Week 18 - Soup's on

[Posted by Ruth]

This week brought new additions to our farm share.  We got two enormous sweet potatoes and the first Brussel sprouts.  I know Brussel sprouts are not for everybody, but my husband and I love them.  The trick with them is to not overcook them; that's when they become 'cabbagey'.

Looking at the sweet potatoes and turnip greens sitting on the table made me want to use them in a soup, juxtaposing the sweet of the potato with the bitter from the greens.  Since I had a freezer full of chicken stock thanks to the freezer special for chicken from Stone Gardens Farm (and, yes, I took the feet too!), soup seemed like a great idea.  This soup bears a passing resemblance to Italian Wedding soup.

Sweet Potato and Turnip Green Soup with Meatballs
(This makes a large pot, enough for dinner for 4 the first night w/ leftovers for another night)

10 cups chicken stock, homemade if you have it
3 small leaks - just the white and tender green portion
2 very large sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2-3 lbs) peeled and diced
1 bunch turnip greens, leaves coarsely chopped and some of the stems finely chopped
2 cans white beans, drained
1 batch meatballs - recipe follows.
salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock to a simmer and add in leaks, sweet potatoes and turnip greens.  Simmer until all vegetables are cooked through and quite soft.  Add drained white beans and meatballs and simmer very gently for about 10 more minutes.  Enough for the flavors to blend but not enough to break up the meatballs.  Adjust salt and pepper and serve w/ crusty bread.  Like most soups, this is even better the next day. 

Meatballs
2 lbs ground meat (I use 1 lb each of beef and pork)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 egg
Approx 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, add more if necessary to bind
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T chile sauce or Ketchup
2 T prepared horseradish
1 T prepared mustard
salt, pepper to taste
olive oil for pan


Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly oil a large jelly roll pan or other baking sheet.  Cook onion in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until translucent.  Mix all ingredients, except the olive oil for pan, in a large bowl, preferably with your hands or a large fork.  Don't over mix, stop when all ingredients are incorporated and before you smush the meat up too much.  Form into small/bitesized meatballs, place on baking pan and bake at 375 for approx 30 minutes; until browned on the bottom and cooked through.  Let rest for at least 20 minutes before putting in the soup.  Note: you can use this same recipe for a meatloaf.  Just reduce oven temp to 350, form into a loaf and bake for 50-60 minutes, topped w/ more chile sauce or ketchup if you like

Week 16 - More Pie

[Posted by Ruth]
The pie kick continues.  Week 15 brought my first bunch of turnip greens which I paired with bacon and summer squash in a polenta crust.  Here it is before baking...

And after baking.

 It came out great although you'll notice that the attempt at a fluted edge was a waste of time.  The polenta is just too soft to hold the shape.  In fact, if you want to serve this piping hot straight from the oven, you'll be spooning it out, rather than slicing it.  You might even want to put the polenta on top in that case.  We let it sit for about 20 minutes and were able to cut and carefully serve the slices.  At room temperature is should slice very well.  We didn't have a chance to test this theory; it was long gone before it cooled!

Turnip Green/Summer Squash Pie with Potenta Crust

Preheat oven to 375.
You can make your own polenta instead of using the packaged, but the packaged worked very well here and made this a quick weeknight meal.

Polenta Crust
1 Package (18 oz) ready made, organic polenta 
4 T unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, if needed - depends on the polenta you use

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until completely blended.  Press into a standard sized pie pan.  (See above, don't bother to flute the edges)

Filling
5 thick slices bacon (we used applewood smoked) cut up
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 bunch turnip greens - coarsely chopped
1 small/medium summer squash, thinly sliced into 1/2 rounds
1 T minced fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste


Cook bacon pieces over medium heat until crisped, but not over-browned.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.  Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until softened.  Add the turnip greens and squash and cook over medium heat until just cooked through, stopping before the squash gets too soft.  Add salt and pepper to taste (careful with the salt, the bacon and the cheese in the crust will add quite a bit) and stir in the basil.  Turn the vegetables into the crust and bake over a cookie sheet to catch any drips for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is beginning to turn a light golden brown and the filling has cooked down.  Let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.


Here is the haul for week 16.  The week brought a huge amount and variety.  It was great to get some more corn before the season ends.  They were small, very sweet, tender ears.  There was also a head of lettuce.  I was actually happy to see it so I guess I'm over the Spring lettuce overload syndrome!