November 2 weekly menu | fall table

Farm Fresh

carrots, celeriac, gourmet greens, kale, onions, parsnips, parsley, potatoes, pumpkin, shallot, winter squash

What’s for Dinner?

Say it isn’t so…I picked up my last Gathering Together Farm CSA box for this growing season. It was a doozy, still filled with wonderful fresh green leaves (parsley, kale, and lettuce) as well as more wintery root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celery root, potatoes, shallots and onions). And not just one winter squash, but two, in the form of butternut and cute little pie pumpkin.  It felt a bit silly, after gathering this haul at the market, to proceed to shop for cauliflower! But in the name of helping to promote the Portland Farmers Market new and fabulous cookbook, why not?

Wednesday – outside the box

creamy cauliflower, dill & bread crumbs (Trudy Toliver, PFM Cookbook)
mixed green salad
italian sausages

Thursday – thai style

curried celeriac soup (Mark Bittman, The New York Times)
thai chicken skewers

Friday – TV trays, movie, & pizza

parsley pesto & potato pizza (Food and Wine)

Saturday –  market salad & pilaf

kale salad with local cranberries and hazelnuts (James Beard)
pearl barley and root vegetable pilaf with chicken (Bon Appetit)

Sunday – no stress lasagna

fall veggie lasagna (SIO Blog, Week 13 2009)
crusty italian bread

Monday – monday gourmet

carrot, parsnip, leek risotto (Z Tasty Life)
northwest clams steamed in butter & wine (Savory Sweet Life)
baguette with truffle butter

Tuesday – lebanese with friends

butternut squash & tahini spread (Yotam Ottolenghi, Jerusalem)
celeriac and lentils (Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty)
world market sambousak, hummus, & babaganoush

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Wednesday – outside the box

creamy cauliflower, dill & bread crumbs (Trudy Toliver, PFM Cookbook)
mixed green salad
italian sausages

I begin my veggie week with a fun cooking project for the Portland Farmers Market. As one of their volunteers, I was asked to make an autumn or winter dish from their fabulous new cookbook, with tips and photos to be used in a holiday promo. (The book, by the way, is Portland Farmers Market Cookbook, 100 Seasonal Recipes with and Stories That Celebrate Local Food and People – I highly recommend it for your own kitchen, as well as your holiday gift list!) Doesn’t sound like a job to me…sounds like an opportunity for a yummy fall dinner! So I looked beyond my own CSA box, and browsed the market for cauliflower. It was impossible to resist the vibrant colored varieties – I used mixture of gorgeous and tasty white, orange and purple. This recipe called for a few different dishes, but I’m a minimalist in this department. I mixed the cauliflower and olive oil in the same dish it was to be served in, roasting and tossing a few times just until it was barely tender and lightly browned. To avoid messing up my serving dish, I did transfer the roasted cauliflower to the saute pan with the cooked garlic, onions, and parsley (my own CSA box did indeed come in handy!). I used New Seasons pre-toasted bread crumbs, which lent additional crunch (and ease!). The unique combination of dill, parsley, and smokey paprika was fabulous – even my teenagers raved! I put this together quickly on a weeknight, serving with Italian chicken sausages and a simple green salad dressed simply with olive oil and red wine vinegar. It would also be a wonderful addition to any Thanksgiving feast.

Thursday – thai style

curried celeriac soup (Mark Bittman, The New York Times)
thai chicken skewers

My celeriac excitement became reinvigorated when I stumbled upon this Mark Bittman recipe for a complex flavored curried version, without the complex preparation. After cooking the peeled, chopped celery root in butter, onions, broth, and a few key spices, it’s pureed right in the pot, adding milk or cream and chopped cilantro at the end. For a full meal (and delicious) deal, add some pre-made thai chicken skewers from your favorite market.

Friday – TV trays, movie, & pizza

parsley pesto & potato pizza (Food and Wine)

In addition to using my parsley here and there though out the week, I’m going to use the bulk of the bunch as a pizza topping! Parsley pesto…I love it! I’m a big fan of stretching the classic idea of what we think of as pesto, starring that height-of-summer-basil. Here, we use parsley instead of basil, along with walnuts, garlic, and olive oil. It’ll be a gorgeous shade of deep green, perfectly perking up those potatoes. I’ll thinly slice and roast my potatoes, just until tender, while I’m preparing the crust. The pizza assembly is simple – a layer of potatoes, a drizzle of parsley pesto, lightly topped with shredded fontina and parmesan.
Keep any leftover parsley pesto in the fridge. Use it to top eggs, dip veggies or a baguette into, or spread on a sandwich. Follow this previous Pizza Night post for a no-fail dough recipe I rely on each week. It makes enough for two pizzas, even three if rolled out in the super thin, best-for-crispy-pizza style.

Other pizza combinations:

winter squash and wild mushroom 
leek, crimini mushroom, and prosciutto
leek, sundried tomato, and goat cheese
caramelized leek, mushroom and Italian sausage pizza
pizza with kale raab, leeks, and olives 
pizza with fennel sausage, braising greens and rosemary
dandelion greens, Italian sausage, and fontina cheese pizza
spinach and chive pizza
grilled pizza with kale, mushroom, & sausage
leek, chard, & corn flatbread
pizza bianca with goat cheese & chard
fresh ricotta and red onion pizza
sweet onion pizza
pizza with grilled fennel and parmesan
eggplant & tomato pizza
caramelized onion, kale, & corn flatbread
pizza bianca with goat cheese & chard 
classic margherita pizza
caramelized fennel, onion, and sweet pepper pizza 
pizza with red and yellow peppers
potato & rosemary pizza
kale, sundried tomato, & feta pizza
ricotta and gremolata pizza

Saturday – market salad & pilaf

kale salad with local cranberries and hazelnuts (James Beard)
pearl barley and root vegetable pilaf with chicken (Bon Appetit)

I’ll improvise on this James Beard classic kale salad, making it into our own little slice of Oregon heaven. Start with a finely shredded kale salad, dress simply with olive oil and lemon juice. Special guests:  Vincent Family dried cranberries, straight from the cranberry bogs of the southern Oregon coast, and freshly roasted Willamette Valley Freddy Guys hazelnuts. (I make a stop at both of these Portland Farmer’s Market booths each year around the holidays. Perfect gifts for anyone – including yourself!) I’ll skip any onions, but just maybe add a sprinkling of soft, tangy, farmer’s market cheese. I make the pilaf recipe a bit healthier by using a couple tablespoons of olive oil instead of the bacon and bacon drippings. And I modify the recipe, using whatever root vegetables are calling out, and MORE of them. This week, I’ll some of my celery root, carrots, squash, and shallots. Serve along with the simple and delicious herb-basted chicken breasts (perfect use for that parsley).

Sunday –  no stress lasagna

fall veggie lasagna (SIO Blog, Week 13 2009)
crusty italian bread

I really love a good vegetarian lasagna. I keep this recipe on hand as a “starting point”, using whatever seasonal veggies jump out at me. The trick with lasagna is to not let the recipe make it seem too complicated to attempt! Three layering components:  noodles (can definitely be the no-boil kind), sauce (store-bought, with our sautéed garlic and onions mixed in) and a cheese, egg, boiled kale mixture. This week, I’ll have pre-roasted my squash or pumpkin, cutting it into small cubes, and layer this in as well. Don’t get all uptight about the order or what cheese goes where – it all ends up in the same place, and as long as you have two or three layering pieces, you’re set. It is nice to end with the sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan if you think that far ahead. This is perfect Sunday comfort food, along with your favorite bakery’s crusty Italian bread.

Monday – midweek gourmet

carrot, parsnip, leek risotto (Z Tasty Life)
northwest clams steamed in butter & wine (Savory Sweet Life)
baguette with truffle butter

It’s funny what ends up inspiring my dinners. This idea began with a simple and seasonal risotto I was served at a meeting long ago. It was a beautiful vegetable risotto, with carrots, parsnips, and leeks playing starring roles. It was presented beautifully, in a shallow, wide-mouthed bowl, with tomato sauce spooned delicately around the edges of the risotto. The sauce was not incorporated into the risotto, it was just an added flavor and texture, where the eater could control the amount in each bite. I’ll skip the sauce this time, instead making these crispy carrot and parsnip “chips” to scatter over the top. Consistent with my 2016 mission to eat more seafood, and inspired by a New Seasons weekly special, steamed manilla clams in butter, garlic, and wine will accompany. This “dish” is literally a five minute deal, while you’re spooning up the risotto! Of course, you need some bread for soaking up the clam juices, and what better to top it with than a pre-made truffle butter.

Tuesday – lebanese with friends 

butternut squash & tahini spread (Yotam Ottolenghi, Jerusalem)
celeriac and lentils (Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty)
world market sambousak, hummus, & babaganoush

My assignment was a side or two. Both of these choices honor come right from my CSA box. I’ll make this squash and tahini spread, which is so quick and easy, after the squash is roasted. Serve with toasted pita chips and warm pita bread – it’ll be gobbled up for sure. I’ll also bring this Yotam celeriac and lentil salad, perfect for a potluck because it is equally delicious warm, cold, or room temperature. I’ll mix in chopped hazelnuts from the market for a wonderful crunch. I’ve made this salad before as a main dish – the lentils are packed with protein. The party will be filled with delicious items from Portland’s World Foods as well. The little crescent-shaped meat pies called sambousak are truly delectable. Ground beef, onions, pine nuts, Lebanese spices, all wrapped up in a crispy dough. With some of their hummus, babaganoush, and maybe some wood-fired pita bread, it’s a dinner worthy of a celebration.

“What the Kale?!?”

Don’t panic and get out the compost bin if all of the sudden you have a giant veggie delivery coming your way, and you still have a fridge full.  Here are a few suggestions for preserving the bounty!  (Soups and stews freeze wonderfully in those gallon zip lock freezer bags.)

• curried coconut carrot soup (The Kitchn)
• minestrone soup (Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food)