Week 5: Fresh Pea Soup

Lots of good stuff in the share this week: Lettuces for salad, beets for roasting, onions for sauteing, summer squash for stuffing, more squash for roasting, and raspberries (yes!) for eating out of hand while cooking all that other stuff. Plus, a good friend gave us a taste of her CSA with a gift of some beautiful scallions and fennel and chard and herbs, in exchange for a couple of squash and some peas.

Let me tell you about the peas. Caboodle and I have shelled a good 10 pounds of peas over the past two weeks. We may have reached the end of the season, as the pea pods this week were positively enormous -- a tad overgrown, really -- with individual peas the size of chickpeas. Still, the peas were nibble-worthy raw, and even better in soup.

Split pea soup, made from dried peas, is definitely stick-to-your-ribs, cold-weather comfort food. I found fresh pea soup, on the other hand, to be something of a revelation: far lighter, more delicate, and quick to cook. As hot soups go, this is a plausible one for a summery day.

Fresh Pea Soup
(Inspired by Ina Garten)

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 medium carrot, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
4 cups vegetable stock
5 cups shelled fresh peas
2/3 cup chopped mint leaves (loosely packed)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the vegetables soften. Add the stock, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the peas, lower the heat, and simmer the soup until the peas are tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on size. Remove from the heat and add the mint.

Let the soup cool a couple of minutes, puree it in batches in a blender or food processor, and return it to the soup pot. Add the lemon, salt, and pepper, adjusting seasonings to taste. Reheat the soup if necessary, and serve hot, garnished with chive if desired. Serves 6.

Week 4: Minted Simple Syrup and Honeydew-Mint Sorbet

Oy, mint. Garden herb and invasive weed. We pulled up a patch of it years ago, and I haven't missed it much. Except ... every now and then I come across a good use for mint -- tabbouleh or this falafel and tzatziki combination  -- and I think: Maybe we could keep a container of mint growing outside. A small container. One that's quarantined from the actual garden.

The spearmint that came from the farm in our share tasted a lot better than whatever variety of mint we once grew. Spearmint, lime, sugar, and rum are the flavorings of a classic mojito. Drop the rum and add in cubes of honeydew and you have the makings of a refreshing melon salad. Freeze the honeydew and you are on your way to making a minty sorbet.

The real find of the week was the recipe for the minted simple syrup that flavors the sorbet. It's ideal for sweetening glasses of plain-brewed iced tea, and would no doubt be handy in all sorts of mixed drinks. You can swap out the mint to make other herb-infused syrups.

Minted Simple Syrup
(From Gourmet)

1.5 cups packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Chop the mint. Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer the syrup, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour the syrup through a fine sieve, pressing on the chopped leaves to extract as much liquid as possible, and cool. Makes about 1.25 cups.

Honeydew-Mint Sorbet
(Adapted from Gourmet, using the food-processor sorbet technique.)

6 to 8 cups frozen honeydew cubes (cut from 1/2 large melon)
About 1 cup minted simple syrup
Juice from 1/2 lime

Place half of the frozen melon, lime, and simple syrup in a food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade. Process until pureed and creamy, but not liquified, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Remove from the food processor and process the remaining ingredients the same way. Combine the two batches. Eat immediately or transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and freeze. Makes about 6 cups. If the sorbet freezes too hard for later scooping, allow it to sit at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes to soften before serving.

Week 3: Panko-Sage Cod and Quinoa Pilaf

Panko-Sage Cod, with Quinoa Pilaf and marinated radishes.

Sage is an herb that I strongly associate with autumn flavors (squash, pumpkin, Thanksgiving turkey) so I was momentarily stumped when it appeared in this week's share. The Programmer, ever helpful, suggested that I seek some sage advice (yes, you can groan), but in the end I found inspiration in my own recipe files.

I make variations of cod-and-crumbs all the time; sage -- which complements fish as well as roasted meats or poultry -- was a nice change from the oregano or basil that I typically use. I worked the rest of the sage into a quinoa pilaf and a spinach quiche, using up CSA zucchini and spinach, respectively.

As for the rest of this week's share, we're keeping up with the lettuce (plenty of salad); made marinated radishes; and made a pot of vegetarian chili with a second CSA zucchini. I've also been experimenting with honeydew and CSA mint.

Panko-Sage Cod
(Original recipe)

1.25 lbs boneless, skinless cod fillet
About 1 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup chopped sage leaves
1 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (optional; it aids clean-up) and lightly spray the foil with non-fat cooking spray. Lay the fish on the baking sheet. If the tail end is very thin, turn it under itself so the fillet is of an even thickness. Spread a light coating of mayonnaise over the fillet.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Lightly saute the sage for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the panko to the skillet and stir to combine with the sage and oil. Season the mixture to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Spoon the crumbs over the fish, pressing lightly into the mayonnaise so the crumbs adhere. Depending on the size of your fillet, you may have crumbs left over. Bake the fish for about 15 minutes, or until it is cooked through; the flesh should appear opaque when done. Serves 3 to 4.

Quinoa Pilaf
(Original recipe)

2 cups water (or broth)
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using broth)
1 cup red quinoa
1 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped sage leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup sliced brown mushrooms (cremini or baby portobello)
1 small zucchini, diced (about 1.5 cups)

Bring water and salt (or broth) to a boil. Add quinoa, lower heat and cook, covered, 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and saute about 5 minutes, or until they soften and begin to brown. Add sage leaves. Cook 2 minutes more, or until the leaves crisp a bit. Remove mixture from skillet and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms and zucchini until they soften and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Mix the vegetables into the quinoa and serve hot. The pilaf is also good the next day, with a bit of feta cheese mixed in.

Week 2 (Part 2): Pasta With Spinach and Peas; Sesame Noodles With Radish

Kit and Caboodle cannot live on salad alone. For that, we have pasta.

Fortunately, it's hard to go wrong with vegetables and pasta. We combined peas and spinach (both from this week's share) to make a Spring-y alternative to red sauce. Meanwhile, we used up a new bunch of CSA radishes in an Asian-inspired side dish to accompany grilled chicken and grilled romaine.

Pasta With Spinach and Peas

(Inspired by many recipes. I don't care for creamy sauces, but you could easily substitute heavy cream for the quarter-cup of water.)

1 pound dried pasta, any shape (I used penne)

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces fresh spinach leaves, washed well, roughly chopped if large

1.5 cups shelled fresh peas

1/4 cup water

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook and drain the pasta as usual. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large skillet with a lid over medium heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic for about a minute (do not let it brown), then stir in the spinach in two or three handfuls, letting it wilt a bit between additions.

When all of the spinach has wilted (this takes just a couple of minutes), add the peas and water (or cream, if desired). Cover the pot and simmer the vegetables for about 3 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Remove from heat, then add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the vegetables over the pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Sesame Noodles With Radish
(Adapted from The Boston Globe Magazine)

1 package (about 13 ounces) whole wheat or "whole grain blend" linguine
3 Tbsp sesame oil, divided use 
2.5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2.5 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1.5 tsp sugar
6 to 12 radishes, cut into short matchsticks (about 1.5 cups when sliced)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
5 scallions, thinly sliced

Cook the pasta as usual in a large pot of boiling water. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water until they are cool to the touch. Drain again thoroughly. Place the noodles in a large serving bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and toss to coat.

Whisk the remaining sesame oil with the vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the dressing to the noodles, along with the radishes, cucumber, sesame seeds, and scallions. Toss well and serve.

Week 2 (Part 1): Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

A week into the season and I'm up to my eyeballs in leafy vegetables. Red leaf, Boston, and romaine lettuce. Kale. Spinach. More baby beet greens. Not to mention most of a head of green leaf lettuce that we didn't finish last week.

Folks, we're having salad. A lot of salad. And something with kale. So let's start with dessert first.

I had been eying a crisp recipe for a couple of weeks, and with three fresh quarts of CSA strawberries this week (along with all of those greens), I had no qualms about putting a few of the berries to an experiment. The twist with this recipe is that it uses oil, rather than butter, to form the crumb topping. That makes it dairy free without the use of stick margarine. Another plus is that the yield is only four or five servings, making it a right-sized dessert for our household. In spite of all the salad we're eating, we really don't need too much dessert around the house to tempt us.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp (Dairy Free)

(Adapted from a Stop & Shop supermarket recipe. Best served warm. The crumb topping loses its "crispness" as it cools.)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/2 lb rhubarb (2 to 3 stalks), sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 Tbsp orange juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in oil with a fork until the mixture forms crumbs. Set aside.

Place the rhubarb and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until the rhubarb begins to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine the granulated sugar and cornstarch, and stir into the rhubarb. Mix in the strawberries.

Pour the fruit mixture into a 1-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with the reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until bubbly. Serves 4.