WEEK 15W: CSA [email protected] Vol II, Issue 37

Package Contents: - 1 pint jam, blueberry or blackberry Radishes stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season to (blackberry has no label, blueberry does) taste with more coarse kosher salt, if desired. - ½ lb leaf lettuce One of the first spring crops is the radish. Sadly, - 1 whole chicken, approx 4 lb Over medium-high heat you will brown the butter. few people appreciate the radish. It’s a salad - 1 lb whole wheat linguini Add bitter and a pinch of coarse kosher salt to garnish for many. But here are some different - ½ lb cheddar curds skillet and cook until butter browns, swirling ideas for how to use it: - 1 dz eggs skillet frequently to keep butter solids from

- ½ gallon milk burning, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from Pickled - 1 lb assorted sausages heat and stir in fresh lemon juice. I had to twist Heather Haviland’s (Lucky’s Café) - Choice of 2: kale, spinach, mixed arm to take some beautiful radishes two weeks greens, rhubarb, radishes, rapini, and back. She hates radishes and I knew that. Transfer roasted radishes to warmed shallow asparagus Heather, her sous chef, and I spend about an hour serving bowl and drizzle brown butter over. together each Saturday shooting the breeze and Sprinkle with chopped radish tops and serve. Rapini/ Rabe figuring out what they can do with some of my extras. I cringed as I said radish. Variation: You may also saute the radish greens to to with the radishes. Contrary to what the name says, rapini is not part After a few minutes though, we found a use. of the broccoli . In fact, it is more like Heather was going to feature a smoked turkey mustard greens and greens. The leaves and breast sandwich the next weekend. Pickled Rhubarb stem are edible and have a nutty, somewhat bitter radishes would add a kick and contrast to the taste when eaten raw. The flowers and small turkey. First, don’t eat any bit of the leaves on the stalk. head (looks a little like broccoli..hence the name) Most of the leaves have been removed. The are also edible. To pickle the radishes, coursly grate them or slice leaves are mildly toxic and will give you stomach

them into thin slices. Slice a small onion as well. pains. Rapini can be cooked several ways. Here are In a separate bowl, mix together a half cup of some ideas: , 2./3 cup of vinegar (white wine, rice, or Rhubarb is used to make jams, sauces, and for - Raw…if you enjoy a good source of something else light in flavor), and 2 tsps salt. baking. I was going to write about how to make C and K in your salads, eat the Once the salt and sugar are dissolved, mix the rhubarb jam…but there are so many variations leaves and flowers raw. radishes and liquid together. Cover with plastic that it is scary! In general, you are going to cook - Blanched. Rinse the entire stalk. Chop wrap and refrigerate for two days before serving. rhubarb in a small amount of water. The rhubarb the thick, hard part off of the bottom of contains lots of water so it will stay liquidy. Other the stem (if your stalk has one). Leave Roasted sweetners such as sugar or even fruits such as the leaves on the stem and cut Slice your radishes into thick slices or small cubes. apples and strawberries are added to the rhubarb crosswise in 2 to 3 inch sections. Blanch Saute with butter in a skillet and serve. to mellow out the bitter taste. At this point, one the greens in boiling water for a couple may either continue to make jam (adding pectin, minutes. Also, you can toss them with butter or etc) or use the rhubarb as a sauce for dressing - Blanch and Saute. For blanched greens, and roast in the oven. desserts, serving over a nice pork roast, or even remove them from the water and drain on the ham loaf from a few months back! of water. Toss them in with some hot Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter, Lemon, and olive oil and in a skillet. Cook until Radish Tops (from Bon Appetit, April 2011) For a very good article on rhubarb, please visit desired tenderness, generally about 1 to Wikipedia. Their article is rather thorough on the 2 minutes on medium high heat. Ingredients: uses. - Raw Saute. Cook the greens in olive oil 1 large bunch radishes and garlic or with some chunks of bacon 1.5 tablespoon olive oil To recap, you may: (like the ramp recipes a few weeks Kosher salt - Make a jam: search the web for back). Toss a little salt in (little) and toss 2 tablespoons unsalted butter countless recipes on jams the greens until they start to cook down 1 tsp fresh lemon juice - Make a sauce: this will be a sweet and and reach your desired tenderness. If sour sauce containing rhubarb, a using bacon, you may want to crisp it sweetner (sugar, honey, other fruit), and some first, drain the , and add the Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large heavy-duty optionally apples. This will pair well with greens. Cook for a minute then ad a half rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Cut off all but pork and turkey, kind of like a chutney. a cup of water and let cook off. The 1/2 inch of green radish tops; reserve trimmed Try serving it on a pork chop, pork roast, bacon and the greens will be done at the tops and rinse them well, checking for grit. sliced turkey, or the ham loaf from a few same time. months back. Coarsely chop radish tops and set aside. Cut - Bake with it: Rhubarb pie! I haven’t Rapini is very popular in Italian dishes, so feel free radishes lengthwise in half and place in medium made one so I feel bad suggesting how. to incorporate some rapini into a dish or bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and toss puree it to make a pesto for a sauce for your thoroughly to coat. Place radishes, cut side down, pasta. I personally prefer just tossing the fresh on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with pasta with the rapini/olive oil/garlic combination coarse salt. Roast until radishes are crisp-tender, to make a very light, spring pasta dish.