Celery Fennel Soup

Celery is usually so benign.  When I got my first bunch from the farm, I realized how much flavor it really should have.   I got challenged to make a celery dish, and was craving soup - so here's what happened.  

What you need:  Celery - about 10 ribs cut into 1-2 inch pieces
                           Fennel - 2 small or 1 large bulb - cut into 1-2 inch sections
                           Garlic - 5-6 cloves whole
                           olive oil - 3-4 tbsp
                           Salt & Pepper 1 -2 tsp.
                            4 red potatoes - peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
                            6 cups chicken broth
                           Juice from half a lemon
                           1/2 cup of half and half.


Heat your oven to 350. Then, cut your veggies and put em in a roasting pan with the garlic.  Toss with oil and salt and roast for about 45 minutes, until they get a little brownish around the corners. While they roast, cook your taters in the chicken broth until tender, maybe 15 minutes.  Take the broth & potatoes off the heat.  When the veggies are nice and roasted, put them in with the potatoes and let the whole thing cool for a few minutes.  Transfer to blender in batches - don't burn yourself, it hurts.  If you want no celery strings, use a strainer when you put it back in the pot.  Then bring the concoction to a boil, add lemon juice and half & half, re-season to taste. 

Fennel Dill Hummus

When I saw the fennel in the CSA box on Tuesday I became very excited. I knew exactly how to put that veg in my belly.... Here's a recipe I whipped up (literally) using the lil' fennel babies of Rio Gozo Farm. 

Fennel Dill Dip

2 c. Fennel bulbs

2 T. Garlic scape or fresh green garlic

2 T. Green onion

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 c. olive oil

1 t. cumin

2 T. fresh dill weed

3 T. Tahini 

salt n' pepper

Chop fennel lengthwise and clean.  Boil or steam for approximately 5 minutes.  In a blender or food processor combine fennel, garlic, onion, lemon juice, olive oil and lemon.  Puree until creamy.  Pour into a serving dish and add cumin, dill, tahini, salt and pepper, stir well.  Chill if desired or eat it all up at once with last week's kohlrabi!!!

Posted by Amber and Ventura Locavore

Dandelion Filled Beet Ravioli

We made ravioli out of the ingredients from this week's box. This was no ordinary pasta night at the farm, so don't think we're the idyllic DYI farm house making homemade pasta every night. We're not. It was time consuming, but totally fun and we used up 1/2 the ingredients from the CSA in one go. Here's what we used: Beets (for the pasta), Dandelion Greens, Fennel, Leeks, Chard (for the filling), Parsley (for the sauce). If you make the dough and the filling a few hours ahead then the main work of rolling out the pasta and making the ravioli happens just before dinner.

Ingredients For the Filling

2 Tbsp Olive oil or butter

Dandelion Greens, 1 bunch chopped

Chard, 1 bunch chopped

Fennel, 1 bulb finely chopped

Leeks, 1 or 2 finely diced

Cheese of your choice (blue or gorgonzola goes nicely with the bitter greens)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

(Prepare the filling ahead and let it cool)

Sauté the leeks and fennel in the butter or oil on medium- low heat to caramelize. (you could add a dash of white wine or balsamic reduction)

Add the chopped greens and cook until softened. The longer you cook your dandelion, the less bitter.

Mix the sautéed veggies with the cheese (we used a food processor) and salt and pepper to taste.

For the Pasta

(make ahead, it will need to rest for 2 hours)

Beets (1/2 cup, 2-3 beets)

2 tsp olive oil

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Salt

Semolina flour, for storage

Boil the beets until soft, drain, peel and purée

Add eggs and yolk to purée and process until combined. Add flour and 1 heaping tsp salt and process only until dough comes together (20 secs)

Transfer to a well floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes). Your dough should not be sticky, if it is add more flour.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 1-2 hours.

Rolling out the Pasta:

Cut dough into 8 pieces and flatten into an oblong shape slightly thinner than the pasta machine's widest setting (number 1). You can roll out Ravioli without a machine but we were having fun with our gadgets. Feed through the machine once. Fold into thirds and rotate 90 degrees. Repeat twice on same setting to smooth dough and increase it's elasticity.

Turn the dial to next smaller setting. Pass dough through twice, supporting it with your palm. Pass dough twice through finer settings until desired thickness (for us it was #7). You want the dough to be almost translucent and thin without falling apart. Dust with flour if it gets sticky. Flour is your friend. Use a dry brush to dust off the flour at the end.

Get your largest pot of water boiling now.

Cutting and filling the ravioli:

There are a lot of ways to cut your ravioli. Lay the rolled pasta on a cutting board and cut into desired shape. One way is to lay the rectangular strips down and dot the filling onto the dough evenly spaces. Place the next strip over the top, slice into square and crimp the edges firmly with the tines of a fork. Or you could cut small rectangles and fill each ravioli one by one.

Boil the ravioli in batches. The pasta should sink and then float to the surface when they are ready.

For the sauce:

I made a bechamel sauce of- cream, butter, flour to thicken, nutmeg, pinch of finely chopped rosemary and parsley, salt to taste. (you could also use grated parmesan or gruyere- think fancy mac and cheese)

Garnish the ravioli with parsley, take lots of photos to post on facebook.

Gloat immediately, and serve.

Celery and Fennel Salad with Preserved Lemons

Celery and Fennel? It's a bit redundant. When I don't have celery, I substitute fennel and vice versa. You may not find big romance with these two veggies, but they make good domestic partners. They like long waits in the vegetable drawer and spending quality time with their friends, citrus and parsley.

(Based on a recipe from Sunset Magazine)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped preserved lemon rind

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup extra- virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

1 large bunch celery, leaves trimmed and tough outer fibers stirpped

2 fennel bulbs, stalks and fronds discarded

1 cup Medjool dates

1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves

1. Stir together preserved lemon rind, 2 tbsp lemon juice, and the oil in a small bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if needed.

2. Slice celery stalks very thinly on the diagonal. Cut fennel bulbs in half lengthwise; cut out and discard cores. Thinly slice crosswise. Pit dates and cut into slivers. Combine with celery, fennel, and parsley in a large bowl.

3. Add dressing and toss to coat.

Here's another recipe, with citrus and parmesan.

Celery and Fennel Salad from New York Time's author, Mark Bittman

In love with Fennel

Valentine's day has come and gone, but while we're on the subject of LOVE, let's talk about Fennel.

Along with most of my favorite foods, fennel originates in the land of lovers, the Mediterranean. In ancient Greece it was called marathon and it's stalk was used by Prometheus to steal fire from the gods and give it to mankind.

Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) is a hardy perennial. In southern California it is considered an invasive, non-native plant; you may have seen this wild sister growing along roadsides near the coast with her intensely aromatic fruit waving her feathery fronds- coarse & unrefined without any hipped up bulb.

At Rio Gozo Farm we grow one of the cultivars of Florence Fennel - known for its white swollen bulb that can be braised, sautéed, grilled, or made into a gratin; however, let's not neglect fennel's other fine attributes. The seeds (or fruit) smell like anise and are often used as a flavoring in Italian meatballs or enjoyed as a breath freshener after Indian food. The leaves can be used in teas or tossed in salads while the stems are good juiced or used in stocks. Fennel pollen is a specialty food and I hope it makes its way into the share. Gozo farmers are more than happy to start a fennel renaissance through Rio Gozo Farm Ventura CSA. Who's in?

It's going to be a marathon, get your fennel fires ready!

Recipes:

My favorite fennel recipe is a fennel gratin from Alice Water's book Chez Panisse Vegetables.

There are a lot of fennel gratin recipes on the web, try a few.

-how could you go wrong with caramelized vegetables baked with cream and browned with parmesan and breadcrumbs?

Click here for more information on fennel with recipes

Farm Magic

A trip to the farm is always better than I imagine it will be. It's not that I imagine it will be dull, exactly. It's just that I never anticipate getting as much incredible knowledge and brilliant ideas as I invariably do, and yesterday was no exception.

I was at the farm yesterday when Liz shared her ketchup with me. Homemade ketchup is a revelation. It tastes so much more fresh and the individual flavors are much more distinct than in the store-bought varieties. Liz had made two varieties, and they were both fabulous - deep intense flavors that would have been luscious with a burger, or just about anything else you could cook up.

Lucky for me, I had a tip that Jamie Oliver has a great ketchup recipe in Jamie at Home, so I looked it up. The good news here is that we are getting many of the ingredients in our CSA boxes, so there isn't much to add to make it all come together. Ketchup is also easy to can (with all the vinegar, you don't have to worry so much), so you can make up a big batch and shelve it for your next barbecue party!

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 a fennel bulb, chopped (or, presumably, one small bulb)

1 stick of celery, chopped

olive oil

a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 a fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

a handful fresh basil, stalks separated from leaves

1 Tbs coriander seeds

2 cloves

1 tsp black pepper

sea salt

2 lbs tomatoes, chopped

3/4 C + 2 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/3 C brown sugar

Put all ingredients, onion through sea salt, into a large pan and saute on low for 10 - 15 mins.

Add tomatoes and 1 1/2 C water and bring to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

Add basil leaves then blend the sauce in a food processor. Force the pulp through a fine mesh sieve twice. Place sauce into a clean pan and add vinegar and sugar. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce becomes the consistency of ketchup.

- Christiana Thomas

Easiest and Most Delicious Fennel

Ad Hoc at Home is one of my current favorite cookbooks. It is perfect for CSA life: family style cooking if you were related to Thomas Keller and he was thinking about how to make everything your grandmother made taste better. The techniques, ingredients and ideas are all wonderful and give a glimpse into the unending simplicity and complexity involved in elevating the best fresh ingredients. The caramelized fennel recipe is awesome. I know, I know, I run the risk of seeming to be blown away by everyone's ideas about what to do with fennel except for my own.

After eating fennel all winter long and thinking I had approached every conceivable use, we were treated to a heart breakingly beautiful and delicious fennel cheesecake at Christiana's. Having had some time to recover from what can only be described as a fennel revelation, I found Tim Kilcoyne's Fennel Confit with Fennel Frond Banga Cauda at the recent Outstanding in the Field event to be yet another. Now, with Thomas Keller's deceptively simple preparation, I've come to believe that there are no end of truly magic options for the licorice tasting bulbs that work quite well roasted with chicken, grilled, worked into boullabaisse, or shaved and served raw. What is completely amazing here, even in contrast to Christiana and Tim's brilliance, is that Ad Hoc uses only three ingredients! There is no cream cheese to hide behind. For that matter, there is not even a grilled meyer lemon. This is a GREAT quick and easy side to complement anything and use up your weekly fennel.

2 medium fennel bulbs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Canola Oil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut off the fennel stalks and trim the core and the tough outer layer from each bulb. Cut the fennel lengthwise in half and then cut into quarter inch wide wedges. Add the fennel to the boiling water and cook until crisp tender, about 30 minutes. (The fennel will be cooked again, so be careful not to overcook it). Drain the fennel and pat dry on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat some canola oil over medium high heat in a frying pan that will hold the fennel wedges in a single layer. Add the fennel, cut side down, and cook to caramelize the wedges, 2 to 3 minutes per each cut side. Drain on paper towels and serve.

- Jet Doye

Fennel Cheesecake

Ever since I first thought to make a butternut squash cheesecake, with practically every vegetable I get, I wonder, "will it cheesecake?" When it comes to fennel, the answer is a resounding YES. But I didn't want a recipe that would mask the fennel - cover it's delicate flavors up under mounds of sugar and cream. I wanted something that would honor the fennel, and show off its anise-y goodness in all its glory.

I promise you that you can not miss the fennel flavor in the recipe below. Also, it's amazingly delicious!

Fennel Cheesecake

3 8oz packages cream cheese (softened)

1 1/4 C sugar

1 C fennel puree

1 lemon

5 eggs

1 C cream

pinch salt

1 pkg graham crackers

4 Tbs butter, melted

1 tsp fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 325. Crush the graham crackers, add melted butter and seeds, and press into the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan.

Make the fennel puree. I did this via a completely frankenstein method, because I was trying a bunch of things to see what worked best. What I recommend is this: dice the fennel and add to a saucepot with some water and 2 Tbs butter. Bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer. Cook until the fennel gets pretty soft, maybe 20 minutes or so, and add water as needed throughout. Your goal is to boil off most of the liquid by the time the fennel is soft enough to blend so that you are adding just the fennel and maybe a tsp or so of concentrated water to the blender. Blend with the juice of the lemon.

In a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese and sugar until soft and well-incorporated. Add puree, and continue mixing. Add eggs, one at a time, then cream and salt. Pour mix into prepared pan.

Bake for 60 minutes. When done baking, leave in the oven with the door shut for another hour. Let set for at least 4 hours in your refrigerator.

- Christiana Thomas

New Member Gets Inspired

This is an enthusiastic response from one of our new CSA members, Jet Doye. She is quickly learning the tricks of the CSA and how to menu plan to make the most of her produce each week.

Beets and blood oranges with mint and orange flower water

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Servings: 6

Chef Suzanne Goin she served a similar dish at her restaurant, Lucques, made with tangerines in place of the blood oranges, so this could be more local with fruit from Friends Ranches or from Churchill, and Ojai Olive Oil.

3 bunches small to medium beets

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons best quality olive oil, divided

Kosher salt

5 large blood oranges (or tangerines from Ojai)

2 tablespoons finely diced shallot

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

a few drops of Orange Flower water (I have some that I plan to drop off on Friday)

Freshly ground black pepper

12 mint leaves, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the greens off the beets, leaving about half an inch of the stems attached. (Save the leaves for sauteeing later.) Clean the beets well, and toss them with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt.

Place the beets in a roasting pan with a splash of water in the bottom. Cover tightly with foil and roast about 40 minutes, until tender when pierced. (The roasting time will depend on the size and type of the beet.)

When the beets are done, carefully remove the foil. Let them cool , then peel them by slipping off the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets into one-fourth inch thick slices.

Slice the stem and bottom ends from four of the blood oranges. Stand the oranges on one end and, following the contour of the fruit with your knife, remove the peel and the cottony white pith. Work from top to bottom, rotating the fruit as you go. Slice the oranges thinly into 8 - 10 pinwheels, and discard any seeds.

Juice the remaining blood orange. Combine the diced shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, one fourth cup blood orange juice and one-half teaspoon salt in a small bowl and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, and a drop or two of orange flower water (be careful, it can be overpowering; a little goes a long way). Taste for balance and seasoning. Carefully toss the beets in a bowl with half the vinaigrette and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Place one-third of the beets on six chilled plates, loosely in a random pattern. Continue arranging the oranges, mint and remaining beets, layering the ingredients, letting them intertwine but not not pile up on one another too much. You should have a beautiful, natural looking mosaic effect. Spoon the rest of the vinaigrette over the salads and sprinkle a few drops of orange flower water over each one.

Grilled Flank Steak with Creamy Horseradish Beets, Sauteed Beet Greens and Farro

This could work very well as a vegetarian menu as the grilled flank steak could be easily ommitted. The Farro makes this a decidedly non-local menu, but Elizabeth had mentioned a local Farro Source, that I've since forgotten.

Total time: 3 Hours

Active time: 1 Hour

Servings: 6

Beets

8 medium beets with green tops

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup lowfat Greek-style yogurt

1/3 cup freshly grated horseradish

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced shallot

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the greens off the beets, leaving about half an inch of the stems attached. (Save the leaves for sauteeing later.) Clean four the beets well, and toss them with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Reserve 4 additional beets for another use. As an alternative, you could purchase red swiss chard and four beets in order to yield enough greens for this recipe.

Place the beets in a roasting pan with a splash of water in the bottom. Cover tightly with foil and roast about 40 minutes, until tender when pierced. (The roasting time will depend on the size and type of the beet.)

When the beets are done, carefully remove the foil. Let them cool , then peel them by slipping off the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets into a rough one-quarter to one-half inch dice.

Whisk yogurt, horseradish, lemon juice, and minced shallot in a medium bowl. Add beets and toss to coat. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature at least twenty minutes. Can be made 2 hours ahead and left to stand at room temperature.

While the steak is cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add reserved beet greens ; saute until wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 3 minutes.

Flank Steak

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 pound flank steak

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

nonstick spray

Whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, chopped rosemary, minced garlic, and ground black pepper in a glass dish large enough to hold the steak. Add steak; turn to coat. Cover and chill at least one hour and up to two hours.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Remove steak from marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Grill steak to desired doneness, about five minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 - 10 minutes.

Farro

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 1/2 cups semi-pearled Farro

3 cups good quality chicken stock, preferably homemade

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed, small sauce pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot but not smoking, add shallots and cook until they are transluscent, about six minutes. Add Farro and saute for another 2-3 minutes until all of the wheat is coated with oil.

Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 - 25 minutes until the Farro is tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed.

To serve, slice steak thinly, crosswise (against the grain). Place a bed of Farro on each plate, then add beat greens and steak slices. Cover everything with the creamy horseradish beats, which make the most incredible pink, purple and red accent to the dish.

On Abundance

Abundance

"You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough"

William Blake

You've had more than enough fennel for the last few weeks. But did you really have to villainify the stuff, poor guy. A couple of times we found fennel sulking in an empty box left behind, and we had to give it the pep talk. Chin up little brother, hiding underneath your fronds you have great kitchen presence. We baked you with melted gruyere, diced and sliced you fresh in a salad, wowed our friends on the grill at the 4th of July barbecue. You were GREAT!

I'm going to miss fennel for the rest of the summer. The kingly sweet corn, though mighty and regal in all of its proud glory, may upstage fennel in a popularity contest, but I've always championed the underdog. Or perhaps a little absence will make the heart grow fronder by fall.

Recipe of the Week

Fennel, the kitchen star of the week.  Fennel, is the veggie with the umbrella like fronds and ivory hipped bulb.  It smells a bit like anise but mellows with some flame.  I really like grilling fennel.  Something about the smokey flavor adds depth and complexity that the sautee does not.  

Preparation:

Simply cut the tops off the fennel.  Set a side olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixed and have some salt and pepper on hand.  

Heat your grill to medium high.

Instructions:

Once the grill is to temperature, kill the heat and put the fennel bulbs on the grill.  Gently brush some olive oil on and follow up with salt and pepper to taste.  Close the grill and return in five minutes.  Then flip the fennel and repeat the oil, salt and pepper.  

How do you know when it's done?  You should be able to drive a fork through the heart of the bulb with ease.  The fennel should not be on the grill for more than ten to fifteen minutes.  Just like all green veggies,  the bulb should illustrate a deeper hue of its true color when cooked.