The cool nights of fall make for the best greens season. The lettuces and broccoli greens included in the share this week have great flavor due to the falling temperatures. They’ll also keep longer in your fridge than summer greens. Our favorite way to eat greens is either sauteed or in soups (including creamy lettuce soup!), so be sure to also cook the beet greens and leek tops as well. We still have a long transplant list we’re trying to work through, though we are down to spinach, lettuce, beets, onions, and garlic. After that we’ll start working through our building project list, which includes upgrading parts of our irrigation system, expanding our production area, and adding plant support infrastructure to some of our growing area. Have a great week!
Tomato Pepper Soup
Roughly chop 2 pints of tomatoes. Dice 1 medium onion, and 1 pint sweet peppers.
Melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large saucepan.
Add diced onion and peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute for several minutes until fragrant. Add diced tomatoes and 1 quart chicken or vegetabl stock. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally and add additional salt as needed.
Blend the soup, and then season to taste. The soup doesn’t need to be ultra-smooth, some texture is a nice touch. An immersion blender does make quick work of this, or you can use a blender. If you use a regular blender, it is best to blend in batches and not fill the blender as much as you usually would since the soup is so hot. We like to remove the center insert of the lid and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending — this helps to release some of the steam and prevents the blender lid from popping off (which can be a big, hot mess).
Sprouting Broccoli Greens Soup
Roughly chop 1 bunch of broccoli greens and beet tops, chopping the fibrous stems across the firmest parts very thinly. Mince 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp ginger, and 1/2 medium onion.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil to a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add 1/2 lb ground pork or chorizo sausage, garlic, ginger, onion, broccoli and beet green stems, 1 pinch red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Cook, stirring frequently until meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 quarts chicken stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add chopped greens, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce (optional), and 2 tsp sesame oil (optional). Cook until greens have wilted.
To serve over rice noodles, or rice: cook 1 package of rice noodles according to package instructions. Add noodles or cooked rice to a serving bowl, then ladle soup on top and garish with a handful of finely chopped cilantro, parsley or chives.
Roasted Beet Salad
Peel, then dice beets. Add to a baking dish, toss with 1-2 Tbsp cooking oil, then roast at 375F for 20-30 minutes, until tender and slightly crispy.
Roughly chop 1 head of oakleaf lettuce. Cook 1 cup of brown rice, or another whole grain such as wheat berries, buckwheat, or wild rice.
To make simple tahini dressing combine 1/4 cup tahini, 1/4 olive oil, 2 tsp maple syrup or honey, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, and a pinch pepper.
Toss roasted beets, 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, chopped lettuce, cooked grains, and tahini dressing to taste.
Lettuce Salad
Rinse and roughly chop 4 oz lettuce mix. Dress with creamy dressing.
To make dressing: combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp sour cream, 3 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 Tbsp finely chopped dill, 1 tsp mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
Leek and Potato Soup
Thinly slice 1 large leek, including greens. Cube 3 medium potatoes.
Add 3 Tbsp cooking oil or butter to a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chopped whites of the leek. Saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add leek greens. Saute another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until greens are wilted.
Deglaze the pot with 2 Tbsp white vinegar, then add cubed potatoes, and 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock. Add 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp allspice, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp dry dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh), 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, and 1/2 tsp celery seed.
Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until potatoes are cooked. Allow soup to cool, and blend.
Serve with a dollop of mayonnaise or sour cream.
Ingredients
The first table shows the ingredients that come in the share. The table after that shows the ingredients you would need to make the recipes.
| Tomato Pepper Soup | Sprouting Broccoli Greens Soup | Roasted Beet Salad | Salad with Creamy Dressing | Leek and Potato Soup | |
| butter | 2 Tbsp | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| onion | 1 medium | 1/2 medium | |||
| stock, chicken or vegetable | 1 quart | 2 quarts | |||
| garlic | 2 cloves | ||||
| ginger | 2 Tbsp | ||||
| cooking oil | 2 Tbsp | ||||
| ground pork or chorizo | 1/2 lb | ||||
| red pepper flakes | 1 pinch | ||||
| ground black pepper | 1 tsp | ||||
| cumin | 1/2 tsp | ||||
| soy sauce | 2 Tbsp | ||||
| fish sauce | 1 tsp | ||||
| sesame oil | 2 tsp | ||||
| rice or rice noodles | as many servings as desired | ||||
| brown rice or other whole grain | 1 cup | ||||
| tahini | 1/4 cup | ||||
| olive oil | 1/4 cup | ||||
| honey or maple syrup | 2 tsp | ||||
| apple cider vinegar | 2 Tbsp | ||||
| walnuts or almonds, toasted | 1/4 cup | ||||
| mayonnaise | 1/4 cup | ||||
| sour cream | 2 Tbsp | ||||
| white vinegar | 2 Tbsp |