cream of parsnip soup- without any cream

Winter CSAs come with so many parsnips. And while I love a good caramelized, roasted parsnip, there are only so many roasted vegetables I can eat in a week. Thats why I was so excited to find out that parsnips make a great creamy/starchy texture when used as a soup base, much like potatoes.

This recipe is very flexible, and you can substitute about 1/2 the parsnips for turnips, and replace some or all of the parsnips for potatoes, but I love the savory taste the parsnips give.


equipment:

• immersion blender/stick blender
• large soup pot
  

The recipe:

• 3-4 large parsnips, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 cups milk or soy milk
• 1-2 cups vegetable broth or water (if you are using water, you will need 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, and be generous with the other spicing)
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbs dried sage (or 4-6 fresh sage leaves)
• 1 tbs dried dill (or a few sprigs of fresh)
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• olive oil or butter for sauteing

optional:
can add more parsnip for a thicker texture, or some turnip, potato or carrots.
another variant is to put in greens, such as collards, chard, kale, or spinach (fresh or frozen). You can put in a little or as whole huge bunch of greens. I've even put in some frozen peas at points. If you put in the greens, the soup will have the look and texture of a pea soup, as opposed to a cream of potato soup. Both are delicious, just have different tastes and textures.

Directions:

• heat the butter or oil in a large soup pot
• saute the onions in the bottom of the pot until they are soft & translucent.
• add the rosemary and stir
  
• add the parsnips (and other root veggies if you are using them)
• after the parsnips soften a bit and are coated will in the oil
• add the rest of the spices
  
• add the greens and/or peas if you are using them
• add the water or veggie broth so that it covers the veggies (if you are adding greens, it only needs to cover the parsnips- the greens will steam on their own)
• when the parsnips are very soft, turn off the flame and add the milk or soy milk. Add more for a thinner soup, less for a much thicker one.
• use the immersion blender to liquefy the soup.
• return the soup to the flame for a few minutes to let it simmer with the milk.
  
• salt before serving. enjoy!
  

Fennel with Lentils, Thyme & Chard

recipe inspired by a french dish in Moosewood Simple Suppers (a fantastic cookbook)

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked lentils
• 1-2 bulbs fennel, finely sliced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• white wine vinegar
• 1 cup chopped chard- optional. Any other green, including bok choy, could work too (can use more or less, but the raw leaves should not be more than 3/4 the volume of the fennel)
  

Directions

• boil the lentils
• in a separate frying pan, saute the garlic in the olive oil
• when the garlic is slightly golden, add in the fennel and stir
• when the fennel is slightly golden (it gets a slight shade of off white darker) add in the thyme and stir.
• mix in the chopped chard
  
• leave on stove top while stirring for 3-4 more minutes or until chard is fully wilted
  
• mix the lentils
• serve with a generous drizzle of white wine vinegar

AMAZING

Polenta Pizza with Spinach or Chard

By Mark Bittman, in the New York Times:

Something different to do with your chard...





Time: About 45 minutes, plus one hour’s chilling

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for pan
• 1/2 cup milk, preferably whole
• Salt
• 1 cup coarse cornmeal
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) chopped pancetta
• 1 pound spinach, washed, trimmed and dried
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring just about to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon oil into cooked cornmeal (polenta). Spoon it onto prepared pan, working quickly so polenta does not stiffen; spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2 inch all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in refrigerator until it is firm, an hour or more (you can refrigerate polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Put polenta in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to brown and crisp on edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take onion and pancetta out of pan; set aside. Add spinach to skillet and sauté until it releases its water and pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper.

4. Take polenta out of oven, sprinkle with Gorgonzola, then spread onion-pancetta mixture and spinach evenly on top of cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon olive oil. Put pizza back in oven for two minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

Variation: Before you put polenta in oven, top it with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, two or three thinly sliced Roma tomatoes or a bit of tomato sauce, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.

Ideas from Jessica

Thanks to Jessica Jenkins, who also submitted the cole slaw recipe!

1. For corn: roast it over an open flame until it's pleasantly charred. Slather with butter and the seasonings of your choice.

2. For greens: steam them until they're good and wilted. Make a paste of olive oil, lemon juice, and lots of mashed garlic. Dress the greens with the lemony-garlic-oil. So good.

3. I have two approaches to cucumbers:

- My English Nana's style: Slice them thin and marinate in white wine vinegar and dill

- Central American style: Cut in chunks and sprinkle liberally with lime, salt and cayenne pepper.

Greens!

Some people don’t like greens- but that’s usually because they’ve had greens that are either (1) cooked into a mush or (2) undercooked, and therefore tough and bitter. Here is how to easily cook your big leafy greens so that they are well cooked, not mushy, and delicious

Ingredients:

· 1 bunch of Greens (can be collard, mustard, kale, turnip, beet, chard, etc. all are delicious)

· 1 large onion or 2 medium onions

· garlic cloves, chopped (2-8, depending on your taste)

· olive oil

· 2 tsp salt (kosher or coarse sea salt, preferably not table salt).

Directions

· utensils:

o use a pot or pan with as much surface area on the bottom as possible. Pan should be stainless steel or cast iron (NOT non-stick/Teflon- unless that’s all you have). Pan MUST have a lid. my favorite is the glass lid chicken fryer (image on the right):

· chop the onions

o chop into slivers or dice it into cubes (around ½ inch cubes work- doesn’t have to be super fine, but bigger pieces take a lot longer to cook)

· sautee the onions till translucent

o heat about 3 tbsp of olive oil in the pan. When the oil sizzles when you splash a drop of water into it, add the onions

· wash and chop greens while onions cook

o greens can be be very sandy- so they need to be washed well. Some methods include:

§ running each leaf under a stream of water

§ filling your sink with water and letting them soak so that the sand falls to the bottom

§ if you're using a textured green like Kale, then make sure all the sand is gone from the harder to wash textured parts of the leaves

o chop leaves in a checkerboard pattern- cut them vertically and then horizontally so you have manageable sized pieces. Chop stems into small pieces.

· add greens to the onions, add 1/3 c water, 2 tsp kosher salt. stir and place lid on

o greens are very tough, so allowing them to steam for a while softens them and reduces your cooking time.

o The salt sucks some of the moisture out of the greens and allows them to soften further

· when greens have shrunk significantly, open the lid and stir. Add another splash of olive oil (approx 2-3 tbsp) and stir more.

· At this point your goal is to cook the greens to that they are almost brown without burning them.

o if you kept steaming them, they would turn into unpleasant green mush. So now you want to sauté them to make them a bit crispy and full of texture.

o this requires frequent stirring so that all pieces get time on the bottom of the pan, and adding another splash of olive oil while cooking, and possibly some more salt to your taste

· When the greens start to brown, add the garlic and another splash of olive oil and stir.

· When finished, your greens should be:

o A very very dark shade of green

o Smell very fragrant (garlic, and onions and olive oil- yum!)

o Be very very well cooked. Its hard to overcook greens once you stop steaming them, so keep them on the stove top for as long as possible until they are to your liking!