Fagioli del Papa and Vegetable Sauté

Original recipe from Anna Stable

Serves 2 as a main course

• Ingredients
  E.V.O.O.

• 2 cups cooked Christmas beans (about 1 cup uncooked beans)

• 3 shallots thinly sliced

• 1-2 garlic cloves finely chopped

• 1 large zucchini, sliced

• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced

• 2 tomatoes, cut into sections lengthwise

• ¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped

• Salt and pepper

If starting with uncooked beans, soak beans overnight. The next day, add to a pot with water, making sure the beans are covered by about 2 inches of water. Add generous salt, olive oil, a couple bay leaves, half an onion, and a couple cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil for about a minute, then lower heat to a minimal simmer. Cook uncovered until the beans are cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on the freshness of the beans.

Directions
1. Heat 3-4 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan, and add the shallots and garlic.

2. Sauté for 2-3 minutes; add the zucchini and peppers, continue cooking another minute

3. Add the cooked beans and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

4. Toss in the tomatoes, and allow to soften slightly, about 1 minute.

5. Season with salt and pepper, and toss in the chopped parsley. Plate and garnish with extra fresh parsley and drizzle with some extra virgin oil and balsamic reduction

Roasted Peppers & Sardines Sandwich

Makes about 2 or 3 open-face sandwiches

Original recipe

Ingredients

• A couple thick slices of good bread (Loaves from Winner have the perfect structure for sandwiches)

• 4 bell peppers, preferably a mix of warm colors

• 1 clove garlic, diced

• Juice and zest of ½ a lemon

• Splash of sherry vinegar

• Salt to taste

• Generous amount of good E.V.O.O.

• ¼ cup chopped parsley

• Tinned boneless skinless sardines

• ¼ cup whole parsley leaves, dressed in lemon juice, E.V.O.O. & salt

Directions

1. Generously drizzle olive oil on the bread, and toast to desired toastiness. Optional - rub a clove of garlic on it after toasted

2. Roast peppers directly on the burner over an open flame. The flame should kiss the peppers. Use metal-tipped tongs to rotate as you go. They should turn black, which is good because this will be easier to peel later. The whole pepper should roast within 10 minutes.

3. Place the roasted peppers on a bowl, and cover them to steam. Once they're cooled, peel, de-seed, and chop them.

4. Add garlic, lemon juice & zest, splash of vinegar, salt, olive oil, and chopped parsley to the peppers.

5. Spoon onto the toasted bread, add sardines, black pepper, lemon zest, and dressed parsley leaves.

Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika

Member Rebecca Silverman is lucky enough to have a food blogger friend. She says: This is my favorite recipe from my friends blog. I make it once a year. It’s wonderful. In my variation, I always use sherry (it really dials in that Andalusian flavor), I never take the skins of after blackening the tomatoes and peppers (the skin doesn’t bother me) and when i serve it I drizzle a little bit of a smoked olive oil on top. Served this way with the oil, it really tastes like it’s restaurant quality and truly an easy soup to make.

Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika

INGREDIENTS

• 5 red, yellow or orange bell peppers

• 7 large ripe tomatoes

• A big glug Olive oil

• 1 Onion, chopped

• sea salt to taste (smoked sea salt is great here if you’ve got it)

• 3 large cloves Garlic, chopped

• 1/4 cup Ground Almonds

• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika

• A glug or two of Sherry

• Soup stock (preferably homemade) as needed (I used about a cup)

PREPARATION

1. Place the whole peppers on a baking sheet under a hot broiler.  Check them after 5 minutes to see if they have blackened.  If not check them every 3 minutes and when they have turned black, flip them with tongs to blacken on the next side.  Repeat this process to blacken them on a third side as well. They will be much easier to peel if they are evenly blackened on all sides.  For photos of this process click here.  When they are done, place the peppers in a bowl to cool off.  Leave the broiler on.

2. Core the tomatoes and place them on the same baking sheet that you used for the peppers. Broil the tomatoes for five to six minutes, or until they’re blackened.  Using a pair of tongs, flip them over and blacken them on the other side.  While the tomatoes are blackening you can start the onions and garlic stewing.

3. In a large soup pot start a big glug of olive oil heating on medium flame.  When the oil is hot, add the onion and let it sweat with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue frying,  just until the onions begin to turn a pale gold (another 5 minutes or so).  Add the almond meal and smoked paprika and continue to fry, stirring for another 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, blackened skins and any juices from the baking sheet included.  Break the tomatoes up a bit to release the juices.  Pour in a glug or two of sherry as well.  Increase the heat to medium high and let the whole lot stew a bit while you deal with the roasted peppers.

4. By now the peppers should be cool enough to handle.  Working over the bowl to catch the juices, pull the core out of the peppers and remove their blackened skins.   I just toss the cores and skins back into the bowl, along with any seeds that need to be shaken off.  Throw each pepper into the pot as you finish working with it.  You will end up with a bowl of skins, seeds and juices.  Strain the contents of the bowl through a fine mesh sieve into the pot so that all of those juices make it into your soup.

5. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, food processor or blender.  Add soup stock as needed to achieve the desired thickness.  Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Summer Vegetable and Garlic Scape Catalan Paella

Garlic Scapes are one of the most fleeting, exciting crops to come from Windflower Farm every season. Member Salome Blignaut shares a recipe for using them and more!

This endlessly versatile paella, adapted from a NYT recipe by Perla Meyers circa 1989, is a great  for using any number of CSA summer vegetables: garlic scapes substitute really well for the traditional garlic, the recipe can be loaded up with onion, green onion or scallions as you please, summer squash does just as well as zucchini, and it’s fine if you don’t have bell peppers on hand. Chorizo or chicken sausage is also a wonderful addition, and it can be made spicy to taste. It’s simple to prepare and so satisfying, and makes great leftovers.

Note on paella pans: I make this recipe without a paella pan and find that it’s always great even if I can't get a soccarat. If you want to try for the traditional soccarat (crispy rice at the bottom), choose a heavy cast-iron pot or an oversized stainless steel pot (to increase the surface area the rice is cooking on). Make sure to leave the dish undisturbed during the final simmering period, and simmer at medium-low, not too low.

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp olive oil
1 small fresh green chili pepper, finely minced / or sub red pepper flakes or dash of cayenne
1 large onion, thinly sliced or use 1 bunch CSA green onions (bulbs and stalks separated)
(optional) 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
(optional) 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
2 garlic scapes, sliced into thin rounds / sub 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves / sub dried thyme
1 medium zucchini or summer squash, trimmed and cubed (opt: if leaving out bell peppers, add another squash or zucchini)
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped / sub a can of diced tomato
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups paella rice
2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
Lemon juice for garnish
Finely minced fresh parsley for garnish

OPTIONAL ADD INS:
Sliced green onions
Sliced scallions
Chorizo or chicken sausage, sliced in rounds and pan-seared

PREPARATION

1. In a large deep, 12-inch iron pot (or skillet with lid), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chili pepper, onion and bell peppers, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the onion is lightly browned.

2. Add the garlic scapes / garlic, paprika, thyme, zucchini / summer squash, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Stir in the rice and chicken stock or bouillon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Taste and correct the seasoning. Garnish with finely minced parsley.

4. Serve the paella hot as an accompaniment to roasted or grilled meats or as a light Sunday supper, directly from the skillet, accompanied by a well-seasoned green salad. The paella can also be served at room temperature, doused with fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of fruity olive oil.

CREDIT: The original recipe by Perla Meyers is no longer available in the New York Times Cooking section, but was featured in the NYT on July 30, 1989:
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/30/magazine/food-skillet-skills.html