pepper, ground chili pepper (to taste)

 Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. This produces a thick pesto; add more oil and pulse again to get the consistency you prefer. Use within a few days, or freeze. Pour a thin layer of oil on the surface for longest fridge life.

Recipe from Clotilde, Chocolate and Zucchini.

Tomato Sauce

Sauce now, smile later. Buy some tomatoes in bulk. Put them in a big pot and add just a little bit of water. Bring them to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer (don't let them burn - that's the trick!). After they've cooked for a lot of hours (like, all day) put the whole thing through the Foley Food Mill (to take out the skins, etc). Don't add any onions, peppers, garlic or nothing. Just tomatoes. Put this brew in yogurt containers (leave an inch of head room) and into the freezer. Defrost this winter when you want to be happy.

Leek and Tomato Topping

1/3 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 leeks
1 tbsp red wine
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/2 tsp salt & pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and leeks, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the wine and tomatoes. Cook for 5 more minutes until leeks are tender. Remove from heat. Toss in the basil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. For a wonderfully flavorful pizza spread topping directly on crust, top with smoked Provolone and freshly grated parmesan. Bake until golden. This topping can also be used with pasta or as a lasagna filling.

From: Rolling Prairie Cookbook

Green Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
2 cups greens
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 mushrooms, white or wild, chopped
1/2 cup lowfat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

Saute garlic and mushrooms in oil until soft. Add greens and cook until just wilted. Add ricotta cheese and heat over low flame until hot. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella cheese and serve over pasta.

From: shareholder Becky Pins who says it's for spinach but we think it can be used with any cooking green

Green Goddess Dressing

½ cup yogurt
2 Tbsp oil or mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped parsley, basil, and or cilantro
1 tsp chopped chives
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
a squeeze of garlic
makes about ¾ cup

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼- inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiana
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiana to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make some pasta, eat it with this. Yum.

Basic Pesto Recipe

To me, pesto is just a word for some green leaves, some ground up with some nuts or seeds, salt, oil and maybe some cheese or lemon or lime juice. It tastes great with all sorts of variations. Use the general proportions below and see what suits your fancy.  Or use whatever you need to use up from your share. I frequently throw in a mix of greens - a handful of basil, arugula and parsley, for example. You can use nuts or seeds or cheese, or not. As a general rule, green things in the brassica family, like cabbage and broccoli, get a bit on the smelly side when ground up. I usually steer clear of them for this use.

Ingredients

2 cups green leaves (basil, cilantro, arugula, wild picked amaranth, dill, mustard greens.......)

2 - 6 tablespoons nuts or seeds (walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds.......)

2 large cloves garlic or 1 garlic scape

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese

directions

Place nuts or seeds, cheese and garlic or scape in food processor. Pulse to chop finely. Add greens and oil. Pulse until smooth. Add a dash of lemon or lime juice to brighten the flavor, if desired, or pour it on top of packed pesto to maintain bright green color. 

Creamy Beet Hummus

2 small beets - topped trimmed off
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup salt
2 tsp tahini
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375F. Wrap beets in foil and cook for 30-40 min, or until they can be easily pierced with a knife. Run beets under cold water for a few moments, and when you're sure they are cool, slip the skins off with your fingers. Quarter beets and set aside.

Place beets and chickpeas in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the salt, tahini, lemon, and vinegar. Turn the processor on and drizzle in (as the motor is running) 2 tablespoons of water. Process the mixture for a full minute or two stopping to scrape down the bowl now and then.

When the hummus is totally creamy, pulse in the rosemary and Serve!

Makes 4 servings

Cilantro Dipping Sauce

2 hot jalapenos, seeds removed(or other hot pepper to taste)

2 cups loosely packed cilantro

1/2 cup sour cream (or mix of 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 yogurt)

2 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

salt to taste

1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

Put all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Use as sauce for fish, meat or tofu or as dip for bread, french fries or veggies.

Cilantro Mayonnaise (or sour cream or yogurt)

This is great on any sandwich and particularly good on black bean or beef or turkey burgers. 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup mayonnaise (or sour cream or yogurt)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

zest of one lime

pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Carrot Top Pesto

This is what happens when your daughter grows up and joins her own CSA - you get new recipes! This recipe comes via the Intervale Community Farm, via Anna. Why didn't I ever come up with this one? I did add a few options for variety.

Ingredients:

2 cups carrot tops

1 cup basil leaves (can also replace some basil with more carrot tops or parsley)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cashews or other nuts

garlic and cheese (if desired)

Puree all ingredients together until smooth. Serve over pasta or whole grains, spread on bread or drizzle over steamed veggies.