This week your basket contains: leeks, potatoes, shallots, Gilfeather turnip or rutabaga, January King cabbage, and cooking greens mix (collards, kale, and red cabbage)Every year we experiment with new varieties of regular veggies looking for the best growing, most flavorful varieties available.  This year one of the crops we were looking at was rutabaga (not a particularly popular veggie).  The trial type we grew this year is actually more of a turnip than a rutabaga, it fills the same culinary niche.  They have white flesh rather than the traditional creamy-yellow flesh of true rutabagas.  Either will be great in this recipe which come to us from one of the largest CSA-type farms in England (where thye really know how to cook rutabaga!)

PUREED RUTABAGA WITH A CHEESY CRUST

1 rutabaga
2 Tbs. butter
pinch of salt
fresh herbs (e.g. thyme, parsley), chopped
4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
1Tbs. sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds 

Preheat the oven to 350⁰. Peel the rutabaga and chop into 2cm chunks. Boil in a large pan of water for 15-20 min. until soft.  Drain the rutabaga and mash with the butter. Add the herbs and season with salt. Transfer the rutabaga to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the cheese. Bake for 20 min, until the cheese is bubbling.  From Riverford Organic Vegetables – 

We intentionally leave on as many of the outer wrapper leaves of January King type cabbages as possible because they are so beautiful (the variety we grow is Deadon).   The purple color develops from exposure to cold temperatures.  As you peel down into the head, the leaves will be green without any hint of purple.  This would be a good week to make the following recipe.

HUNGARIAN STUFFED CABBAGE

1 head cabbage

3 Tbs. olive oil

8 oz. ham cut in ¼ in. cubes

6 cloves garlic, diced

1 onion

5 ½ cups chicken stock

1 1/3 cups cornmeal

½ Tbs. hot paprika

½ Tbs. sweet paprika

6 oz. tomato paste

1 tsp parsley for garnish

1 sweet pepper cut into rings and seeded

Salt & pepper to taste

Sour cream

Remove the core from the cabbage. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the cabbage head. Watch the cabbage and remove the outer leaves with tongs as they become tender (it takes about 3-4 minutes per leaf).  Remove the thick ribs from the leaves and set them aside.  Repeat until you have 12-15 leaves.  Remove the remaining cabbage head, cut into thin slices and set aside.  Using a 4 qt. sauce pan, cook the ham in the olive oil until slightly browned.  Add the garlic and onion and cook until golden.  Add 2 ½ cups of the stock and bring to a boil.  Whisk in the cornmeal, hot paprika, salt and pepper. Place a cabbage leaf on a flat work surface and place ¼ cup of the filling in its center. Fold the top of the cabbage leaf over the stuffing then fold in half crosswise.  This should fully encase the stuffing.  Roll the leaf into a tight cone shape and set aside.  When all the leaves are filled, spread the sliced cabbage  in the bottom of an 8 qt sauce pan.  Sprinkle with sweet paprika.  In a bowl, whisk together the tomato paste and the remaining stock.  Pour this over the stuffed cabbage leaves, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer approx. 45 minutes or until tender.  Transfer the stuffed cabbage leaves to a serving platter, strain the sauce (removing the sliced cabbage) and spoon the sauce over the stuffed leaves, garnish with parsley, sliced pepper rings and sour cream.  Sprinkle with additional paprika.  Adapted from Saveur #159, October 2013

GARLICKY BRAISED GREENS 

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

5 minced garlic cloves

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup water

Salt and pepper

2 Lbs. greens, stemmed

2 tsp. lemon juice

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in Dutch oven until shimmering. Add onion and cook until lightly browned.  Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant (30 sec).  Stir in broth, water, and ½ tsp. salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Stir in chopped greens a handful at a time and cook until they start to wilt.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender (25-35 minutes).  Uncover and increase heat to medium high.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until bottom of pot is almost dry, and the greens start to sizzle.  Take off heat.  Stir in lemon juice and 1 Tbs. oil.   Season with salt, pepper, and extra lemon juice to taste.  Adapted from Vegetables Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen

This is a great sauce for stir fry made with the greens mix in your basket this week.

THAI PEANUT SAUCE

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce
1 tablespoon sherry, optional
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar

In a small bowl, blend peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sherry, lemon juice, and brown sugar. You can heat the peanut butter in the microwave prior to adding other ingredients to “liquefy” it. It blends much easier that way.  You can marinate tofu in 1/2 the peanut sauce over night. Cut the tofu into thin strips length wise and then in half width wise. This coats the tofu nicely for pan searing the next night. Reserve the other 1/2 the marinade to pour over the stir fry.