Yes, I know – meat? It took us eight weeks to get there, but here is the first recipe of this CSA that calls for the non-veggie stuff. For vegetarians, I would obviously skip the chorizo and rather add chunks of cooked butternut at the end for a very different but still delicious dish. For meat eaters who are sadly chorizo-less, I would suggest some pancetta or even decent bacon as a substitute.
1 bunch spinach (or swiss chard, or kale)
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
a small chunk of chorizo, cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Wash the spinach well, removing any large stalks. Chop. In a large frying pan, heat some olive oil and sauté the onion until soft and golden. Add the chorizo, toss with the onion, and then add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, then add the spinach. Toss to coat in the oil, and if possible, cover the pan (a plate or a big pot lid should do the trick). Check occasionally, stirring, until the spinach is fully wilted (add a small splash of water if the pan is dry and the spinach is sticking). Remove the covering, and if there is any liquid, stir until it has evaporated, leaving your vegetables and chorizo moist. Push them to the side of the pan, add a little more olive oil and add your chickpeas, stirring to coat in the oil, until heated through. Add some ground pepper and a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir the vinegar through (some will evaporate) and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.
Alternatively, serve at room temperature with large cos leaves to scoop up the chickpeas and spinach, as a sociable appetizer to a meal.
Dear CSA members
This is week of the Summer 2010 CSA.
THIS WEEK’S BAG GOODIE: OYSTER MUSHROOMS
Awaiting you in this week’s bag is a 200g bag of naturally grown oyster mushrooms from Foxenberg Estate. Foxenberg Estate is best known for their delicious goats cheeses, but they also produce and sell olives and olive oil, and oyter mushrooms. Erick suggested I contact them when our mushroom supplier fell through at the beginning of the month as, like Erick, they run a stall at the Stellenbosch Waldorf School on Saturdays. They will be supplying us with two big bags of oyster mushrooms this month. We hope you will experiment with and enjoy this first bag, and let us know if you come up with any lovely recipes for them.
OUTING TO ERICK’S FARM: THIS SATURDAY
A final reminder of the outing this weekend to Erick’s farm. We’re meeting up in Kraaifontein, about fifty minutes’ drive along the N1 from Cape Town, to meet Erick and have a short tour of his farm. The whole visit should take about an hour. If you would like to attend, drop me a line with the number of people you’re bringing, and a cell number in case we need to contact you on the day. This is the only outing we are running this CSA, so please, join us!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: FENNEL, BUTTERNUT AND SPINACH LASAGNE
I’m not sure if this should be named a gratin or lasagne, but either way, it’s delicious, and given the lack of cheese and the amount of vegetables, pretty light. Somehow, this dish is more than a sum of its parts, and I highly recommend it, even to fennel-haters. View the recipe, here.
Enjoy your veggies!
I’m not sure if this should be named a gratin or lasagne, but either way, it’s delicious, and given the lack of cheese and the amount of vegetables, pretty light. Somehow, this dish is more than a sum of its parts, and I highly recommend it, even to fennel-haters.
For two people with some leftovers:
1 small-medium butternut, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 largish bunch of spinach or chard, well washed and stems removed
2 medium fennel bulbs, halved and sliced 5mm thick
2 TBS mild vinegar
lasagne pasta sheets
2 cups milk
2 generous TBS butter
3 TBS flour
2 bay leaves (optional)
a little hard cheese for grating
Preheat the oven to 200C. Lightly oil your lasagne dish.
Steam or microwave the butternut with a pinch of salt until cooked but not losing its shape. Place in the bottom of your dish.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the fennel in one layer over high heat, with a pinch of salt. Once golden, add a good splash of water and 2 TBS vinegar. If the fennel is not soft and sweet once the water has evaporated, add more water and partially cover, and cook until the fennel is al dente. If it’s not very sweet, add a teaspoon of sugar.
Put your spinach with a pinch of salt and a splash of water in a saucepan, cover, and cook until green and wet. Refresh in cold water, and then squeeze all the water out with your hands. Roughly chop, and with your hands massage a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt into the spinach.
Use the butter, flour and milk to make a pretty thick white sauce. Season with salt and pepper. If using the bay leaves, either infuse the milk first with the leaves, or simply stick them in the béchamel and let stand for five to ten minutes.
Break half your lasagne sheets as necessary to create a layer that fits your dish. Spread on both sides with half your béchamel and place in the dish. Pour the fennel over, and dot with the spinach. Repeat the second layer of lasagne sheets and béchamel. Grate a little hard cheese over, and grind over some pepper.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbling, and the pasta is cooked (check with a fork). Stand for five minutes and then serve.
Dear CSA members
Welcome week six of the Summer Veggie CSA.
VISIT TO ERICK’S FARM
Remember we are visiting Erick’s farm the weekend after next, 13 March at 1pm. If you would like to join us, drop me a line. The more the merrier!
SLOW FOOD OUTING: SPIER BIODYNAMIC FARM
While not directly CSA-related, I thought you’d like to know about an outing the new Slow Food chapter, Slow Food Mother City, is running this weekend. It’s a visit to Spier Estate’s biodynamic farm, where they are raising vegetables, chickens for meat and eggs, and cattle for meat. The outing is on Saturday, participants can buy Spier’s amazing chickens at wholesale prices, and additional info can be found here.
MUSHROOMS CRISIS
I think we may have reached a solution to our mushroom supplier bailing on us last week. We have found suppliers who are willing to supply naturally grown mushrooms, albeit at an increased cost. So I think what we will do is rather send you larger portions of mushrooms twice this month, rather than three very small portions of mushrooms. I suppose the lesson is: if the price is too good to be true… But more on this next week.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: PEANUTTY VEGETABLE NOODLES
This is an inauthentic but delicious Asian-style addition to my weekly repertoire of quick meals, perfect for a quick supper or take-to-work lunch. The dressing can be used for noodles, or vegetable sides. Like many of the CSA recipes, this one has hundreds of variations, limited only by your fridge (or CSA bag) and preferences. Try different nut butters, available from health food stores, and noodles. And don’t knock the addition of cucumber until you’ve tried it. View it here.
From the archives, try Persian Herb Stew and Broccoli Pasta Two Ways.
Enjoy them!
This is an inauthentic but delicious Asian-style addition to my weekly repertoire of quick meals, perfect for a quick supper or take-to-work lunch. The dressing can be used for noodles, or vegetable sides. Like many of the CSA recipes, this one has hundreds of variations, limited only by your fridge (or CSA bag) and preferences. Try different nut butters, available from health food stores, and noodles. And don’t knock the addition of cucumber until you’ve tried it.
Per person:
80g spaghetti or any style Asian noodles
2 big tsp peanut or other nut butter
2 tsp mirin (sweet Chinese cooking wine – optional)
1 tsp rice vinegar (or other mild vinegar, or balsamic for a heartier sauce)
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp vegetable or nut oil
prepped vegetables, cooked if appropriate (any of the following are a good bet: cooked green beans, steamed butternut, steamed broccoli florets, finely chopped cabbage, grated carrots, steamed spinach, sautéed mushrooms, bean sprouts)
Seeded, grated or julienned cucumber (optional)
Sliced spring onions and/or torn herbs (coriander, basil, Vietnamese basil, etc)
While you cook your pasta and any vegetables requiring cooking, put the peanut butter in a small bowl. Add boiling water (from the pasta pot, by all means) a tiny dribble at a time, stirring, enough to make a creamy sauce only slightly thicker than you would like to coat your noodles with. Then stir in the other seasoning ingredients and oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
Drain your noodles (I also like to refresh them in cold water, to keep them from sticking) and place in your serving bowl. Toss with the cooked and raw veg, including the cucumber and spring onions. Pour over the sauce, and toss to coat. Garnish with herbs, and eat with enjoyment.
Tofu, cooked chicken or other meats can be added too.
Dear CSA members
This is week five of the CSA, and marks the halfway mark of our ten-week CSA.
BAG SURPRISE: ZUCCHINI PICKLES
This week we are sending you a jar of zucchini pickles. The zucchini are organically grown in the Boland, and pickled in a zesty mix of turmeric, coriander and mustard by Makka and Muis Muis (what an awesome brand name!). Makka is the housekeeper at the Driegeuwels Guesthouse in Lynedoch Eco-Village, and Muis Muis is her helper and niece (she also has a niece called Sponsie and a great-nephew called Twakkie. Kate has never seemed so boring!). Other ingredients include natural apple cider vinegar, chopped organic onions, sea salt and white sugar. We are not putting these in your veggie bags for risk of breakage/spillage/picklage of your bag, so please make sure you take your jar with you when you leave your collection point.
In other news, our mushroom man Theo has cancelled our three orders of mushrooms for March, citing growing problems (the mushrooms’, not his). I am scrambling to find another mushroom supplier, though, so please do not panic. The path of CSAs never did run smooth…
FARM VISIT: SATURDAY 13 MARCH
This is a reminder that we are having our only outing of the Summer 2010 CSA to Erick’s farm on March 13th. If you would like to come, please drop me an email, saying how many family members/friends/romantic interests (surprise your date by taking him/her to a farm!) you are bringing.
NEWS FROM THE FARM
One highlight of the farm visits on previous CSAs was the flock of Transkei chickens that Erick uses to weed and eat bugs. To everyone’s amazement, these well-behaved chickens would carefully walk between the crops, delicately picking off caterpillars and beetles, without eating the crops themselves. Members of the Spring CSA will remember that Erick’s flock were stolen from their coop one night, and several of you generously contributed towards a new flock. He has bought seven chickens so far. When I asked him why he hasn’t bought more, he says he really needs to train the chickens from birth to weed and eat bugs on the farm; adult chickens just treat the beds like one big salad bar! So he’s going to breed his flock from chicks, so that he can train them in the fine art of not eating the lettuce as they grow up.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: BUTTERNUT, GREEN BEANS AND PECAN SALAD
We also have another suggest for green peppers, this time used as a stuffing for butternut, from CSA member Annalisa. You can see it here.
I always wondered why my roasted butternut seemed bland and uninteresting. From my mother-in-law Lynette, I learned two tricks: cut the butternut small and precook before roasting to get crisp, richly flavoured butternut. And as for roasted green beans – once you try these, in this salad or even by themselves, you will wonder why you never roasted them before. See the recipe here.
Enjoy them!
