Category: CSA box recipes

photo by debslunch

Serves: 3-4
Takes: ~45 minutes, depending on what toppings you use!

This pizza is based on Jamie Oliver’s Cheat’s Deep-Pan Pizza. Jamie’s is filled with sausage, onion, and pickled jalapeños and topped with cheddar, but you can use any type of summer vegetables, and add tomato sauce if you like (and have some around!). My version’s filling is bulk Italian sausage, onions, garlic, corn, and red bell pepper topped with a combination of provolone and pepper jack and sliced tomatoes. The trick to this pizza is preparing the filling in a cast iron pan. That gets the pan hot and well greased, then you remove the filling and stretch the dough in the same pan, top, and bake in a hot oven. It’s perfectly OK to omit meat and make your pizza vegetarian, just use the larger amount of olive oil when preparing the filling. The pizza needs to bake in a hot oven but only for a short time, so perfect for hot summer days!

Crust:
2 cups flour – I have only tested unbleached, but I’m sure adding part whole wheat would work just fine
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
1/2 to 2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pizza:
1-3 tablespoons olive oil (the larger amount is recommended for a vegetarian pie)
8 oz. Italian sausage
3/4 cup sliced onion
2 cloves garlic
small amounts of dried oregano, fennel seed, red pepper flakes, optional
kernels cut from 1 ear of corn
half a bell pepper, sliced
OR about two cups assorted vegetables, OR less veggies and 1/3 cup prepared tomato sauce
1 generous cup grated cheese, your choice
sliced tomatoes for topping
julienned fresh basil leaves, optional

1. Make the crust: combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar if using in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and the olive oil, and mix adding more water as needed to get a pliable dough, with no spots of dry flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Invert your scraped out mixing bowl over the dough and let it rest while you make the filling.
2. Make the filling: Heat the oven to 475°. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add your sausage if using, and brown while breaking the meat into small chunks with a wooden spoon. Add onions, garlic, and optional herbs & spices, and continue to cook until onions are starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and bell pepper, stir, and continue cooking until peppers are soft, another 5 minutes or so. For vegetarian pizza, start with 2 tablespoons of oil, add the onions and garlic, then any additional vegetables and spices you like. (Cubed zucchini from this week’s box would be nice with corn!)
3. Assemble and bake the pizza: Turn the heat under the pan to low. Uncover your dough and roll out to a 9- to 10-inch circle. Scrape your filling into the mixing bowl that was covering the dough. If using meat, add more olive oil if the pan seems dry; if using vegetables only, add the 3rd tablespoon of olive oil. Fold your dough in half, gently – some people like to roll it around the rolling pin – and lay it in the pan. With your finger tips, carefully stretch the dough in the hot pan covering the bottom and going up the sides. If using sauce add it now, spread the filling over the crust, then rest of your toppings. Sprinkle the grated cheese over. If using fresh sliced tomatoes, make a layer of most of the cheese, arrange the tomatoes over the cheese, then top with the last of the cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Top with fresh basil if desired. I like to remove the pizza from the pan to a cutting board to make it easier to slice.

You can cook the corn for this salad using any method you like: steaming, as Beth suggests (Veggie Notes/ Sweet corn), boiling, or even roasting, on the grill or in the oven (see this link for oven roasting in the husks) or on the stove in a grill pan. You’ll need about 4 ears of corn, so if you cook up a bunch of corn to eat on the cob, you can use the leftovers!

Dressing:
1 large clove garlic, minced or put through a press
2 tablespoons white wine or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons grainy or Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:
3-4 cups corn kernels, cut from about 4 ears of corn
2/3 to one pound green beans, cooked and cut into 2 inch lengths
3/4 cup toasted nuts, coarsely chopped – I used whole almonds but walnuts or pecans would also be good
9-10 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1. Make the dressing: Combine the garlic, vinegar, sugar, and mustard in a small bowl or spouted glass measuring cup. Whisk in the oil until emulsified. Season with salt & pepper. Alternatively, combine everything in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine.
2. Add the corn and green beans to a large mixing bowl, and toss with most of the dressing. Add the nuts and cherry tomatoes, toss again, and taste to see if it need more dressing or seasoning. This salad is good right away, but can also be chilled overnight – bring to room temperature and add the nuts right before serving.

Here’s a fun way to combine two peak summer vegetables in a pesto that stays green!

3-4 cups broccoli florets
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup toasted nuts, pine nuts are traditional but you can use cashews (that’s what’s in this batch) almonds, pecans, or walnuts
3 cups fresh basil rinsed and leaves picked off stems
3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan – again Parmesan is traditional but you could uses other hard cheeses
grated zest and juice of one lemon; about 1 tablespoon zest and 3-4 tablespoons juice
2/3 to 3/4 cups olive oil
Kosher salt to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the broccoli and a pinch of salt if desired. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until the broccoli is tender but not mushy. Drain, and rinse with a little cold water to stop the cooking.

Place the broccoli, garlic, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor. Start by pulsing, and then puree the mixture until it’s pasty.

Add the basil, cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice, and a few pinches of salt and pulse again.

With the processor running, pour the oil in through the feed tube. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Taste and see if it needs more cheese, garlic, lemon, or salt.

Make about 4 cups of pesto – enough for about 2 pounds of pasta.

Fresh fennel and sausage are a natural together – the seasoning for Italian sausage typically includes fennel seed. You could make this pasta vegetarian by simply omitting the meat – start by cooking the onions, garlic, and fennel in olive oil, and then add the tomatoes. I’ve used canned tomatoes here but when fresh tomatoes are available, 2 cups of fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, would be even better than canned!

Serves: 4-6
Takes: about 45 minutes

Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 pound pork or turkey sausage, removed from casings if links
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2-4 cloves garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
optional (depending on how spicy your sausage is) 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, a few shakes of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2-4 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in about 1/3 cup water

Gremolata:
1/4-1/3 cup fennel fronds, finely minced
zest of one large lemon
1 small garlic clove (half of a larger clove)
pinch of salt

Pasta:
1/2 pound pasta, short shapes such as orecchiette, penne, or bow ties recommended
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing

1. Brown the sausage in a wide deep skillet with a lid, crumbling it with a wooden spoon. If you are using turkey sausage, add the olive oil to the pan first! When there’s almost no pink left and the sausage is starting to brown, if using pork, drizzle in the olive oil (omit this step if your sausage has given off a lot of fat already) and add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and optional fennel seed and red pepper. Add the wine and let it boil off. Reduce the heat and cook gently while you slice the fennel.
2. Separate the stalks and fronds from the fennel bulb. Slice off the bottom of the bulb, remove any damaged leaves, and rinse. Cut the bulb in half and optionally remove the core – the core is entirely edible, but will take longer to tenderize than the rest. Slice the bulb halves lengthwise into slices as thin as you can get them. If you leave the core in you will have bigger slices of fennel held together by the core. Add the fennel to the pan with the sausage and onion, stir, and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes over low heat, checking the fennel for tenderness with a fork.
3. When the fennel is tender, uncover and add the tomatoes. Put the water into the empty can and stir in the tomato paste. Add to the sauce, rinsing the can with a little more water. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are starting to break down and the sauce is thickened.
4. Make the gemolata: placed the minced fennel frond in a small bowl. If you have a microplane grater, set it on top of the bowl and grate in the lemon zest and garlic. If you don’t have a microplane grater, peel off the lemon zest with a peeler and dice finely, and either mince or put the garlic through a press. Add a pinch of salt and mix – taste to make sure none of the flavors is overpowering the others.
5. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Drain and add sauce – you might not use it all. Top with gremolata and Paremesan cheese and serve right away with baguette slices and more Parmesan.

Based on a recipe by Hetty McKinnon, this one pot dish subs orzo, a rice-shaped pasta, for rice. Orzo cooks more quickly than rice and there’s less need for stirring. I tested the recipe with curly kale, but the original recipe was designed for the lacinto kale in this week’s box. With the flavors of spanakopita – herbs, greens, and feta – this is a tasty way to get even the greens haters in your house to eat their greens.

Serves: 4
Takes: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

about 1/2 pound lacinto kale, 8-9 ounces, rinsed, stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced or put through a press
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
a big handful of fresh dill if available, OR 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon dried oregano
a few pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 scallions, whites and green, thinly sliced
3/4 pound orzo
3 cups of vegetable broth
3 tablespoons salted butter
grated zest and juice of one lemon
3 ounces of feta crumbled (optional)

1. Rinse and slice the kale. Chop the onion. Pour the olive oil into a wide deep skillet with a cover or a Dutch oven, and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
2. Season with salt and pepper, add the fresh or dried herbs, and then add the kale and scallions. Toss everything together and cook covered for 5-10 minutes to wilt the kale.
3. Add the orzo and vegetable broth, bring to a boil, and then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir a few times during the 10 minutes scraping the bottom, to reduce sticking.
4. Taste and when the orzo is tender and the broth is absorbed, add the butter, lemon zest and juice, and feta if using. Stir well, cover and remove from heat and let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Wedge salad is usually literally a wedge of iceberg lettuce, but other lettuces work great in this deconstructed version. The traditional toppings for wedge salad are blue cheese, bacon, and tomatoes – the salad pictured includes bacon, croutons, and cherry tomatoes, because I had no cheese when I made it! so feel free to sub in what you like.

Ingredients:
Approximately 2 handfuls of cleaned and torn into bite size pieces lettuce per person that you are serving
Toppings: bacon bits, grated cheese, cherry tomatoes, croutons, blue cheese – adapt to your taste and what you have!

Red French Dressing:
When my kids were small this dressing was a staple in our house, called red dressup, and they loved pretty much any steamed vegetable dipped into it, especially broccoli “trees”.
Approximately 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or red onion, or scallions
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2-3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the chopped shallots or other onion in a spouted 2-cup measuring pitcher or small jar. Add the vinegar, honey or sugar, and ketchup, and stir to combine. Pour in the oil in a steady stream while whisking, until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt & pepper, and taste by dipping in a leaf of your lettuce – your kids might want to help with this part. Adjust with more oil, vinegar, or salt & pepper if necessary.

Creamy Herb Dressing
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice or white wine vinegar
optional: 1 teaspoon sugar if you like a sweet dressing, like I do
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, dill, or oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or jar and whisk until smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Assemble your salad: Arrange the lettuce on individual salad plates or a large platter. Drizzle the two dressings over in alternating stripes. Add the toppings, and a little more dressing if you like

This recipe includes all the ingredients for fried egg rolls, arranged as tasty layers in a rice bowl. The crispy wonton strips are easy to do, even if you typically avoid deep frying.  They’realso optional and you can top your bowls with chopped peanuts or extra scallions or toasted sesame seeds. Or used purchased crispy chow mein noodles!

Optional Crispy wonton strips
2-3 tablespoons oil
6-7 wonton wrappers
Salt, to taste

Pork:
1 tablespoon oil
One pound of ground pork – or turkey or chicken or a 14-oz box of tofu, crumbled
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
one-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced or grated – or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6-7 cups of thinly sliced Napa cabbage – probably about half the head
Drizzle of toasted sesame oil – 1 tablespoon or less
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, white and green – set aside most of the sliced green part for topping
salt & ground black pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup chunky or creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons (heaping tablespoon) maple syrup or honey or brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 teaspoons of Sriracha

For serving:
2-3 cups warm cooked rice, white or brown
scallion greens
Optional additional toppings:
additional scallions, thinly sliced
toasted sesame seeds – 1-2 tablespoons
chopped peanuts – about 1/4 cup

1. Cook the rice – do this first if using brown rice; if using white, do this after you make the wonton strips, while the pork is cooking. Start with about one cup brown or white rice to yield 2-3 cups.
2. Make the crispy wonton strips, if using: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a deep soup pot or skillet – the deeper pot will protect your stove from splatters. Have a paper towel-lined plate ready next to the stove. Cut the wonton wrappers into narrow strips, and drop just enough to cover the bottom of the pan into the hot oil – I find I do about 1/3 at a time. Fry till puffed and brown, and remove with a slotted spoon to the paper towel. Continue frying batches until all the strips are crisped. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
3. Cook the pork: Heat the oil in a large skillet with a lid, and add the pork. Stir and cook the pork and break it into crumbles with a wooden spoon. When there is almost no pink left, add the garlic and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes, then add the cabbage, and cover the pan for a few minutes to wilt the cabbage. Remove the cover, drizzle in the sesame oil, and stir to evaporate excess moisture.
4. Make the sauce: whisk together the peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce and Siracha. Pour over the pork, add the scallions, and cook a few more minutes until bubbly.
5. Assemble the bowls: divide the rice between 4 individual bowls (or a serving bowl) and layer the pork mixture on top. Add any toppings you are using and serve warm.

This recipe is based on a Mark Bittman recipe called Kale or Chard Pie, from his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (and you’ll also find it online). The fun thing about it is that it’s an easy crust that doesn’t requires any rolling out – it’s a batter that you simply pour and spread into the pan. Bittman’s original recipe calls for six eggs, three that go into the batter, and three hard boiled and chopped into the filling. I wanted the pie to have more greens, and added cheese, but I’m sure the filling with hard boiled egg would be delicious. The pie can be served warm or at room temperature, and a little tomato sauce spooned on top, if you have some around, is a nice accompaniment.
Serves: 4-6
Takes: 60 minutes, 15 minutes active time; 45 minutes baking

2 tablespoons butter
1 pound of greens, try a mixture of kale & spinach from this week’s box, turnip greens can be used as well, rinsed, stems removed, and chopped
1 cup of chopped onion
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced, whites and some of the green parts
optional: 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, parsley, or dill
1 cup crumbled or grated cheese – your choice! I used a combination of feta and pepper jack
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream or whole-milk yogurt
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups flour; option: replace the 1/4 cup flour with yellow cornmeal

1. Heat oven to 375°. Butter a 2-quart gratin dish or deep 9-inch pie dish.
2. Filling: Melt the butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the greens, kale first if using, stir well, and cover for a few minutes to wilt. Reduce the heat and cook covered for about 10 minutes until the greens are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove the lid and cook a few more minutes to evaporate any excess moisture. Stir in the scallions and herbs if using, and remove from the heat to cool.
5. Batter: Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and whisk in the mayonnaise and sour cream. Add the baking powder, salt, and flour, and whisk until smooth.
6. Spread a thin layer of batter in your buttered baking dish. Mix the cheese into the filling and layer over the batter. Pour the rest of the batter over the filling, and smooth gently.
7. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without tomato sauce.

Takes about 45 minutes
Serves 4
This dish is a vegetarian version of Szechuan Dan Dan noodles that are usually made with ground pork. It is probably the only tofu preparation all members of my family will eat! The traditional topping is quick pickled cucumbers; thinly sliced cucumber marinated briefly in rice vinegar and salt and maybe a pinch of sugar. For this time of the year, try Love and Lemons pickled asparagus, thinly sliced, scattered on top of your bowlfuls of noodles.

Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon tahini or peanut butter
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons rice or balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chili crisp
i inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

Tofu:
1 14 oz. block of firm tofu
2 tablespoons cornstarch
a few pinches of kosher salt, or a teaspoon of fine salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Noodles and greens:
One bunch komatsuna greens or bok choy, rinsed, stems and leaves sliced separately
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt
8-9 ounces ramen noodles or vermicelli
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

Dish:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems pulled off and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press

Optional toppings:
Pickled asparagus,thinly sliced on the diagonal
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
a handful of fresh cilantro leaves and some of the tender stems

1. To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, vinegar, chili crisp, and fresh ginger in a small bowl or spouted glass measuring cup.
2. To prepare the tofu, remove it from the box and squeeze it with your hands over the sink to extract as much liquid as possible. Don’t worry if the tofu breaks apart – it’s going to get crumbled up anyway. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and set aside for 10 minutes to continue draining.
3. After it has drained, crumble the tofu into a large bowl. Sprinkle the cornstarch and salt over it, and toss with your hands until well coated.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet that will hold the tofu in one layer. Add the crumbled tofu and fry until golden brown on one side, then turn and continue until it’s all golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
5. Transfer the tofu back into the bowl, and wipe out the skillet.
6. Heat 3-4 quarts of water in a large pot, salt it, and then cook the ramen noodles according to package directions – usually about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
7. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in another skillet, and add the greens stems. Fry for a few minutes over high heat, then add the leaves, garlic, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Stir until the greens are wilted and tender. Add the drained noodles, drizzle with the sesame oil (use the larger amount if you cooked the larger amount of noodles) and toss, then cover to keep warm while you finish the tofu sauce.
8. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in the wiped out skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until they start to soften, then add the garlic. Cook a few more minutes until the garlic is fragrant, then add the tofu and toss all together. Finally give the sauce a good stir and pour in, mix and cook 5-10 more minutes until bubbling.
9. Spoon the tofu mixture over the noodles and greens in bowls, garnish with your choice of toppings, and serve.