The Sang Lee CSA started for the season last week, and there is an interesting combination of root vegetables, greens, and other little surprises. This salad uses beets from last week and the parsnips, lettuce, and parsley from this week. This salad is great when served warm, but can also be served cold.
The Salad:
Set oven to 400 degrees
Cut beets and parsnips into “finger sized” pieces. Don’t cut them too small, as they will shrivel up while roasting, kind of like how we get all wrinkly when sitting in the hot sun. Coat a baking dish with olive oil, and layer the vegetables in the baking dish. A little hint to keep the beets from bleeding: layer them in the dish first, then brush with olive oil, and then layer the parsnips. Or, you can just use golden beets, which don’t bleed. You can use any root vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, etc. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are done. They should be tender. Toss with chopped parsley. How much parsley will depend on how many vegetables you use. You be the judge.
While the vegetables are roasting, put a bunch of greens in a bowl. I used my all-time favorite lettuce: Boston, aka: Butter.
The Dressing:
Dice a large shallot and saute for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk 4-6 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar with 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard. Then, gradually whisk in shallot/oil mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Coat the salad with the dressing. Obviously, depending on how much salad you made, you might not use all the dressing.
I was excited to find the farmer’s market overflowing with strawberries Saturday morning. I used my new Preserves Handbook (The River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin) to make this delicious and photogenic strawberry jam.
If you are going to can these, you’ll want to start sterilizing the jars before cooking the jam. That’s because you need to do a “hot fill,” meaning you need to fill the jars while the jam is still hot, and seal them immediately to keep it nice and clean inside. On the other hand, if you just want to put them in the fridge for a while and will eat them sooner, then there is no need to sterilize.
UPDATE: This jam turned out to be VERY sweet. You may want to adjust accordingly if you plan on just putting it directly into the fridge. Not sure how that will affect the canning process, since sugar helps to keep the jam fresh.
2 1/4 pounds strawberries, hulled, large ones halved or quartered
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar blended with 1 teaspoon pectin powder
2/3 cup lemon juice
Put 7 ounces of the strawberries into a preserving pan (I used a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot) with 1 cup of the plain granulated sugar. Crush to a pulp with a potato masher (I used a fork). Place the pan over gentle heat and, when the fruit mixture is warm, add the rest of the strawberries. Bring to a very gentle simmer, agitating the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to prevent the fruit from sticking. Simmer for 5 minutes to allow the strawberries to soften just a little.
Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups plain granulated sugar and the sugar/pectin mixture. Stir gently to prevent the sugar from sticking and burning on the bottom of the pan. When the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice. Increase the heat and, when the mixture reaches a full boil, boil rapidly for 8 to 9 minutes. Then test for the setting point. (I tested by using the dollop test: dipping a clean wooden spoon into the jam, holding it up over the pan, twirling it around a couple of times, and then letting the jam drop from the side of it. The jam should NOT run freely off the spoon. It should instead fall away in small dollops. Mine took closer to ten minutes to get to this point.)
Remove from the heat and, if the surface is scummy, stir gently until the scum has dispersed. Put into sterilized jars. Use within 1 year.
This recipe was adapted from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday. He suggested using frisee or escarole, but we had baby spinach and romaine–so we used that. We also substituted the suggested queso anejo for cotija cheese.
Serves 4
1 medium-large head (8 ounces) frisee or escarole, root end cut off, the remainder cut into 2-inch sections
2 medium-large (about 1 pound total) ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 inch (or smaller) cubes
2 medium avocados, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/2 inch (or smaller) cubes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil (divided use)
1 pound skirt steak
salt
ground black pepper
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
1/4 cup beef broth or water
1 canned chipotle chile en adobo, seeds scraped out and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
About 1/3 cup grated Mexican Queso anejo or other garnishing cheese such as Romano or Parmesan
***
Scoop the greens into a large bowl. Spread the tomatoes and avocados over the top.
Set a very large (12-inch) heavy skillet over medium-high heat, and measure in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Sprinkle both sides of the skirt steak with salt and pepper. Lay it in the hot oil and cook until it’s about medium-rare, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side. remove to a cooking rack set over a large plate–this keeps the juices in the meat rather than running out onto the plate.
Turn the heat under the skillet to low. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds, until very fragrant. Then pour in the broth (or water) and stir to release any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet (the liquid will quickly come to a boil.) Turn off the heat and add the chile, along with the lime juice and the remaining 1/4 cup oil. Season with salt (usually 1/2 teaspoon) and pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon).
Cut the skirt steak into roughly 3-inch lengths, then cut each piece across the grain into 1/4-inch strips. Add to the bowl with the frisee. Pour the warm dressing over the frisee and toss to coat thoroughly–the greens will wilt slightly. Divide among four dinner plates or large salad bowls. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and serve right away.
This salad was a highlight of a Memorial Day weekend barbeque, which also included lamb chops on the grill and Near East red pepper quinoa and rice .
The Salad (serves 4-8, depending on how much salad people like…)
4 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 small bunches of radishes, thinly sliced
several cups of baby greens (I used a very full bag of greens from the market)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped mint
The Dressing
stir together:
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
gradually whisk in:
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
fresh from brooklyn 