Monday, January 17, 2011

Harvest Monday - January 17, 2011

Yay, there was something different coming from the garden last week! The first harvest of mâche from the volunteer patch in the garden. This is mostly Golden Corn Salad (Valerianella eriocarpa) and a few rosettes of Gala mâche. That's not a big salad bowl full of greens, just an individual soup bowl, so I added a few handfuls of pea sprouts from the farmers market and dressed it all with some balsamico and extra virgin olive oil for a simple side salad.



The third head of Romanesco broccoli from the garden is the prettiest one yet. I managed to harvest it before it got too big, although some of the lowest florets on the stalk were starting to elongate and open up just a bit, those are the leafier ones bunched together on the right. I used the previous head of Romanesco in a pasta dish. The head was cut into bite sized pieces and braised in a couple of cups of turkey stock spiked with some fish sauce and garlic, then tossed with some seared sweet onions and sauteed chanterelle mushrooms (tis the season around here) a couple tablespoons of crème fraiche, a touch of truffle butter and pasta. And don't forget the parmigiano!



Last week I also used most of one Marina di Chioggia squash that I had harvested in the fall. Part of it was used to make Roasted Butternut Squash with Pancetta and Chiles - a recipe from the cookbook A16 by Nate Appleman. That cookbook is one of my husband's favorites, not that he actually cooks, no, not really, just about never, but he loves to peruse the pages and point and plead - ooh make that, please... Well, I have to admit, he's got a pretty good eye for a good recipe, so I usually humor him. And he was right about that recipe, it's delicious.

I used more of the squash to make Crusted Pumpkin Wedges with Soured Cream - a recipe from the cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.  The "crust" is grated parmigiano, bread crumbs, herbs and lemon zest. That dish turned out to be a winner also (I can pick 'em also honey!). That cookbook is a new one in my library and I think it's going to become a favorite. I had never even heard of it before last week when it mysteriously came in the mail. No note and no recognizable return address (I don't know anyone in South Bend, Indiana). And stranger yet, it's a British imprint that's not been adapted for American kitchens. Hmmm, where did it come from? It looks like a winner, whoever sent it knows what I like... It's full of recipes using fresh seasonal vegetables, mostly Mediterranean inspired but also some Asian and a few other inspirations from around the world - that pretty much describes my usual style of cooking. My husband had the mystery figured out in no time - "let me call my sister". Yup, my SIL, a resident of Toronto, had spied it in a list of Top 10 Cookbooks in the newspaper there, ordered it online and had it sent directly.  Thanks Judi! Oh, and the recipe for pear crostini with goat cheese was a hit also.

Yet one more dish that I made last week with some of that squash and some of the celery root that came from the garden last year was Roasted Winter Vegetables in Puff Pastry, a recipe from the San Franciso Chronicle (lots of great recipes there, not surprising considering what a foodie town SF is). That and a salad of spinach and roasted beets with slivered toasted almonds made a fabulous dinner.

Here's the totals for the past week:

Portuguese Dairyman's kale - 5.5 oz.
Golden Corn Salad - 1.25 oz.
Romanesco broccoli - 3 lb.

The total harvest for the week was - 3 lb., 7.25 oz.
The total for the year is - 6 lb., 6.25 oz.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne on her blog Daphne's Dandelions, head on over there to see what other garden bloggers have been harvesting and cooking up  lately.

18 comments:

  1. You're lucky getting a surprise parcel of 'Plenty'! He writes a column called the New Vegetarian in the Guardian - here's Saturday's link - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/15/stuffed-peppers-swede-gruyere-recipe
    I always find his recipes interesting, even though I'm not a vegetarian, just someone who likes vegetables!

    Your green salad looks delicious - I haven't grown any mache this year, a big mistake.

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  2. Your broccoli is absolutely beautiful!

    I just can't imagine why I'm so hungry after reading your post :)

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  3. That mache looks delicious! Your broccoli is also very pretty!! I'm jealous! =0)

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  4. chaiselongue, I'm very lucky! It's hard to believe that his books have not been published for the US market, Plenty is such an inspiring book for a vegetable lover like me. It's the type of vegetarian book where only a hardcore carnivore would notice the lack of meat. Thanks very much for the link to his Guardian column, I've bookmarked it so that I can return again and again.

    Mache is one of those wonderful vegetables that I like to let go to seed and self sow. It doesn't become weedy since the seeds don't germinate in warm soil. The self sown seeds germinate and grow just in time for a treat in the winter just when I want it. I'm trying to get it volunteering in various spots around the garden now.

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    Robin, thank you! Those beautiful whorls are a big reason why I like to grow it. And it's delicious too.

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    Holly, thanks! I feel like a proud parent...

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  5. Your harvest was beautiful! I love mache and surprisingly it grows well here during the winter. The Romanesco is like a piece of art -it's just stunning. The squash dishes sound delicious - I'll have to check out these recipes as I'm always looking for new ways to cook winter squash.

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  6. Beautiful! Your mache is way ahead of mine.

    Some of my British and Australian friends have been raving about Ottolenghi for a bit, but I've never read a recipe of his. I'm glad to hear that you've found Plenty inspiring--now I know I've got to get it!

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  7. I was interested to read that you had made the pumpkin recipe fromPlenty. I have this book and those wedges were the first recipe that I tried. We really enjoyed them too! You should also try the salad with chard, chick peas and carrots. Delicious!

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  8. Beautiful salad and cauliflower, I didn't know Romanesco would split into smaller clumps. When I saw my Romanesco cauliflower started to split a bit I thought it's getting ready to bolt, and I harvested it. Next time I know better, there's always something new to learn.

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  9. I got my mache out late, and yours looks pretty to me. And the roasted squash sounds yummy too. Last time I tossed some with olive oil and chipotle powder and that turned out well. I'll bet the pancetta kicks it up a notch! I believe I have a recipe like that, I need to find it and try it.

    That head of brocolli is absolutely stunning!

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  10. A Kitchen Garden, That is surprising that mache would do so well in your warm winters. Do you have a difficult time getting to germinate? Isn't Romanesco amazing looking, I think that's reason enough to grow it!

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    Christina, I wonder if the warmer weather down your way slows the mache? Your British and Australian friends are raving with good reason, you need to get that book!

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    Funkbunny, How funny that we both zeroed in on the same recipe to try first! And the chickpea, chard and carrot dish looks delicious too. It should be great made with the golden chard growing in the garden now.

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    Mac, the Romanesco tends to mature from the bottom of the main stalk up. The stems of lowest florets on my plants start to elongate and the florets start to open up before the top of the head matures. I suppose I could cut the lowest florets off first and work up the stalk, but it's easiest to cut the whole head off since it's tough to get through the foliage without mangling the whole plant. And it would only prolong the harvest by a week or two anyway, once the head starts to mature it sizes up very quickly.

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    villager, Yum, smoky chipotle powder sounds like it would be great with winter squash. And yes, pancetta is great with the squash, but then, everything (almost) is better with bacon...

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  11. Wow I love the Golden Corn Salad, I have never head of it before. I must go and google it.

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  12. Beautiful harvests this week. The recipes have me hungry again even though I just ate breakfast! I have one last pumpkin left in storage and am trying to decide how best to use it - perhaps I need to track down the crusted pumpkin wedges with sour cream because it sounds delicious.

    My mache is ready for harvest. I need to get off my duff and do it! It makes such a great salad in the dark cold days of winter.

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  13. That broccoli is beautiful! It looks like clusters of conch (sp?) shells from the ocean! I've never seen a vegetable that pretty before... at least that I can recall. Very nice color too!

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  14. Your Romanesco broccoli is beautiful, thanks for introducing it to me. I'll be adding it to my list of seeds to try. :)

    ~Mary

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  15. Yum Michelle!

    I think my favorite posts are the ones in which you tell us about how you prepare your garden vegetables. Or maybe it's the ones in which you take us on a garden tour? Hmmm, now that i think about it i can't decide. Luckily i don't have to choose ; )

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  16. What a great gift. I love to try new recipes. Well as long as I have the ingredients on hand. I hate to shop, but love to cook.

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  17. Beautiful broccoli! I would love to grow Romancesco one of these days.

    Marc and I have really developed a taste for mache. I think I'll quite trying to grow lettuce during the wintertime and stick to mache.

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  18. That is a gorgeous head of broccoli. I am not familiar with that variety. You have outlined some yummy-sounding recipes there. How thoughtful of your sister to send a new recipe book unannounced. She obviously knows what you both like. Keep up your great garden documentation...it's always extremely impressive to me to stop by and see what's new.

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