The CSA cookbook : no-waste recipes for cooking your way through a community supported agriculture box, farmers' market, or backyard bounty

368 Pages·2015·37.25 MB·English

by  Linda Ly

THE CSA
COOKBOOK
NO-WASTE RECIPES FOR COOKING YOUR WAY THROUGH A COMMUNITY SUPPORTED
AGRICULTURE BOX, FARMERS’ MARKET, OR BACKYARD BOUNTY
LINDA LY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILL TAYLOR
Contents
Preface
Introduction
1 the basics
Pantry and Kitchen Notes
Ingredients
Tools
Don’t Spoil Them Rotten
Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Stock
A Primer on Pesto
2 tomatoes & peppers
Spicy Minty Tomato Sauce Infused with Tomato Leaves
Tomato Leaf Pesto
Spicy Fermented Summer Salsa
Roasted Cherry Tomato Relish
Tomato Soup Topped with Olive Oil–Toasted Pine Nuts
Skillet Eggs Poached in Serrano Tomato Sauce
Heirloom Tomato Galette with Tomato Leaf Pesto
Peak-of-Summer Roasted Ratatouille
Southern Hot Pepper Vinegar
Italian Hot Chile Oil
Blistered Padrόn Peppers and White Onions
Bacon and Parmesan Stuffed and Roasted Baby Bells
Ginger-Spiced Chicken Soup with Wilted Pepper Leaves
Grilled Pepper, Peach, and Portobello Stack
3 leafy greens
Kale Stem Pesto
Flaming Kale Chips
Spring Bulgur Salad with Kale Buds
Zuppa Toscana
Kale, Mushroom, and Black Bean Quesadillas
Chard Stalk Hummus
Chard and Cheddar Frittata
Swiss Chard Summer Roll with Citrus Soy–Marinated Tofu
Gruyère Grilled Cheese with Chard and Caramelized Onion
Stuffed Collard Greens
Down-Home Collard Greens
Potlikker Noodles with Collard Greens
Roasted Romanesco and Broccolini Salad with Wilted Arugula
Sriracha-Roasted Broccoli
Broccoli Green and Baked Falafel Wrap
Kickin’ Broccoli Mac and Cheese
4 peas & beans
Pea Shoot Salad with Radish and Carrot
Stir-Fried Snow Peas and Pea Shoots with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
Fresh Pea Soup
Minted Citrus Spring Peas
Three Bean Summer Salad
Pan-Charred Beans with Bean Leaf Pesto
Balsamic-Roasted Green Beans
Yardlong Bean Curry with Wilted Spinach
Fava Leaf Salad with Citrus, Feta, and Walnuts
No-Stir Fava Bean Risotto
Charred Fava Pods with Parmesan
5 bulbs & stems
Fennel Frond and Ginger Pesto
Fennel, Apple, and Celery Slaw
Fennel and Seafood Stew
Caramelized Fennel and Onion
Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw
Kohlrabi Home Fries with Thyme Aioli
Kohlrabi Green and Wild Mushroom Ragoût with Polenta
Leek Green, Wild Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Crostini
Leek and Bacon Breakfast Pizza
Leek Green and Saucy Shrimp Stir-Fry
Seared Scallops over Melted Leeks with Tarragon Butter Sauce
Scallion Soup
Grilled Green Onions with Chile Lime Marinade
Green Onion Pancake with Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce
Oyakodon-Style Omelette with Spring Onions
6 roots & tubers
Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with Creamy Goat Cheese
Skillet Greens and Bacon Bits with Pomegranate Gastrique
Beetza Beetza
Shaved Raw Beet Salad with Warm Pecan Dressing
Rosemary-Roasted Carrots on a Pillow of Pesto
Carrot Top Salsa
Vietnamese Carrot and Daikon Pickles
Carrot, Leek, Beef, and Barley Soup
Quick-Pickled Sweet ’n’ Spicy Radish Pods
Portuguese Sausage and Radish Green Soup
Soba Noodles with Spring Root Veggies
Butter-Braised Radishes and Radish Greens with Farro
Oven-Baked Potato Parmesan Fries
Hasselback Potatoes
Smashed Red Potatoes Heaped on Roasted Portobellos
Savory Sweet Potato Hummus
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup with Maple Syrup
Sweet Potato Spears with Mustard and Thyme
Spicy Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Leaves
Saigon Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
7 melons & gourds
Watermelon Rind and Jalapeño Pickles
Watermelon Rind Kimchi
Watermelon, Tomato, and Basil Salad with Tangy Red Onion
Stir-Fried Watermelon Rind
Sweet Japanese Quick-Pickled Cucumbers
Spicy Korean Quick-Pickled Cucumbers
California Breakfast Bowl with Cucumber Sprouts
Pan-Fried Cucumber in Honey Sesame Sauce
Four Ways to Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Zucchini Crisps
Sicilian Squash Shoot Soup
Gingered Butternut Bisque
Squash Blossom and Roasted Poblano Tacos
Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Tomatoes, Pesto, and Pine Nuts
Bottom-of-the-Box Bibimbap
Drunken Pumpkin Chili
Autumn Acorn Squash Stuffed with Kale, Cranberries, and Walnuts
8 flowers & herbs
Chive Blossom Vinegar
Basil Blossom Vinegar with Orange Peel
Thai Basil Pesto
Nasturtium Pesto
Pickled Nasturtium Pods (AKA Poor Man’s Capers)
Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus
Cilantro Pepita Pesto
Chimichurri the Way an Argentine Makes It
“All In” Herb Dressing
Marinated Feta with a Mess of Herbs
High-Fives & Hugs
Resources
Metric Conversions
About the Author
Index
preface
Growing up in an Asian household,
I’ve seen and eaten my share of
somewhat strange foods: pepper
leaves, pea shoots, broccoli flowers,
and sweet potato vines, not to mention
the nose-to-tail portions of nearly
every animal that appeared on my
plate. Of course, they didn’t seem
strange to me at the time; they were
just what’s for dinner. Most of our
meals were vegetable-centric, due in
part to a sense of thrift and the food
culture in my family’s homeland. In
their belief that no food should ever
be wasted (“Because there are
children starving in Vietnam!” they’d
say), my family fully utilized every
part of the plant they brought home
from the market.

This was all before the back-to-the-land movement in urban backyards and
the farm-to-table trend in fancy restaurants. We were eco-friendly before it was
even a “thing,” and it’s not that we were especially ahead of our time. My family
lived through war-era Vietnam, where supplies were scarce. Since refrigeration
was a luxury, they shopped as needed, every day, from one of the many farmers’
stalls down the street. Food was always fresh, because that was the only way my
parents knew how to cook and eat. They couldn’t afford a microwave in the
early days of life in America, so they cooked the old-fashioned way: on a stove,
with a bevy of pots and pans. Even after a long day at work, my parents would
dutifully prepare dinner as a way to wind down and catch up with each other;
many a chatter and debate was had in the kitchen over a sink full of salad greens.
While our neighbors were dishing up blue boxes of macaroni and cheese in
less than ten minutes, we were meticulously rinsing rice, washing herbs,
chopping vegetables, and steaming whole fish, head and all. There was no such
thing as compost because we hardly had anything left over to compost. If it came
with the plant, it was prepared and eaten.
Coming from a culture where food was a celebration of life and meat was a
special-occasion splurge, my family sat down every night to home-cooked meals
that consisted of one part meat and three parts vegetables, long before First Lady
Michelle Obama ever unveiled the new food “pyramid” that encouraged
something similar.