Category Archives: Vegetables

  • Royal Potato Salad

    May 2, 2013

    45 Comments

    potatopotato3Well, if it’s “Royal” it has to be good. And it is. Very. But we do smirk at the name of the recipe. It comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s (YO) cookbook “Plenty“. If you are unfamiliar with “YO” he is the hottest vegetarian cookbook author of the moment (he isn’t a vegetarian, but he’s rolling- we jokingly call him “the vegetable whisperer”.) And if you sense a bit of intense jealousy suspicion, you are might be right. But good food is good food, and this recipe is a winner. We aren’t proud, if a dish tastes good, we will make it. Often, if the kids like it.

    potato5potato4And many of the recipes in the cookbook are true winners. There are also some recipes that require way, WAY, too much work for what you might get- but for the most part we are big fans. And YO does know his flavors. But, like many restaurant chefs, YO will ask you to do work that simply isn’t worth it, but looks/sounds good at the time. Chefs do that sometimes. Chefs are not home cooks, and they just can’t help themselves.

    potato6potato7In this case YO asks you to make a very tasty potato salad with a bright pesto sauce and peas, but then adds halved, soft-boiled quail eggs. We like quail eggs, and used them in the recipe, but you can’t tell us that quartered hard-boiled chicken eggs wouldn’t work just as well (maybe better). And after you try to peel a dozen quail eggs, you might agree. But maybe that is what makes the recipe “royal”….whatever. (Actually it is named after Jersey Royal potatoes…but why let the facts get in the way of some good snark?)

    potato9potato10As for the rest of the recipe, this is the good stuff. Boiled waxy potatoes with a herbaceous, not too garlicky pesto, peas and soft-boiled eggs is a lovely dish. We did adapt the recipe for more herbs, particularly parsley, in the pesto. But this is where you can play around to fit your tastes. But what you get is a mix of bright, earthy, sweet, herbal and umami flavors along with soft and slightly crunchy textures. If this sounds like a restaurant-quality dish, that’s because it is. We have come to accept that YO is truly a “vegetable whisperer”.

    potato11potato13potato14potato15Royal Potato Salad:

    (Adapted from “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi)

    Notes Before You Start:

    You need “waxy” new potato varieties, or Yukon Golds in a pinch. Russets will not work here, as they will fall apart.

    You can play with the proportions of parsley and basil in this recipe. If your basil is fresh and flavorful, lead with it. Otherwise go with more parsley, it makes for very good pesto.

    Ingredients:

    (serves 4-6)

    • 10 quail eggs or 4 chicken eggs
    • 1 cup frozen peas
    • 2 pounds new or “waxy” potatoes
    • 3/4 cup basil leaves
    • 3/4 cup Italian parsley (plus more for garnish)
    • 1/3 cup pine nuts
    • 1/2 cup, about 2 oz. grated parmesan cheese
    • 1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
    • 1 cup olive oil
    • Dash of vinegar
    • 1 bunch (handful) mint leaves, shredded
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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  • Seared Ahi With Grapefruit And Fennel

    April 15, 2013

    30 Comments

    Seared Ahi with Grapefruit and Fennel.

    Seared Ahi with Grapefruit and Fennel.

    ahiMany of you know how much we like fennel here at the farm. Usually simply caramelized, or in risotto, fennel brings a light anise flavor and subtle, earthy sweetness to many dishes. We love it and think fennel is an underused and under-appreciated ingredient. So when we see a restaurant dish using fennel, we often try it out at home. And in this case, while in Kauai, we tried a dish of seared ahi with a light “slaw” of thinly sliced, barley pickled fennel and supremes of ruby-red grapefruit. It rocked, so we tried to make it at home.

    ahi5ahi6ahi7And we are glad we did. Not only because it was a delicious dish, but it served as a reminder to us about what restaurant dishes we should try to cook at home. In general, we often avoid making restaurant dishes, they tend to be complex, use purposefully esoteric ingredients and are often cooked with equipment most home cooks just don’t have. But then there are restaurant dishes that simply combine quality fresh ingredients with a few basic techniques. The resulting dish seems upscale, and it is, but anyone can make the dish if they know a few tricks. This is one of those dishes.

    ahi4ahi3All you need to make this dish is some very fresh ahi (and that may take some time to find, save this recipe for when you get it), a rocket-hot pan, a very sharp knife and some technique. The hot pan is to sear the seasoned ahi about 45-60 seconds per side (max). That is all you need, then slice the ahi to stop any cooking in residual heat.The sharp knife is to peel the grapefruit and cut “supremes” from between the membranes. This seems like a lot of work, but it takes just a few minutes and is easier than you think. Just do it over a bowl and reserve the juice. Then thinly slice the fennel (we add some radish as well). And if you have a small hand-slicer or mandolin, this gets even easier.

    ahi8ahi9To finish the dish you simply make a quick pickle of the sliced fennel and radish. Quick pickling is one of the easiest ways to quickly add flavor to a dish, you just combine sugar and salt with sliced veggies for about 15 minutes then drain the veggies. We add a splash of rice wine vinegar here as well. Then you assemble the dish. Layer the grapefruit supremes and slices of the ahi and then add a splash of the reserved juice and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Then add the pickled fennel and radish. Season and serve. And the whole thing takes maybe 25-30 minutes.

    ahi1And what do you get? A beautiful, flavorful and balanced dish that is pretty healthy, too. The light but meaty ahi goes very well with the acid of the grapefruit and the sweet, earthy crunch of the fennel and radish. It looks and tastes like a restaurant dish, but almost any home cook can make it.

    ahi10Seared Ahi With Grapefruit And Fennel:

    (Adopted from Bar Acuda in Hanalei, Kauai)

    Notes before you start:

    • You can use most types of tuna for this dish, and you do not have to serve it as rare as we do. But tuna past medium-rare gets very dry. Tuna is expensive, so if you prefer well-cooked fish, other recipes may be a better choice.

    What You Get: A restaurant-quality dish with less work than you think.

    What You Need: No special equipment required, but a hand-slicer or mandolin is always nice for slicing veggies.

    How Long? 25-30 minutes with 10 minutes of active time. This dish takes less time than you might expect. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course)

    • 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, cleaned (a few fronds reserved)
    • 6 small radishes
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
    • 1 pound fresh ahi tuna (preferably cut into a rectangle by your fish monger)
    • Kosher salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • 3 tablespoons high heat cooking oil like peanut or canola
    • 1 large ruby-red grapefruit

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  • Golden Beet Sliders

    April 11, 2013

    35 Comments

    Golden Beet Sliders.

    Golden Beet Sliders.

    Or as a simple salad. If you don't want the bread.

    Or as a simple salad. If you don’t want the bread.

    Best to get this out upfront. This recipe is inspired by some beet sliders we saw on a rerun of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yes, we love our cookbooks and yes most of our inspiration for cooking comes from the garden (and other blogs). But we still like a good burger joint or seaside clam shack, and we do occasionally indulge and watch Guy Fieri do his thing. And in this case, he visited a place called Gatsby’s in Sacramento and they featured beet sliders. We do love beets and sliders, so at some point we had to make this. And we just got some beautiful baby golden beets at the farmers market, so Carolyn made the call. Golden beet sliders for dinner.

    bslide2bslide3bslide4While we were inspired by the Gatsby’s dish, we changed the recipe substantially. We use golden and not red beets, roast rather than boil the beets and use an orange vinaigrette for the sauce instead of green goddess dressing. We also add goat cheese for tang (and some bacon and pecorino as an extra option, yum). And, of course, we use King Hawaiian rolls for the bread, simply because everyone likes them. But while we changed a lot of the dish, the fundamental idea stays the same: sweet beets are a very good substitute for beef in a burger. These sliders are good, really good. Not just a good “vegetarian dish”, but a “good dish”, period.

    bslide8bslide5bslide6The only downside of this dish is that it takes time to cook beets. There is no way around it (even if you microwave them you are looking at 25-30 minutes). Our only suggestion is that when you roast beets, roast a lot of them and put them in salads over the next 2-3 days. Otherwise, just roast the beets for 60 to 90 minutes, depending on their size. Wrapping in foil will speed things up a bit and makes for easier cleanup. When you can easily pierce the beets with a knife and the skins peel off easily, they are done.

    bslide7bslide9bslide10Once you roast and skin the beets, making the rest of the dish is easy. Make a quick vinaigrette with some orange juice and zest (oranges and beets are a great mix) and dress some bitter greens like arugula. Then season and sear the beets for a minute or two on each side. Then lightly grill or toast the buns. You assemble the sliders with a bed of the dressed greens, then add the beets, a little goat cheese, more greens and the top of the bun. Most people can easily eat 2 or 3 of these. And if you want to add even more flavor, a little bacon and some grated pecorino add some umami and salt flavors to the sweetness of the beets. Either way, it is hard to go wrong.bslide11

    bslide13bslide14 Continue reading →

  • Putney Farm In Print And Pickled Asparagus

    April 9, 2013

    42 Comments

    Pickled Asparagus.

    Pickled Asparagus.

    We try to avoid too many shameless plugs here at the farm, but often sometimes I can’t resist. For the last few months I’ve worked with Edible Silicon Valley magazine on both the print and online editions. I do most of the blogging, which I love (and you can check out here), but there is still something special about seeing your words in print. And our Spring edition just came out and I wrote a few of the articles and took a number of the photos (Carolyn will have some photos in the summer edition). If you want to explore the amazing new form of indoor, sustainable, organic farming created by Ecopia Farms, try this article. And if you want to learn about an entire town that truly embraced gardening and local produce, you may want to peek at this article.

    ap1ap2But in the end of the day, we still like to cook, adapt and write recipes and take pictures. It’s kinda what we do here. Happily, we also got to do that for Edible Silicon Valley and this recipe for Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus (along with this quick pickle recipe) is in print for all to see. As gardeners we know it takes time for things to grow, but maybe a few articles in print will eventually lead to a cookbook. One can dream.

    ap3As for the recipe, asparagus is in season here in Norcal and few things taste better than pickled asparagus.  Refrigerator pickles are a very easy way to keep the sweet, earthy flavor and crunch of the asparagus, but also add spice and acidity. And you don’t need a canning rig or anything complicated for refrigerator pickles. The only important tip here is to quickly blanch the asparagus so the pickling liquid can penetrate all the way through the stalks.

    ap6ap4Otherwise, if you can boil some liquid and mix some spices, you can make refrigerator pickles with almost any veggie. The only bummer is that the pickles are best if you let them sit for at least a day (better at 2-3 days) in the fridge before you start snacking. We try to wait, but often fail. These asparagus pickles are hard to resist. Even the kids like them.

    ap5Pickled Asparagus:

    (From our recipe in Edible Silicon Valley)

    Notes before you Start:

    • You can use store-bought pickling spice, but it is easy to make at home. See below for a recipe.
    • Blanching the asparagus before pickling is an extra step, but very much worth it, the flavor and texture will be much better.

    What You Get: Very flavorful asparagus pickles. Yum.

    What You Need: No special equipment required. Which is nice.

    How Long? About 30 minutes to make the pickles, and then at least a day of waiting. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    (Makes 2 (24-ounce) or 4 (12-ounce) jars)

    • 3 pounds asparagus, washed and trimmed to fit your jars
    • 1½ cups water
    • 1½ cups white vinegar
    • 2 tablespoons salt
    • 2 tablespoons pickling spice (*To DIY, see recipe below.)
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed

     Assemble:

    1. Combine vinegar, water and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Set aside.
    2. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the asparagus to the pot and cook for exactly 1 minute. Transfer asparagus to a colander and run under cold water until chilled.
    3. Place 1 tablespoon of pickling spice and 1 garlic clove in the bottom of each jar (split the spice and garlic cloves if using 4 jars). Divide asparagus evenly between the jars. Pour pickling liquid over asparagus. Seal jars and let cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator.
    4. Let the pickles rest in the fridge at least 24, and preferably 72, hours before eating. The pickles will keep for 2 weeks.

    —-

    * Pickling Spice

    (Makes 1 cup)

    Ingredients:

    • 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
    • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
    • 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
    • 2 tablespoons allspice berries
    • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
    • 1 tablespoon ground mace
    • 1 small cinnamon stick, crushed into a few pieces
    • 12 large, or 18 medium, bay leaves, crumbled
    • 1 tablespoon whole cloves
    • ½ tablespoon ground ginger

    Assemble:

    1. Place a small pan over low heat and toast peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds until just fragrant. Remove pan from heat and gently pour spices onto a cutting board. Lightly crush spices using a heavy pan, the side of a knife or a very quick spin in a spice grinder.
    2. Combine the cracked spices with the rest of the spices in a medium bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Store in an airtight container.
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  • Roasted Halibut With Tarragon and Hazelnut Brown Butter

    April 4, 2013

    45 Comments

    tarra14As we noted a week or so ago, herbs are the first plants in our garden that really “pop” with the coming of spring. And while we get plenty of fresh goodies from the farmers market, there is nothing quite like getting the first taste of produce from our own garden. It sort of “hardens” the idea that spring is really here (for us, at least). Right now we have plenty of mint (cocktails on the way), marjoram and oregano, but this spring our tarragon (finally) took off. We couldn’t wait to use it.

    tarratarra1And we knew exactly how we wanted to use the tarragon, as a flavoring for roasted fish. Here in Norcal, that usually means local halibut, rock cod/rockfish or salmon. In this case we use halibut, but any firm white fish will do. As for the cooking method, you can go sous-vide (and it would be great), but we also have a relatively foolproof roasting method for fish. We simply create a bed of citrus and herbs for the fish, add the fish and then layer on a bunch of butter, salt, pepper, more herbs and more citrus. This method also works with other herbs (thyme is one of our favorites), just make sure to bruise the herbs before you layer them in, this releases the oils and gets the flavor into the dish. Then roast the fish at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on thickness) and serve.

    tarra3tarra5So now that we had the herbs and the fish dialed, the big question was the sauce. A little internet search brought us to a tarragon and halibut recipe with a hazelnut and brown butter sauce from Bon Appetit. Nice. We adapted the recipe, particularly how we cook the fish, but also played a bit with the brown butter recipe. But the addition of the hazelnuts to the brown butter was all Bon Appetit’s, and we will certainly give credit to them for a good idea. This is a good extra touch and takes the sauce over the top.

    tarra8tarra4Not that you can go wrong with brown butter sauce. If you have butter in your fridge and 10 minutes, you have a perfect sauce waiting to happen. Brown butter is easy to make and works beautifully with pasta, fish or earthy veggies. A sauce you need in your toolkit. The key is to cook the butter at medium heat until the milk solids get brown (not black, if you get close to dark brown, stop cooking the sauce) and develop a nutty flavor and aroma. You then just add seasoning and some herbs, sage is a natural fit but tarragon also works very well.

    tarra9tarra11tarra12The last piece of the puzzle for this sauce was to add the chopped hazelnuts and a dash of lemon juice. The hazelnuts add more nutty flavor, but also some needed crunch to the dish. The lemon adds some acid and sourness to match the rich butter and fish. Overall you get sweet fish, savory brown butter and hazelnuts, earthy and herbal notes from the tarragon and acidity from the lemons that cleans the palate for the next bite. The extra bonus is that the brown butter sauce works beautifully with roasted asparagus (another spring crop), so we just roasted some asparagus spears and served them with the fish and the brown butter. Excellent, and all in less than 45 minutes. Like we said, we couldn’t wait to use our herbs…

    tarra13Roasted Halibut With Tarragon and Hazelnut Brown Butter:

    (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • The best way to check for doneness on fish is to use a digital thermometer. We think it is the most important kitchen tool after a sharp chef’s knife. If you don’t have one, the best way to check is to cut into the fish and look. Otherwise, pull the fish from the heat just before it’s done, it will keep cooking in residual heat.
    • Many resources will say halibut needs to be cooked to 145 degrees to be “safe”, we prefer it less cooked, closer to 130-135 degrees.

    What You Get: A rich, flavorful and easy fish dinner in about 45 minutes.

    What You Need: No special equipment required, but a digital thermometer would be nice.

    How Long? About 45 minutes with 20 minutes of active time. Anytime dish.

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  • Spring “Kitchen Sink” Risotto

    March 14, 2013

    40 Comments

    riso4

    Couldn’t resist leading with the asparagus.

    I guess you could also call this “caramelized fennel and asparagus risotto”, but what fun is that? In any event, we tend to get excited as spring breaks loose and we buy up all sorts of stuff at the farmers market. And right now, asparagus just came in, the fennel is rockin’ (and we have Meyer lemons in orchard). Time to make risotto. And since we have some Serrano ham, parmesan, pecorino and saffron, may as well toss them in as well. But it is really up to you how you accent the veggies. Like we said, this is a bit of a “kitchen sink” recipe.

    riso

    Spring "Kitchen Sink" Risotto.

    Spring “Kitchen Sink” Risotto.

    But the key elements in this dish truly are the spring veggies. Caramelized fennel (one of our all-time favorite dishes) sweetens when cooked and is a perfect foil for the earthy asparagus. Put them in a creamy risotto and you have a lovely spring dinner. And we make extra, as the leftovers are also a real treat. The only downside of this dish is that it is risotto. And cooking risotto takes time. Expect 45 to 60 minutes of total time. Some extra prep may shave off a few minutes, but it is what it is.riso5

    riso8riso7The upside of risotto is that it is very easy to make, and any home cook can get some very “pro” results. And once you know how to make risotto, you can make dozens of variations. And if you garden or get a CSA box, risotto is an excellent use for all sort of random uncommon veggies. (Btw, if you want some serious risotto recipes, Stefan’s Gourmet Blog is the place to go, he knows his stuff.) Basically, all you need to do is a bunch of chopping and stirring (and tasting). Once you get the knack, it just comes down to the flavors you use.

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