The Best Kale Salad

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Hey!

A neighbor of mine raved about this salad and although I haven’t tried it myself yet, I wanted to pass it along. She was quite adamant that it was THE best kale salad and I trust her judgment 🙂 It would be a great way to use items from the “Fall into Greens” CSA. Have you signed up yet? Stop by and talk to Mark and Gina about it tomorrow at market!

I wish I could give proper credit to whoever created this recipe but I am not sure where it originated!

The Best Kale Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch curly or Dino kale
  • 1/4 head purple cabbage
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 carrot, julienned
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
  • 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 4 tablespoons warm water
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

  • De-stem and chop kale into small pieces. Shred cabbage on the large holes of a box grater. Mix together with red bell pepper, carrots, raisins and peanuts.
  • In a small food processor (or you can whisk by hand) combine remaining ingredients and process until fully blended.
  • Pour dressing over salad and massage for 1-2 minutes. Let the dressing soak in a bit before serving.

Roasted Chinese Long Beans with Miso-Butter

1 Comment

Hello!

I love recipes that deliver big flavor with minimal effort – and this is one of those. These beans are great simply sauteed but I wanted to dress mine up a bit. After they were roasted, I chopped them into bite sized pieces and served them with brown rice, cherry tomatoes and a fried egg (topped with a little soy sauce and hot sauce – yum!). We hope you enjoy!

Roasted Chinese Long Beans with Miso-Butter
4-6 servings

Recipe notes: 1) providing a recipe using a broiler is always tricky because broilers vary so much between ovens. When I used this technique, I found that the resulting beans still have a good amount of crunch. If you want your beans cooked through more, I would suggest adjusting the oven racks down an extra layer so you have time to cook the beans through without burning the butter mixture, 2) if you haven’t planned ahead and don’t have room temperature butter, you can soften it in the microwave on 20% power in 30 second increments.

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/4 pounds Chinese long beans, ends trimmed
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons white miso
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

  • Adjust one oven rack to about 6″ inches away from the broiler with a second rack on a level just below that one. Preheat your broiler to high.
  • Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and evenly distribute the beans between the two sheets.
  • Mix the butter, miso, garlic and black pepper together in a small bowl until uniform. Dollop the mixture over the beans (it doesn’t have to be even – they will be tossed again in a minute).
  • Place one tray of beans on the higher rack under the broiler for 1 minute. Remove from the oven and toss the beans to evenly coat with the now melted butter mixture. Return to the oven on the lower rack and cook for 8-10 minutes (mine needed 10 minutes), or until the beans have started to soften but still retain some texture. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a serving or storage dish. Repeat with the remaining tray of beans.

 

Fresh Tomato Salsa with Papalo

4 Comments

Hello!

I love fresh, easy to prepare meals, especially in the scorching heat of summer. It doesn’t get fresher than this quick, flavorful salsa. Pair with tortilla chips and a protein source (I would go for a black bean salad) and you have dinner! Margaritas wouldn’t hurt either 🙂

This salsa is unique with the addition of papalo, an intense herb somewhat similar to cilantro, but with an aroma and flavor all its own. It is also called papaloquelite, poreleaf, mampuito, summer cilantro, and Bolivian coriander. It is often used as an alternative to cilantro, which makes sense as it thrives in the summer heat when cilantro will bolt. For more information, including recipes, check out this site.

Fresh Tomato Salsa with Papalo

Recipe notes: 1) if you are inclined, you can drain the diced tomatoes for 30 minutes in a colander to make the salsa less watery (which might be desirable depending on how to plan to use the salsa); 2) the spiciness of jalapenos vary greatly, so I always recommend adding some of the minced flesh to start, taste, then add more flesh and/or seeds/ribs until the desired heat level is reached; 3) papalo has an intense flavor, so start with just a small amount and add more as desired. You can substitute cilantro but I would use 2-3 times the amount called for.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound firm, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2″ dice (see recipe note)
  • 1 medium jalapeno, cut in half, seeds/ribs removed, minced and reserved, flesh minced (see recipe note)
  • 1/3 cup minced red onion
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon minced papalo (see recipe note)
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • Few grinds of fresh black pepper

Directions:

  • In a medium mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Best eaten fresh.

 

Raw Sesame Marinated Kohlrabi

1 Comment

Hello!

Mark and Gina aren’t setting up at market tonight but they will be there to drop off pre-ordered items from 4:30-5pm. Be sure to stop by next week and grab some goodies!

Below is a quick recipe for kohlrabi. We hope you enjoy it!

Raw Sesame Marinated Kohlrabi

Recipe note: this marinade is great for cucumbers too!

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/3 pound kohlrabi (without the stems), about 5 small, peeled and sliced into finger length pieces (about 2″ long x 1/2″ wide)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon white or black sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

  • Place kohlrabi pieces into a dish that holds them in a couple of layers (you don’t want them all stacked on top of each other or they won’t marinate evenly).
  • In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together to combine then pour over the kohlrabi. You can either serve immediately or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and serve within a few days.

Raw Spicy Pak Choi Salad

5 Comments

Hello!

If you haven’t used the pak choi from last weeks share yet, give this quick, flavorful recipe a try. I used two heads of pak choi because I had one left over from last week but you can easily cut the dressing ingredients in half if you just have one. I plan to serve this with a quick ramen soup but I think it would be great with salmon or tofu and served on rice. I would suggest serving it immediately after tossing the pak choi with the dressing as it will start to wilt and soften fairly quickly.

Have a great weekend!

Raw Spicy Pak Choi Salad
adapted from One Good Dish by David Tanis

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon sorghum syrup or brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 medium heads of pak choi, about 1-3/4 pounds total, trimmed, cleaned, and ribs and leaves thinly sliced (about 1/8″ thick)
  • Handful of shelled edamame (optional)

Directions:

  • Whisk all ingredients except pak choi together in a medium mixing bowl until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Toss with pak choi and edamame, if using, and serve.

 

Curtido (Salvadorian Sauerkraut)

4 Comments

Hi! This is my first post for Tant Hill Farm so I think an introduction is in order. My name is Laura Robinson and I just recently moved to Chattanooga with my husband and 16 month old son. I am a chef and have worked as a culinary instructor, personal chef and caterer in the past but I am now taking some time off to be home with my son. I will be blogging, creating recipes and helping with social media (follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!). My passion is creating simple yet flavorful recipes based on local and seasonal food that both feeds the body and the soul.  I hope to help bridge the gap between buying local produce and figuring out what to do with it when you get home. Check out my website if you want more information on me and what I do. Now on to the good stuff!

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Fermented food has clearly moved into the American mainstream. Look up any “2015 Food Trends” list and it is bound to be close to the top of the list. However, it is anything but a fresh concept; humans have been fermenting food and drink for thousands of years. Not only to make food healthier and longer lasting, but also to make it oh so tasty.

I am just getting into home fermentation myself and traditional sauerkraut was my first experiment. This time around, I was looking for something a bit different when I stumbled across curtido, the Salvadorian version of sauerkraut. It is typically made with cabbage, carrots (both of which were in the Deep Winter CSA last week!) and onions and served along side cheese-filled corn tortillas, called pupusas. As much as I would love to make a traditional pupusa to eat along side the curtido when it has finished fermenting, the truth is I have limited time and will most likely stuff it in a grilled cheese (which I think will be equally as good!). I also think it would be great with marinated tempeh or grilled meat.

The following recipe was based on this one but the thing I love most about fermenting is that you really don’t need a recipe. Don’t have carrots? No worries! Don’t like spicy food? Leave out the peppers! I am by no means an expert but there are so many great resources available to learn more: check out anything by Sandor Katz, like Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation, and Cultures for Health. There is also a great Facebook page called Wild Fermentation that has over 36,000 members, and I have found it to be a great resource.

In the end, I hope you use this as a starting point. Experiment and then share the results! We can’t wait to hear how it turns out. Enjoy!

Curtido

Recipe notes: 1) using a food processor or mandoline makes speedy work of slicing the vegetables; 2) you can use many types of salt, the best being those that are unrefined and natural – check out this link for more information; 3) I have found a variety of salt level recommendations – I prefer the one listed below but you need a kitchen scale (I love the Oxo digital scale) – if you don’t have a scale, this source recommends using 1-3 tablespoons of salt per medium head of cabbage (or equivalent of another vegetable).

Ingredients:

  • 2.25 pounds (5 small) cabbage, cored and sliced thin
  • 12.5 ounces (about 16 small) carrots, shredded on the large holes of box grater
  • 1 large onion, peeled and sliced thin
  • 3 large jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, cut lengthwise then sliced into half moons
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes
  • Salt: 3 tablespoons of salt per 5 pounds of trimmed and sliced vegetables
  • For brine if needed: 1.5 tablespoons pickling salt plus 4 cups water

Directions:

  • Add cabbage, carrots, onion, jalapenos, oregano and chili flakes to a large mixing bowl. Weigh ingredients to determine how much salt is needed (see recipe note). Add 3 tablespoons of salt for every 5 pounds of vegetables. I had a little over 3 pounds of vegetables so I used a little under 2 tablespoons salt.
  • Massage and pound the vegetables together until they have wilted and released their liquid. The goal of this step is get the vegetables to release enough of their own liquid to cover everything by an inch. You may massage everything for 5 minutes and have enough liquid or you may be at for 30 minutes and they still haven’t released much at all – it all depends on the water content of the vegetable.
  • Before you can determine if you have enough liquid to cover the vegetables, you need to pack them into whatever fermentation vessel you plan to use. There are so many options – this website does a great job of breaking it down. Although it is not ideal (because the mouth of the jar is small), I am using a large glass canning jar (see picture below). Once you have chosen a vessel, you need to start packing it with the vegetable mixture. It is best to do this layer by layer – add a couple scoops of vegetables and pound it down to 1) release as much liquid as possible and 2) remove any air pockets (lacto-fermentation happens in the absence of oxygen and the sauerkraut could spoil around any air pockets). Continue to repeat the action of adding vegetables and pounding them down until all of the sauerkraut is added. Hopefully the vegetables have released enough liquid to cover everything by an inch, but if not, use the brine amount listed in the ingredient section to cover the vegetables.
  • The next important step is to weigh the vegetables down as anything that rises to the surface will mold. Again, there are so many options here. I used a plastic bag, which I stuffed into the top of canning jar, and then filled it with water. Transfer the vessel to a cool, dry place to ferment.
  • Now all you have to do is wait! The amount of time is completely determined by your taste buds – taste it every day or two to see how it is progressing. It might only take 3-5 days for it to get to a place that you like. I plan to let mine go for a couple of weeks, maybe longer. You can even wait a couple of months but I am not sure I have the patience to wait that long!

Raw Curtido Fermenting Curtido