In the Peace Garden, our fennel plants are known as the "candy plants" by toddlers and interns alike. Tasting almost like black licorice in raw form, fennel stems, leaves, and bulbs can add a special sweetness and depth of flavor to many different soups and stews, as well as make wonderful garnishes or add-ins to chicken, tuna, or chickpea salads.
Their stems can be used as vessels for creamy things just like celery, so if you're only using the bulbs remember to save the stems for quick snacks! Cream cheese balances very well with fennel. The recipe below also utilizes turnip, mint, and chard, three types of produce we grow at Growing Gardens that have peaked the interest of but puzzled many visitors, CSA members and staff.
Moroccan Stew
Serves 6 as a main dish.
Ingredients:
4
tablespoons olive oil
2
onions, chopped
1
large jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, chopped
4
garlic cloves, minced
1
teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 ½
teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
1
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
teaspoon sweet paprika
¾
teaspoon ground cinnamon
½
teaspoon ground cumin
½
teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
2
tablespoons tomato paste, or ketchup
1
fennel bulb, diced (save fronds for garnish)
1
very large bunch chard, stems sliced 1/2-inch thick, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
2
carrots, diced
1
large turnip, peeled and diced
2 cans chickpeas, or 1 pound dried chickpeas soaked overnight
water
⅓
cup diced dried apricots or golden raisins
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or 2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon, more to taste
½
cup chopped cilantro, more for garnish
Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion
and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt,
turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté
until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste
and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato
paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.
Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and
continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.
Add chickpeas and water to barely cover.
Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to
a simmer. Add more water if
needed (this should be like a stew).
Add chard leaves, apricots and apple cider vinegar or preserved lemon to
pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes
longer. Season with more salt if desired, and serve garnished with
cilantro and reserved fennel fronds, or even sage flatbread.
*Lightly adapted from Melissa Clark's http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017228-moroccan-chickpeas-with-chard .
Fennel-Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:
1 can drained and rinsed chickpeas*
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/3 sliced fennel stems (or diced bulb) and fronds
lots of black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (less or more to taste)
splash of apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon tumeric
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.
*you can also replaced chickpeas with 2 1/2 cups cubed russet potatoes, baked whole at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Herbs: Sage
Sage grows like a weed.
Take a stroll through the Horticuture therapy and Peace Garden beds in mid-July and you'll witness them taking over innocent tarragon, lavender, and even dill plants.
So what the heck do you do with sage besides make pot-pourri?
Sage Flatbread
Makes 20-25 flatbreads.
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups regular unbleached flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
lots and lots of black pepper
approximately 2 1/2 cups of water
half cup loosely packed sage
Place four or five leaves of sage on top one another, and roll them up as if you're rolling up a sleeping bag. Using a sharp non-serrated knife, slice the sage into long strips. Repeat until all the sage is sliced. Combine flours, salt, yeast, and black pepper in the bowl of a standing mixer or a large bowl. Mix in sage. Gradually add 2 cups only of the water, beginning to knead either with a dough hook attachment on the stand mixer or with your hands, in the bowl. If all the flour does not combine with just 2 cups, gradually add the last 1/2 cup of water 2 tablespoons at a time. If kneading by hand, dump a small amount of flour on a clean surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into 20-25 balls, and roll these in a very small amount of olive oil. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough balls into squares. Heat one or two large, oiled cast iron skillets over medium heat. Fry breads on each side for 2-3 minutes. Serve with soups, stews, or dips.
*Adapted from http://www.girlichef.com.
Sage Roasted Root Veggies
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 large beet
1/2 red onion
1/3 cup loosely packed sage
2-3 sprigs thyme
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Optional: toasted pistachios
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cube potato and beet. Slice onion into chunks. Roll and slice sage as detailed in recipe above (sage flatbread). Toss everything in a bowl with a little less than a quarter cup of oil, sage and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Spread in a single layer on a large baking sheet, and place sprigs of thyme atop veggies. Roast until onions are slightly crispy and potatoes/turnip easily pierced with a fork (approximately 25 minutes). Optional: serve with toasted pistachios sprinkled on top.
Take a stroll through the Horticuture therapy and Peace Garden beds in mid-July and you'll witness them taking over innocent tarragon, lavender, and even dill plants.
So what the heck do you do with sage besides make pot-pourri?
Sage Flatbread
Makes 20-25 flatbreads.
Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups regular unbleached flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
lots and lots of black pepper
approximately 2 1/2 cups of water
half cup loosely packed sage
Place four or five leaves of sage on top one another, and roll them up as if you're rolling up a sleeping bag. Using a sharp non-serrated knife, slice the sage into long strips. Repeat until all the sage is sliced. Combine flours, salt, yeast, and black pepper in the bowl of a standing mixer or a large bowl. Mix in sage. Gradually add 2 cups only of the water, beginning to knead either with a dough hook attachment on the stand mixer or with your hands, in the bowl. If all the flour does not combine with just 2 cups, gradually add the last 1/2 cup of water 2 tablespoons at a time. If kneading by hand, dump a small amount of flour on a clean surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into 20-25 balls, and roll these in a very small amount of olive oil. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough balls into squares. Heat one or two large, oiled cast iron skillets over medium heat. Fry breads on each side for 2-3 minutes. Serve with soups, stews, or dips.
*Adapted from http://www.girlichef.com.
Sage Roasted Root Veggies
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 large beet
1/2 red onion
1/3 cup loosely packed sage
2-3 sprigs thyme
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Optional: toasted pistachios
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cube potato and beet. Slice onion into chunks. Roll and slice sage as detailed in recipe above (sage flatbread). Toss everything in a bowl with a little less than a quarter cup of oil, sage and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Spread in a single layer on a large baking sheet, and place sprigs of thyme atop veggies. Roast until onions are slightly crispy and potatoes/turnip easily pierced with a fork (approximately 25 minutes). Optional: serve with toasted pistachios sprinkled on top.
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