Margaux and the Purple Potato

Margaux loves all things purple so when saw purple potatoes at the CSA pick up on Saturday, it wasn’t even a question that we would be taking some home.

Frankly I wasn’t thrilled. Sometimes purple potatoes are too starchy and they don’t cook as I expect them to. Even so – they are always cool – so they’ve always got that going for them. I didn’t feel like mashing them, so roasting felt like the right alternative.

Roasted potatoes are one of those things that – done right – are impossible to beat! My favorite way to roast potatoes is to get the oven HOT, cut them into approximately 1-inch cubes, toss them in a generous amount of olive oil, salt & pepper, and give them time. So that is what I did.

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Oh – you want more of recipe!?  OK here goes – really it’s so easy!

1. Heat the oven to 425 or 450. Let it heat for about 30 minutes at least – you want it nice and hot!
2. Toss cubed potatoes in a generous tablespoon or two of olive oil. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and pepper.
3. Spread on a baking sheet – preferably stone or cast iron. If you use a cast iron skillet, you can get it hot in the oven while you heat it up.
4. Stir each 15 minutes, trying to flip over potatoes. Cook approximately 45 minutes or until potatoes are nicely crisp and brown! Time may vary!!

Turnip greens are a bit of a rarity unless you have a garden, frequent your farmer’s market, or get a CSA box with fresh turnips. This was the first time I have been so lucky as to have the turnip greens still attached and so healthy looking that I *HAD* to eat them! If you do not have turnip greens, this recipe will work perfectly for kale, swiss chard, or even spinach.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 handfuls of cleaned turnip greens, torn to bite size pieces
• 1-2 t. canola or grapeseed oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 t. sesame seeds
• drizzle of sesame oil

1. Bring a saute pan to medium high heat then add your canola oil. When this is hot add the greens and a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Stir often so they are nicely coated in oil and can cook evenly.
3. When the greens are getting close to being finished (turning limper and a very dark green color) sprinkle the sesame seeds over them.
4. Finish cooking to desired doneness and remove from heat. Drizzle with sesame oil, mix well then serve.

I’m posting a large photo of this “rösti” because I love how you can see the quinoa spirals shining through! You may have several questions as you begin to read this post. Let’s see if I can guess them all:

• What is a “rösti”? From my experience (& brief research) rösti is a grated, hashed-brown type potato dish that is very traditional in Switzerland. When I had it in Switzerland it changed my perception of hash browns forever! No longer relegated to the breakfast table, rösti opens the door to a new hash brown wonderland. Or at least it did for me. At its most basic, rösti is a formed patty of grated potatoes, typically cooked with butter or another fat and often topped with any variety of items: bacon, vegetables, cheeses, herbs – anything you can imagine. If you were curious – rösti is delicious!
• What is quinoa – and how do you say that word anyway? Quinoa is pronounced like “keen-wah”. That is *my* definition, feel free to validate with Mr. Webster. Quinoa is native to South America and it is a notable grain for a few reasons. First, it cooks very quickly! Secondly, it is very high in protein, contains a complete set of essential amino acids, is jam packed with fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron! Plus – once again – its very tasty and actually has a mild nutty flavor once it is cooked. I often cook quinoa and mix it with a vegetable or bean to make a patty, but use the leftovers as a side to any dish. It is great on its own or with friends.
• And what I imagine is the other question looming about in your mind: Why parsnips AGAIN??? This is particularly easy to answer. Because I have had them in spades so far this month AND last if you remember that parsnips were featured as February’s vegetable of the month. Plus their flavor is sweet and easy going – it matches many other ingredients perfectly & cooks easily. What’s not to like?

Let’s get down to it then! This recipe (or rather my interpretation) is inspired by Mark Bittman’s most excellent cookbook: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It caught my eye as I thumbed thru last week and I knew we would be eating it soon! While I would not call the results of my preparation of this dish a classic rösti AT ALL, I kept the name Mr. Bittman gave the dish to honor the source of its inspiration.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. parsnips
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• 4 T. of butter
• salt & pepper

1. Steam or boil the parsnips whole with the skin on until they are easily pierced with a knife but mushy. This will take about 15 minutes if you steam them. Remove the parsnips from the heat and allow them to cool.
2. Combine 2 T. of butter in a large bowl with the quinoa. Add a bit of salt & pepper while combining.
3. When parsnips are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off. If possible, grate the parsnips. Using a food processor for this step is a great idea. If you don’t have a food processor, can’t be bothered, or simply want something different, either cut up the parsnips and mash well or run them through a potato ricer. Regardless of the method you use, aim to get the parsnips either grated (for a more classic rösti style) or nicely smooshed for the style pictured above.
4. Add the parsnips to the quinoa and combine well.
5. Over medium-high heat, warm 1 T. of butter in a large saute pan. When the butter is hot, add the parsnip-quinoa mixture and spread out to fill the pan as one large circle. Lower the heat to medium-low to low and allow to cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. You should be able to smell the toasty-ness of the rösti after about this long.
6. Check the bottom to verify it is nicely browned then turn off the gas stove and place a plate over the rösti in the saute pan. Carefully flip the pan & plate over so the plate is now on the bottom and has the rösti on it.
7. Return the pan to the stove and bring to medium heat. Carefully slide the rösti back into the saute pan so that the uncooked side will now cook.
8. Allow to cook on medium to medium-low for another 10 minutes. Again ensure the bottom is nicely browned then remove from the heat.
9. This dish is best enjoyed warmed but leftovers keep very well!

For the first video clip on The Whole Wheat, I wanted to focus on a kitchen basic – how to cut an onion. Of course we all know how to chop up an onion, but this is an ideal technique to cut it quickly, precisely, and safely. I hope you enjoy – let me know what you think!

I will be setting up several different video areas so that you won’t have to scroll thru the blog to find a video you really liked too.

When I first started this website, one of the goals I had in mind was helping people get excited about trying new vegetables. Especially seasonal & local ones if possible. This year I’m going to introduce a new segment called “Vegetable of the Month” AKA VOTM. We may have missed January, but February is a great time to start I think.

I often post about Community Supported Agriculture and frankly I’m extremely fortunate to live in San Francisco where we the most amazing range of fresh produce all year round. I’ve joined a new CSA for 2008 but it doesn’t officially begin until March. As I wait – impatiently – I purchase their Mystery Boxes every other week to tide me over. To this day opening a box full of fresh vegetables grown nearby delights me! What will be in the box? What is in season? What new item will appear that I haven’t seen in its true form since a year ago? Those are some of the elements of opening a vegetable gift box each week that I love!

To get back on topic though, in my recent mystery boxes I have had some of the most lovely parsnips. Parsnips are very closely related to carrots and in many cases can sub in for each other in a time of need. The taste can be very similar to a carrot, but may be a bit stronger and in some cases a touch sweeter. They have a slightly yellowed appearance until you peel them when they are bright white (as shown in the photo). You can also see in the photos that parsnips are bit more wild than the carrot – having extra root pieces appearing wherever they desire. These are edible and just different looking, nothing to fear!

The sad parsnip fact is that often the ones I find in grocery stores wilt away to a soggy lump within a day of purchasing. Or when I cut into them I find a woody center which has to be tediously removed to ensure it won’t interfere with the sweet, soft flavor of the parsnip. The parsnips I’ve received fresh in my Mystery Box though suffer none of these unfortunate qualities. They are crisp and bright, having a lovely sturdiness to the root that doesn’t slump over at a sideways glance. And they are tasty!

While parsnips can be used in any number of dishes where they are starring role, they combine with most any other winter root veggies the utmost aplomb! And that is the dish I would like to feature today. Full of vegetables that are in season and perfect for these chillier final days of winter, the parsnip lends its swee, heartiness to the other vegetables to combine into a most perfect roasted vegetable melange.

To prepare a parsnip, just peel off the skin after washing. Often times the extra root pieces will come off on their own during the peeling. If it is large enough to use, feel free to peel that piece then add it back into the mix. Cut into the size and shape you desire and you are set. Its a very approachable and easy to use veggie, so have no parsnip-phobia please!

Winter Roasted Vegetables: I was lucky enough to have some unusual vegetables to add to this dish, but don’t hesitate if you only have “normal” carrots, they will look and taste beautiful in this dish! Roasting winter roots is a perfect way to use what you have without concern – their flavors are very melodious and tend to accentuate each other perfectly!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 large celery root, peeled and cubed
• 1 bunch of baby carrots, washed or lightly peeled but left whole
• 3-4 purple carrots, peeled and cut into rounds (feel free to use any color of carrot you have!)
• 1-2 fennel bulbs (depending on their size), cut into chunks
• 3-4 sticks of fresh thyme (or rosemary)

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. While chopping the vegetables, try to keep them in similar sizes and shapes. This will help them cook evenly.
3. Place all the veggies on a large baking sheet or roasting pan. Drizzle with clarified butter (or olive oil), salt and pepper. Add the leaves of a few sticks of rosemary or thyme if you have them. Mix well to coat the veggies evenly.
4. Roast the oven at 400 for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally, about every 10-15 minutes. Depending on the size you cut the veggies into, they may take more or less time. When they are finished all the veggies will have a nice softness to them but not be mushy. They should still retain the basic shape you cut them into but also take on a nice deep toasty color.
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Note: the baby carrots used in this dish are truly babies, not the cut up versions you can find in a grocery. Those are actually just the carrots with a less desirable shape, machine processed to become “regular” in size and form. More agreeable to American. Bunches of teensy carrots are a delicacy to enjoy if you are lucky enough to spot them.

2nd Note: Clarified butter is real accent to these vegetables. If you prefer to use olive oil they will still be tasty and delicious. However if you take the 5 minutes to place a stick of butter in a pan over low heat, let the solids rise to the top then promptly remove from the heat when it has fully melted, keeping only the liquid (no solids) and storing for a month or so in the fridge, you will be well rewarded.

Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes.  It is a strange nickname since they are neither from Jerusalem nor are they an artichoke. They are actually a true American vegetable, native to our country in fact. They are the actual root of a flower that grows to look much like a sunflower  They look a bit like a cross between a potato and a ginger root when you purchase them.  And while many recipes call for you to peel the sunchoke, they are actually best just well scrubbed with the peel left in tact.

The flavor is slightly sweet and nutty, though crispy and nearly reminiscent of a water chestnut.  Are you intrigued yet?

Do store them in the refrigerator though.  Stored there you can keep them a few weeks.  When you cook them, pay close attention because the time it takes for them to go from perfectly cooked to mush is only moments.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1 lb. sunchokes, well scrubbed then cut into 1/4″ rounds (or slices)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 T. fresh rosemary
• 1/2 c. dry white wine (or vermouth)

1. In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the sunchokes & garlic.  Sauté for 1-2 minutes letting them get a hint of color.
2. Season with salt & pepper then add the white wine.  Continue to cook on high until the wine is nearly reduced.
3. Add 1 T. water then cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes until tender crisp.  They may take as few as 5 or slightly longer than 10.  Do not over cook or they will turn to mush.
4. Boil down any excess liquid to create a glaze.  Serve warm.

This recipe my seem reminiscent of the puntarelle salad from last week. As well it should! I’ve briefly mentioned the mystery box full of winter vegetables that I received from Mariquita Farms early in January. I have decided that dandelion greens are wiley – they did not look the way I expected and as I researched to discover the source of my puntarelle/dandelion green confusion – I had a hard time locating photos that had dandelion greens in the same state mine were. Regardless, locate photos and understand my greens I did!

I opted to repeat my confused recipe with the originally intended greens. And while Brad & I loved the bitterness of the puntarelle, the dandelion is much mellower and a gentle taste on the plate. Egg & bacon really are perfect accents to a lightly warmed dandelion green. That small hit of red wine vinegar sets them all off perfectly. If you can source out some winter greens such as these, I hope you’ll enjoy them fresh as we did!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pieces of bacon
• 1 bunch of dandelion greens
• 4 T. red wine vinegar
• 2-3 hard boiled eggs, optional

1. Cook the bacon in a medium hot sauté pan until well done.
2. Add the dandelion greens and mix well in the sauté pan. Cook the greens until just warmed, 1 minute. Remove all ingredients from the heat to a bowl (lined with paper towels if they are too greasy).
3. Return the pan to medium heat and add the red wine vinegar. Deglaze the pan scrapping all of the bits into the vinegar. Turn off the heat, return all the ingredients to the pan and toss well.
4. Place the salad in a serving bowl, top with a hard boiled egg if desired. Serve warm.

This week I shared a Mystery Box from Mariquita Farm with some of our good friends. I also added on a few extra veggies which turned out to be a true bounty! Brad went to pick up the vegetables and came home with three of our large grocery bags over-flowing! My favorite extra veggies were the carrots – four amazing bunches with shocking colors: purple, pink, orange, and white.

You may not have any white carrots, and that is just fine. This recipe will work beautifully with any color of carrot! But the white carrots had a gentle sweetness and understated carrot flavor. This recipe will require a little experimenting – just trust yourself and taste the carrots when you think they are about ready. Depending on freshness, size, and heat – the cooking time will vary.

Ingredients:

• 4 large carrots, sliced into rounds
• 1 t. butter
• 3 sticks of thyme (or about 1/4 t. dried)
• 1-2 t. honey

1. In a saute pan, heat the butter over medium high. Add the carrots and begin to coat well with the butter.
2. After a few minutes, add the honey, place the thyme in the pan, and add water to just reach the tops of the sliced carrots. Cover the pan and boil for about 10 minutes.
3. Uncover and check the tenderness of the carrots. If they are about ready simmer off some water for a minute or two, then strain and serve. Depending on your carrots they may absorb all the water or barely any. Either way is fine! (If they weren’t quite ready recover and cook for a few more minutes)

I had a lone sugar pumpkin that has been serving as decoration on tables all over our house this fall. I love little sugar pumpkins – they are small and cute, but gloriously orange and fall like! Plus like all great winter squash, they store very easily for a long time, so you can buy one when you feel the urge then cook it when you feel the urge – no rush! A sugar pumpkin is the best pumpkin variety for cooking – it sweet & rich in flavor. Plus it is smaller & more manageable than the pumpkins we typically carve for Halloween. If you can, buy a few of these small sugar pumpkins when you can. I often get them for less than $1/lb. and they keep for weeks if not months.

During this past week I needed a bit of vegetable stock for a sauce I was making. Since I only needed a small amount, I had about 2 qts. left over. Veggie stock + a sugar pumpkin + a few friendly apples were all lurking in my kitchen, so soup night frequented us again. Its a good thing Brad loves soup! The sweetness and depth of the sugar pumpkin melded beautifully with the apples. No sweetener was used but there was a mellow sugary sense to the soup. I paired my soup with blue cheese toasts – to me, the pungency of the blue cheese with the gently sweet soup was perfect! Even though I love the pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potatoes would work beautifully here too.

Ingredients:

• 1 sugar pumpkin, about 3 pounds
• 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 apples, chopped (I used Pink Ladies but whatever you like will work)
• 1 t fresh thyme
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 qts. of vegetable stock

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and strings. Rub with olive oil and place face down on a baking sheet. Tuck the garlic cloves into the pumpkin cavities. Roast in oven 45 minutes to an hour, until the pumpkin skin is soft to the touch.
3. Set aside to cool then scoop out pumpkin flesh when able. Press the garlic cloves to separate the roasted flesh from the skins.
4. In a soup pot, warm a few teaspoons of olive oil (or half olive oil & half butter) over medium heat. When melted, add the onions. Sprinkle with salt & pepper then cook for several minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the apples, garlic, thyme, and cinnamon. Continue to cook until apples & onions are softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the pumpkin flesh to the soup pot, then add the stock. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the soup boils, lower to a simmer and partially cover. Cook for 25 minutes, until apples are nicely softened.
6. In batches, us a ladle to transfer the soup to a blender. Blend until smooth. Once all the soup is blended, return to the pot and simmer for a few minutes to combine.
7. Serve hot!

I’ve made no secret that I love vegetable stock! Its quick, tasty, super easy, and healthy. What’s not to like???

To help kick off 2008, here is a fresh version where I roasted the vegetables before making the stock. The results were a richer flavored and more deeply colored stock! This recipe does take an additional 30-60 minutes to roast the veggies though, so plan ahead if you want to make soup the same evening.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 onions, quartered but no need to peel
• 4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped (~1″ chunks)
• 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped (~1″ chunks)
• 1-2 potatoes, scrubbed and roughly chopped (~1″ chunks)
• 6 cloves of garlic or 3 shallots, unpeeled
• 1/4 c. dried shitakes (optional)
• 10 sprigs parsley
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Combine onion, carrots, celery, potato, and shallots or garlic in a roasting pan. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper, then mix to coat. Roast for about 45 minutes or until veggies have developed a brown color. Mix several times while cooking.
3. Meanwhile add 1-2 c. of boiling water to the mushrooms to soften them.
4. Transfer the vegetables to a stock pot. Add all remaining ingredients (including mushrooms and their liquid) and 2 qts of water. Bring to a boil.
5. Add 2 c. of water to the roasting pan and place over high heat on the stove. Bring to a boil and scrape up all the bits of veggies that stuck to the pan. Add up to 2 more cups of water as needed. Add the total of 4 c. water and the veggie scrapings to the stock pot as well.
6. Once the stock begins to boil, partially cover and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes until veggies are soft.
7. Strain and discard all vegetables and herbs. Use immediately or allow to cool then refrigerate.