Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

garlic

Tender Garlic Scapes

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Our scape crow!
Our scape crow!

Week two of the CSA shares included a curly bunch of garlic scapes. They were tender and had a mild garlic flavor. Tasty!

What’s a scape? Some plants in the allium family (garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, and friends) begin reproduction by growing a long round stalk with a spire-shaped point called a scape. Eventually, a flower will emerge from the scape’s tip, from which the plant sends its seeds.

Store garlic scapes in an airtight container or upright in water and use fresh; or freeze. Cook them any way you would asparagus or try…

  • blending them into hummus
  • mashing into guacamole
  • chopping into a salad
  • adding to pesto
  • pureed with potatoes
  • topping pasta dishes

 

Purple Sprouting Broccoli braised with Bacon, Garlic and Chili

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We are having a bumper crop of purple and white sprouting broccoli due to the mild winter. Enjoy this simple and tasty preparation.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time 10-15 minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients: ¾ lb PSB, ¼ lb smoked bacon, 3 tbs olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, 1 dried chili, chopped finely.

  1. Blanch the broccoli for five minutes in plenty of boiling salted water.
  2. While it is cooking fry up the bacon in the olive oil until almost brown. Add the garlic and chili and cook for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add broccoli to the bacon and braise for another five minutes.

Sauteed Frisee

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Our first full-week CSA pickup included Frisee, a wonderful salad green. Our friend, Abra Bennett, a professional chef and blogger at French Letters gave us this Frisee recipe. We thought we’d share it with you.

Sautéed Frisée

Recipe By: Abra Bennett for Persephone Farm

1  Large head very fresh frisée
1  T  olive oil
1  T  bacon fat (or use 2 T olive oil)
1  T  water
3  Cloves garlic
1  T  lemon juice
1  T  heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the frisée, not too finely. Heat olive oil and bacon fat in a large
skillet with a tightly-fitting lid. Add the frisée to the fat in the pan,
add the water, cover tightly, and let simmer 3-4 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until thoroughly wilted.

Remove lid, add garlic, and sauté another minute or two. Add lemon juice
and sauté to combine. Add cream and sauté to combine. Taste for salt and
pepper.

The greens will be slightly bitter and piquant. They’re delicious with rich
foods like duck, pork, macaroni and cheese, or stirred into a bowl of penne.

Serves one person who really loves greens, or two more reasonable people.

Broccoli Rabe and Pasta With Garlic, Anchovy and Hot Pepper

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Ingredients

2 bunches of broccoli rabe

salt to taste

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

6 oil-packed anchovy fillets or to taste

1 t hot red pepper flakes or 1 small dried red chili, chopped, seeds and all

1 lb orecchiette, cavatelli or other pasta

4 quarts water

freshly ground black pepper to taste

grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese

Instructions

Clean and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe.

Bring about 1 inch of lightly salted water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until it is tender and only a few tablespoons of liquid are left in the bottom of the pan-about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how finely the vegetable is chopped.

Set the pan of broccoli rabe aside, but keep it warm.

In a separate skillet or sauté pan, gently sauté the garlic in the olive oil until it is soft, then melt in the anchovy fillets by crushing them in the garlicky oil with a fork.

Add the red pepper and stir to mix well.

Turn the garlic-pepper oil into the broccoli rabe and mix.

Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water until done. Drain the pasta and immediately combine with the seasoned broccoli rabe. Turn it into a warm serving bowl, add pepper, and serve immediately.

You can pass grated cheese at the table.

Recipe from GourmetSleuth.com

Lettuce and Tarragon Soup

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6 servings

2 medium leeks (about 1 1/2 lbs.)

4 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 cups homemade, or canned, low-sodium chicken stock, or golden vegetable stock

About 1 tps salt, less if using canned stock

1 medium head romaine lettuce, with the outer, deep green leaves

1/4 cup fresh French tarragon leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

Optional garnish: creme fraiche or sour cream, and heavy cream

1-Cut off and discard tops of leeks at point where they turn from light to dark green. Split rest lengthwise in half, keeping roots attached so the layers won’t fall apart. Wash thoroughly. Thinly slice into half circles and discard roots. Melt butter in a large (4 quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes.  Add stock and salt (omit if using canned stock) and simmer. Turn heat to low and cover, and cook at a bubbling simmer for 15 minutes to further soften leeks. (The soup may be made up to this point up to two days ahead and stored covered in refrigerator.)

2–Slice whole head of romaine lettuce crosswise into one-inch thick strips (you don’t need to separate the leaves first) and discard the base. Wash and drain the lettuce. Stir the lettuce into the soup, increase the heat to medium, and cook uncovered until the lettuce is wilted and softened, about 5 minutes.

3–Stir in the tarragon leaves. Put half of the soup in an electric blender (you can use a food processor but the soup won’t be as smooth). Holding down the lid, turn blender on to low, then gradually increase to high until soup is very smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a second saucepan and repeat with the remaining soup. Gently reheat all the soup, tasting and seasoning if needed with salt and pepper. Serve in warmed bowls.

4–If you wish to garnish with cream, vigerously stir the creme fraiche with a teaspoon and thin it with cream until it falls off the spoon in a thick stream. Hold a spoonful of the cream about 6 inches above the bowl and let it fall in a circular or zigzag pattern onto the soup.

(Herb substitutions–Use 1 cup chervil, gently packed, or two Tbs. lovage leaves in place of the tarragon.)