This Week’s Veggie Feast
Asparagus, Salad Mix, Rhubarb, Horseradish, Oregano, and Shallots (oops, they missed the photo shot!)
New this Week
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a spring vegetable that is most often used in desserts or jams. Because of it’s sour flavor most recipes using rhubarb call for a fair amount of sugar. Rhubarb stores well in the fridge if wrapped in a bag. If you really have no time for it you can freeze it… two ways… by blanching…. or no blanching. Below is a recipe for rhubarb jam bars.
Horseradish
Native to eastern Europe, horseradish, a funny-looking root, thrives in our climate. This yellowish-brown root belongs to the same family as turnip, cabbage, and cauliflower. The pungent odor and hot taste of horseradish is related to a substance called sinigrin that creates a volatile oil containing sulphur. The release of these properties only happens when the root is either cut or bruised. Grating horseradish will make your eyes water and nose tingle so if you are sensitive, wear ski goggles while grating.
Horseradish is popular in many cuisines and is usually served as a condiment for meat, fish, or eggs. The entire root is not useable; you will want to peel the root and discard any woody core. The grated root can be eaten raw but is usually toned down with some dairy product or mixed into a sauce. Horseradish is often served as a sharp relish to accompany roast beef, but also goes well with fish, eggs, apples, and potatoes. One root is usually more than enough for a recipe, so preservation is important since once horseradish is cut or grated and the flavor has developed, it quickly deteriorates.
Storage Notes
Horseradish should be refrigerated, wrapped in a plastic bag, and peeled before using. Pickling horseradish or storing it with vinegar are two ways to preserve the pungency.
Usage Notes
Horseradish needs to be peeled before using, and make sure to check for a hard and flavorless core that is not worth grating. Horseradish is often served raw but it can also be cooked before eating. If grated, add it towards the end of cooking, as its pungency mellows with heat. If roasting whole, treat it like roasting root vegetables.
Shallots
These shallots were grown last year and have stored for 9 months! What an amazing vegetable! Use them as you would an onion.
Oregano
Native to the Mediterranean region, oregano is used widely in Italian, Mexican, and Greek cuisine. The fresh leaves provide robust flavor that is slightly peppery, with notes of camphor and lemon. The sharpness of this fresh herb mellows when dried. While there are flavor differences in the various varieties of oregano, once dried it can be used in many types of dishes.
Oregano Storage
Like other fresh herbs, oregano can be stored in a plastic bag in the crisper section of your refrigerator. Visit this page for tips on drying herbs.
Oregano Usage
Finely chop the fresh leaves for a great addition to pasta sauces, pizza, bean dishes, taco fillings, stuffing, or grilled veggies. Oregano’s strong flavor pairs well with grilled meats, marinades, soups and roasted vegetables. Some consider oregano’s soul mate to be lemon, making it perfect for Greek salads, baked fish and souvlaki. In Mexico, oregano flavors bean dishes, burritos and taco fillings.
Recipes
Roasted Asparagus with Smoky Lemon Yogurt, Chopped Eggs and Toasted Almonds
Source: The Smitten Kitchen
The yogurt dressing below will make more than you need, but if you’re anything like us, you’ll want to make this again soon and will be glad you have it around. If you have a hot smoked paprika around, I am sure it would make a wonderful, kicky substitution for half the paprika. Chipotle powder, which is also smoky and hot, can impart a similar flavor. If you don’t have smoked paprika around, regular paprika with a pinch of ground cumin will add some smoky depth as well. Sumac powder, with an almost tart or sour paprika flavor, would be delicious in here as well. The longer the yogurt dressing rests, the more garlicky it will become.
The pan-roasting technique is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, and I will treasure it because it manages to allow you to get the blistery, crisp-but-tender effect you might from a grill, without requiring that you either have a grill or run your oven for a long time. Hooray!
This dish is great warm but was also delicious at room temperature. Because of this, I think it would make an excellent brown bag lunch, cutting the spears into smaller segments that would easily fit in a container.
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole blanched almonds, Marconas if you can get them
Yogurt dressing
1 cup plain yogurt (strained or Greek-style if you can find it)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pounds asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed or peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Squeeze of lemon juice
Drizzle of olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Hard-boil your eggs according to your favorite method. I like to put my eggs cold in a pot of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, I set the timer for 10 minutes and reduce the heat to a moderate simmer. When the timer goes off, I drain them and plunge them in ice water for a quick cooling. While they cool, toast your almonds. [If you have time, cook the eggs 24 hours or more in advance. Older hard-boiled eggs peel more cleanly.]
In a 12-inch heavy skillet, toast your almonds over medium heat, tossing them frequently until they’re lightly bronzed. [Marcona almonds often come already toasted and in a bit of olive oil. If you’re happy with their color, use them as is. If not, you can put the almonds and oil in the skillet to toast them more deeply, as I did.] Let cool.
Once eggs and almonds are cool, coarsely chop both and set aside.
Make your yogurt dressing, whisking all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste. Spread 1/2 cup dressing in a thin layer over serving dish and set aside.
Reheat heavy 12-inch skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, and once the oil is fully heated, add your trimmed asparagus spears — placing half in one direction and half in the other allows them to fit better. They won’t fit flat in a single layer, but you should try to spread them as evenly as possible. Cover the skillet with a lid (foil if you don’t have one that fits) and let skinny spears cook for 3 minutes and fatter ones for 5. Remove the lid, increase the heat to high, season the asparagus with salt and black pepper, and use tongs to cook the spears until they’re crisp-tender and well-browned along a side or two, about 5 minutes more for skinny spears or 7 minutes for thicker ones.
Transfer asparagus to dressing-coated serving dish. Sprinkle spears with an additional squeeze of lemon juice, if desired, a tiny drizzle of olive oil, chopped almonds, eggs and a bit of coarse sea salt. Dollop with additional yogurt dressing. Then dig in.
Horseradish Sauce
Source: allrecipes
1 cup peeled and cubed horseradish root
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
In an electric food processor or blender, process horseradish root, vinegar, sugar and salt.
Carefully remove the cover of the processor or blender, keeping your face away from the container.
Cover and store the horseradish in the refrigerator.
Rhubarb Jam Bars
Source: The Food Network
ingredients
Rhubarb Jam:
- 1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and sliced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
Crust:
- 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for the pan
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons ice-cold water
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
instructions
- For the rhubarb jam: Toss the rhubarb with the cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the sugar and water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the rhubarb has broken down and the mixture is very thick, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.
- For the crust: Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan with foil; butter the foil.
- Pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Measure out 2/3 cup of the dough and place in a small bowl. Transfer the remaining dough to the prepared baking pan and push evenly into the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the oats, allspice and cinnamon to the dough in the bowl and mix well to combine. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.
- Spoon the rhubarb jam onto the chilled crust and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Crumble the oat topping over the jam. Place the baking pan on the preheated baking sheet and bake until the crust and topping are golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Carefully remove from the pan and cut into bars.
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