Slow-Cooked Broccoli Rabe

Broccoli rabe isn't actually broccoli at all, but a leafy relative of the turnip. If you don't have access to broccoli rabe, substitute mustard or turnip greens. In the past, we've always sauteed our broccoli rabe. But after spending some quality time in North Carolina last month and learning the aforementioned turnip trivia, we decided to treat broccoli rabe like turnip greens are treated in the South: cooked slowly with a smoky flavor. You won't taste tomato paste in the final product, but it does contribute to the satisfying, meaty umami flavor.

6 cups greens
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, skinned but left whole
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
salt

Wash the broccoli rabe and cut off the tough bottom parts of the stem. Chop the tender parts of the stems and the leaves roughly.

Heat the butter over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and greens for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, paprika and 1/2 cup water. Simmer on low heat, covered, for three hours. Salt to taste.

Persimmon, Pomegranate and Pistachio Parfait

This is our version of an Indian dessert called shrikhand, a fruit parfait with cardamom-spiced yogurt. This is frequently done with mangoes, but persimmons and pomegranates are abundant in California this time of year and go very well together. The tart, crunchy pomegranate seeds are a lovely contrast to the simple sweetness of the persimmon. Try this as a light dessert or a twist on your usual morning yogurt.

This is traditionally made with strained yogurt, but if you're using cream top yogurt or Greek yogurt there's no need to strain it.

1 cup yogurt
2 teaspoons agave nectar (or other sweetener)
1 teaspoon cardamom
2 Fuyu persimmons, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 pomegranate, seeded
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

Mix together the yogurt, agave and cardamom. Divide the ingredients into 4 eight-ounce glasses or bowls in the following order: persimmons on the bottom, then the pomegranate seeds, then the yogurt mixture, and finish by sprinkling pistachios on top.

Golden Beet Soup with Cinnamon

A colorful, warming soup for cold winter evenings, this recipe is decadently creamy without the presence of actual cream (thanks, coconut milk!). Try to use small, fresh beets that are still juicy. The tablespoon of applesauce at the end really brings the warm spiced forward, but you can skip it if you don't want to crack open a whole jar just for this one recipe.


6 yellow beets (4 cups)
1 sweet potato (2 cups)
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
olive oil
pinch of allspice
pinch of nutmeg
1 clove
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon plain applesauce

Chop the sweet potatoes and beets into 1/2 inch cubes. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan, then add yams and beets. Cover and saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. (There should be enough liquid to keep the vegetables from sticking and burning. If your beets and yams don't give off enough liquid, add a few tablespoons of water.)

Stir in a little olive oil, turn the heat up to medium-high, and stir frequently, until the beets and yams are browned. Sprinkle in the spices and stir for a minute. Add the coconut milk, salt, applesauce and enough water to cover the vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes, then puree well, adding more water as needed.

Roasted Potatoes and Tokyo Turnips with Crispy Rosemary

These roasted root vegetables have a rich, juicy sauce, which makes them a nice change from the usual browned, crispy texture of roasted root vegetables. (We suspect you CSA subscribers might be starting to tire of the same old root vegetable treatments!) Tokyo turnips are everywhere here now, and while they're much-loved for their unique turnip ability to be eaten raw or lightly cooked, roasting always makes everything more delicious.

4 cups diced Yukon gold potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
1 and 1/2 cups diced Tokyo turnips (about 10 turnips)
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons fresh thyme (stems removed)
salt
pepper
3/4 cup stock
2/3 cup red wine

Preheat oven to 375. Chop the Tokyo turnips and potatoes into 3/4 inch chunks. Combine potatoes, turnips, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a 9" x 13" casserole dish. Roast for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add stock and red wine. Stir to coat, then return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by two thirds.

Warm Lentil Salad with Spiced Kabocha

Another recipe from Hannah's sister, this dish is a great way to pack your entire meal into a salad. It can be served by itself or on a bed of arugula, and is good hot or room temperature, making it an excellent choice for packed lunches--this batch was for a cross-country plane trip! The spicy roasted kabocha cubes are absolutely addictive and worth making by themselves if any of you CSA subscribers are looking for a nice winter squash showcase.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups peeled and diced kabocha squash (1 small squash)
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup brown lentils
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Optional finishing touches:
Arugula for plating
Crumbled goat cheese, for garnish

Stir together 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, paprika, cumin, cayenne and salt. Toss the spiced oil with the kabocha cubes and spread out on a cookie sheet. Loosely cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes, until squash is fork-tender, and then uncover and bake about 10 minutes more, until squash starts to develop browned edges.

While the squash is baking, heat remaining olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry the onions over 7-10 minutes, until browned, then add the lentils, water and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender and water is absorbed.

If you're serving this on a bed of greens, arrange some arugula on a serving plate. Top with lentils, kabocha cubes and optional goat cheese and enjoy!

Kabocha, Beer and Cheese Soup

Due to CSA-induced extreme squash consumption several years ago, there has been a winter squash strike in our house for a while now. If we can eat and love this soup, so can the staunchest winter squash hater at your Thanksgiving table! (Booze and cheese will do that for a vegetable). This recipe was inspired by the pumpkin rarebit soup from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Here, we've used kabocha squash, which is less stringy and watery than a regular pumpkin. You can also try this with a buttercup squash.

For the lactose-intolerant or otherwise cheese-avoiding readers, this is also good without the cheese.

1 large kabocha squash
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 large onion, sliced into rings
Vegetable stock, as needed, up to 1 cup
1 12-ounce bottle of beer (we like pale ale)
salt
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash into eighths and bake, covered, until tender, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and soft.

When squash is done, slice off skin and transfer pieces to a food processor with the caramelized onions and garlic. Add just enough stock to blend to a smooth puree. Transfer to the saucepan, add the beer, salt to taste and simmer for 10 minutes.

Ladle into ramekins and top with the cheese, then broil until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. (Or, if you're not feeling like ramekins, you can just stir in the cheese, add a little extra stock and simmer a few minutes longer). Let sit for a few minutes before serving to prevent serious internal mouth burns!

Braised Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary and Lemon

We love Brussels sprouts roasted and stir-fried, but we wanted to experiment a little and decided that since cabbage is delicious braised, why not see if Brussels sprouts would be amenable to the same treatment?

And oh, are they ever.

olive oil
2-3 cups Brussels sprouts
6 cloves garlic
1-2 cups stock
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (stems removed)
juice of 1 lemon
salt

Trim the bottoms of the sprouts and slice in half lengthwise. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the garlic and only as many sprouts as will fit in a single layer. Saute for a minute or two, until the sprouts are bright green and glistening. Add enough stock to cover the Brussels a little more than halfway. Add rosemary and salt (keep in mind how much salt your stock may already have). Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until the liquid has completely evaporated.

Add some olive oil and flip the sprouts so that they are all cut-side-down. Fry until the bottoms of the Brussels are well-browned. Remove the sprouts, garlic and rosemary to a serving dish. Return the saucepan to low heat and add the lemon juice. Deglaze, scraping the pan to get all of the delicious browned bits, then simmer just a minute or so, to reduce the lemon juice. Pour sauce over Brussels and serve.