Red Pepper, Spinach and Sweet Potato Hash

Photo by Karielyn Tillman

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This week the bag from Glade Road Growing will include sweet peppers, and baby spinach. This hash makes a nice side to serve with leftover roast chicken or pork.

If you'd like to make it a vegetarian meal instead, after the hash is cooked, stir in 2 cups of cooked drained black beans.  Divide the hash into four sections.  Make a slight well in the center of each section and crack a duck egg (or chicken egg) into each well.  Turn down heat to medium low and cover and cook for for another 4 minutes.  For a vegan version, substitute tofu "sour cream" for the eggs, but only heat until it's warmed through.


Serves 4


Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely diced
1 red bell red bell pepper, diced
1 or more cups of  baby spinach, chopped, with 2 tablespoons reserved for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed peeled and minced
fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped to make 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

1.  Add oil to a cast iron skillet and heat on medium until a bead of water evaporates.  Saute'  onions, garlic and ginger until translucent and add the sweet potatoes, red pepper flakes, cumin, cardamom, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.  Continue cooking until the sweet potatoes are soft and slightly crispy on the outside.

2.   Add the diced red bell peppers, chopped spinach (except for the reserved amount) and gently toss for about 1-2 minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Remove from heat, garnish with fresh chopped spinach and serve.

Spinach-Feta-Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Dill Sauce

Photo by Allyson Zea for her blog, Domestic Superhero.

Glade Road Growing will have its first farm share on May 31.  JP tells me there will be spinach and green onions and so I created a recipe, which is similar to one on Allyson Zea's blog.

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Serves 4

Ingredients:

2/3 cup raw quinoa
bunch of green onions
several spigs of fresh dill enough to make 4 tablespoons chopped
1 lemon
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
10 ounces fresh spinach (You can also use kale, arugula, chard or a combination.)
2 slice whole grain bread, crumbled into soft crumbs
4 chicken or duck eggs
1/2 # feta cheese
Salt
Black pepper

To make the sauce:

1.  Finely chop 4 tablespoons of the green portion of the onions and 4 tablespoons fresh dill.
     Reserve 1/2 of the dill for the quinoa cakes.  If you have extra dill, do not wash the portion you are
     going to store.   Just shake the stems loosely and place them in a plastic bag with a piece of paper
     towel to absorb and condensation and store in the refrigerator.
2.  Squeeze the juice from one lemon and measure out 4 teaspoons and refrigerate the rest in a lidded
     jar for another use.  Zest the lemon from the peel. You will use 1/2 teaspoon of the zest from the
     skin for the cakes.  You can dry any remaining zest on a piece of parchment paper and then store
     in a small spice jar.
3.  Whisk 1 cup plain Greek yogurt and the lemon juice and add in the herbs.  Season with salt and
     freshly ground pepper.
4.  Cover and refrigerate the sauce for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to
     meld.

To make the quinoa cakes:

1.  Cook the quinoa by bringing 2  cup of water to a boil.  Add the 2/3 cup of  raw quinoa and return
     to boil.  Take off stove and rinse well.  Add back in a scant 2 cups of water and return to stove and
     bring to a boil.  Turn down to low.  Cover.  Cook 15 minutes.  Let stand for five minutes and then
     fluff with a fork.
2.  While quinoa is cooking, finely chop the white portion of the onions to make 1  cup and the four
     cloves of garlic.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, stirring
    often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Chop the spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about
    3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium-size bowl.
3.  Beat the eggs lightly.  Add to bowl with the onions, garlic and spinach mixture, along with the
     cooked quinoa.  Crumble in the feta cheese and bread crumbs. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of
     chopped dill, the 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.  Let
     mixture sit for a few minutes to allow the bread crumbs to absorb the moisture.
4.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5.   Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Form quinoa mixture into cakes about 2 1/2 inches in
      diameter and 1/2 inch thick and place on sheet.
6.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the bottoms are brown.  Flip with a spatula and bake for
     another five minutes.
7.  Serve warm with the lemon-dill sauce.

Broccoli and Dill Raita Slaw

Photo from Food Network. I first published this post on 6/13/14 at 10:03 PM and last updated it on 6/7/2014 to include a recipe for leeks and spinach and to add tags.

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Today, Glade Road Growing delivered its first farm shares, which included spinach, head lettuce, dill, broccoli, and leeks. I picked up my bag of produce at Vintage Cellar.  Here's a recipe you might want to try for Broccoli and Dill Raita Slaw:

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon  juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1/2 tablespoon Garlic minced
1/2 tablespoon Ginger minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium shallot or 1 TB onions minced
2 cups of broccoli (peeled and sliced stems and florets)
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds
 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

If you like you can lightly steam the broccoli and carrots or use them raw for more crunch.

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the broccoli, carrots, cranberries, and almonds. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss. Chill before serving.

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For your leeks and spinach, you can try this soup:

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I'm lucky to swap veggies for posting a recipe every week here and on facebook.

The website has a sign up for July due by 6/29/14 here and that Sally Walker  recommends early sign up for the remaining 2014 growing season through November since she and Jason sold out of the monthly shares this month.  They are still willing to swap some volunteer time for produce this month, but it will have to be picked up at the farm (2351 Glade Road, Blacksburg, Virginia).  Planned crops include:

peas, spinach, bok choy, broccoli, lettuce and lettuce mix, radishes, carrots, cabbage, kale, beets, onions, garlic, yellow squash, zucchini, fennel, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, celery, celeriac, basil, beans, chard, kohlrabi, rutabaga, arugula, turnips, okra, winter squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, herbs (cilantro, dill, parsley and more.)

Calzones!

Photo from Kate Briddle who posted a similar recipe to her blog A Dash of Sass in November 2011.

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The November 26 (and last 2013 ) farm share from Glade Road Growing is expected to include Hubbard winter squash, spinach, baby arugula, carrots, purple top turnips, other roots medley. Here's a recipe for arugula and/or spinach and ricotta calzones.  You can adapt this recipe for calzones (or pizza) with any combination of cooked veggies you enjoy.  Vegan can substitute my recipe for vegan sour cream for the cheese and eggs in the filling.

You can you can make this recipe with 1 pound of commercial frozen pizza dough defrosted (or if you want to be really decadent use puff pastry) and a bottled marinara sauce for dipping.

Or, if you want to make this  recipe from scratch,  I've included at the bottom my recipe for a dipping sauce and dough.  You'll want to make the sauce night before and refrigerate to let the flavors combine. The night before you'll  also want to start the dough and then remove it from the refrigerator and let rise for two hours.

I use whole wheat flour made from white rather than the more common red wheat.  It has the nutrition found in other whole wheat flours because it includes  the bran, germ and endosperm.  Since it has a milder taste and sufficient gluten, it doesn't have to be mixed with all-purpose flour.  I have a killer blender, so  I make my own flour from the white wheat berries, but you can buy it in flour form.

Serves 4

Prepare the already-made dough and oven:

Quarter dough, form into balls and roll out each  into an 8-inch round using a rolling pin. Put your oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees and then make filling:

Filling:

Smash, peel and mince. 1 large or 2 small cloves fresh garlic.

Measure out 8 cups of baby arugula and or spinach.  Rinse greens and pat dry.  Depending on what's in season this will also work with broccoli or kale.

Saute  garlic in a cast iron skillet lightly greased with extra virgin olive oil until golden.  Add  greens and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a sieve and press hard on greens to squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.

Coarsely grate 3 oz whole-milk mozzarella
Finely grate 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano

Stir together until blended with:
6 oz whole-milk ricotta (2/3 cup)
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Stir in greens.

Put one fourth of  filling (about 1/3 cup) in center of 1 round and fold dough in half to enclose filling and form a semicircle. Press edges together to seal. Beginning at 1 end and working toward the other, stretch sealed edge outward, pinching and rolling edge to form a rope. Transfer to an oiled 17- by 12-inch heavy baking sheet. Make 3 more calzones in same manner, transferring to baking sheet. Bake calzones until golden and puffed, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before serving. If you are going to serve later, continue cooling on rack to keep crust flake. 

Dipping sauce:

Smash, peel and finely mince 3 to 5 cloves fresh garlic
Finely chop 1 TB fresh basil or subsitute 1 tsp. dried if not in season 

Combine with 2 cans diced tomatoes (or four cups chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, if they are in season),  2 TB balsamic vinegar and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld.


Homemade dough:

Combine and allow to rest for 30 minutes to allow the whole wheat flour to absorb the liquid:

3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7/8 cup lukewarm water

(If you want to make the taste even milder, you can substitute 2 TB of lukewarm orange juice for water.  If you are a vegan and don't use honey,  you can subsitute 2 TB agave syrup or 2 TB of water and 2 TB Demerara or Sucanet.)

Knead to make a smooth, soft dough.  Transfer to a large bowl, cover and let it rest  at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Divide into four balls, coat lightly with olive oil  and let rise, covered, for another two hours.