Week 21. : 10/26/2011
This week we have harvested:
Butternut Squash
Winter Greens Fresh Salad Mix
Onions
Cardoons
Pumpkins- Carve them or bake them!
Spicy Peppers
Green Bell Peppers
RECIPES
Honeyed Cardoons with Pine Nuts and Thyme
Ingredients-
1 medium onion
1/2 pound cardoons
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and black pepper
Directions-
Trim the cardoons and boil them for 30-40 minutes in salty water with the juice of a lemon thrown in. (Here is a good overview of cleaning and prepping cardoons) This can be done up to a day ahead.
Slice the cardoons into 1/2 inch pieces.
Slice the onion into half-moons.
Toast the pine nuts — watch them, as pine nuts go from toasted to burnt in a heartbeat.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onions with some salt until just beginning to brown on the edges. Add in the cardoons and stir to combine. Let this cook for a minute or two.
Add the dry sherry — it must be dry sherry, not sweet. (And yes I know you’re adding honey in a bit. Trust me.) If you don’t have dry sherry, use a dry white wine. Turn the heat up to high and boil it furiously.
Add the honey and stir to combine. Add the pine nuts. Let this boil down to a glaze.
Turn off the heat and toss in the thyme and add some fresh ground black pepper. Toss well to combine and serve at once.
*Here is another website that has information about Cardoons and their preparation:http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/02/seriously-italian-baked-cardoons-cardi-gratinati-recipe.html
We found a fabulous blog with great recipe variations of Butternut Squash, check it out: http://www.mnn.com/food/recipes/blogs/seasonal-recipes-5-for-butternut-squash
Now what to do with all of those peppers?
Freeze them whole- place them in air tight bags in the freezer, sometimes it is best to double bag to avoid any burn.
Roast them whole on the grill, let them cool and freeze them, leaving no air bubble to assure again that there is no freezer burn.
Dry them- lay out the long skinny red Cayenne’s from this week and enjoy them dry all winter long in soups, atop of your favorite meal.
Make a jam, jelly or preserve?!