This week your basket contains: winter squash, pumpkin, shallots, potatoes, celery, Brussels sprouts, parsley root, carrots, leeks, and endive & radicchio mix.

This is your Thanksgiving double basket.  We will skip deliver next Friday, November 27^th and be back to delivering on December 4^th. For Tuesday deliveries, we will deliver 11/24, skip delivery 12/1 and be back to delivery 12/8

The endive and radicchio (both members of the chicory family) is a very versatile mix.  It can be used as salad greens (remember to soak the greens in ice water) or as cooking greens. They can be cooked in any recipe calling for cabbage, kale or collards.  Cooking mellows the bitter flavors some find unappealing. They would also be perfect for this soup.  If you froze any pesto in the summer, you can substitute it for the basil (or just leave that part out).

NONNA’S SNEAKY GREENS SOUP

8 cups chicken broth (homemade if possible)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup whole canned tomatoes, crushed with your hands (do not use canned crushed tomatoes)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 medium to large onion, minced

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 large handfuls escarole or curly endive leaves, finely chopped

1/3 tight-packed cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

1 cup tiny pasta (anice, orzo, stars or alphabets)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a 6 quart pot combine the broth, wine and tomatoes. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, chickpeas, greens and basil. Simmer partially covered 20 minutes. Stir in the pasta and simmer, partially covered, 8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Taste soup for seasoning. Serve hot, passing the cheese to be sprinkled on the soup as its final seasoning.   Serves 6 to 8 as a first course; 4 to 6 as a light main dish. Soup can be done a day ahead up to point of adding the pasta.

Pumpkin is really no different from other winter squash in that you can add it to any winter squash recipe with good results.  Conversely, you can also use the winter squash to make pumpkin pies if you want.  This recipe is tasty, but the real standout in it is the presentation.

PUMPKIN WITH SOUP INSIDE

7-8 lb. pumpkin

4 cups vegetable or beef broth

4 Tbs. melted butter

1 cup peeled, chopped tomato         

salt and pepper                                                    

1/4 cup rice

1 cup minced leek                              

Bay leaf                                                                

1/2 cup minced carrot

1 cup sour cream (optional)             

1/2 cup minced celeriac or celery                    

3 Tbs. chives (optional)

Cut a lid from pumpkin, leaving on stem as handle. Clean out seeds. Melt 2 Tbs.. of butter and brush on inside. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, with lid on, in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté minced vegetables in 2 Tbs.. butter until wilted, 5-10 minutes. Add broth; heat to boiling point. Add tomatoes and season to taste. Place uncooked rice in pumpkin. Add boiling broth and veggie mixture and float bay leaf on top. Cover and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender, but not soft. Place on serving dish. To serve, ladle out soup, scraping out portion of pumpkin with each serving. Garnish with sour cream and chives, if desired. Serves six to eight.

Your winter squash this week is either the traditionally colored acorn type or an acorn variety called Carnival that is speckled.  Both are great for any recipe calling for acorn squash (or pumpkin as mentioned above.)

CRISP-BAKED ACORN SQUASH RINGS

2 eggs, beaten lightly

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons honey

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 cups fine fresh bread crumbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 small acorn squash, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and seeded

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk and honey. In another shallow dish, stir together the cornmeal, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste.  Dip the squash rings into the egg mixture and then into the crumb mixture, coating them well and patting the crumbs on well. Generously butter 2 rimmed baking sheets. Arrange the squash rings in one layer on the sheets and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through, or until they are tender. Sprinkle the squash with salt to taste and arrange on a heated platter. Makes 6 servings. From Gourmet magazine, November 1985

For us Brussels sprouts lovers, this is the week we’ve been waiting for for months. In this recipe the roasting gives the outer leaves of the sprouts a crispy texture, while the middles remain nice and tender.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BROWNED GARLIC

1 lb Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed then cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toss the Brussels sprouts with half of the olive oil, 1 tsp ground sage and a generous amount of salt and pepper.   Place Brussels sprouts in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.   Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until spouts are crisp, yet tender.    Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.   Add sliced garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice if using.   Add roasted sprouts to the garlic oil, and toss to combine.

The parsley root (also known as Hamburg parsley) is a tasty root vegetable that many people are not familiar with.  This soup highlights its flavor nicely.

LENTIL SOUP WITH PARSLEY ROOT

1 ¼ dried lentils, washed and drained
2 tbs.  lard, bacon drippings, or oil
1 onion or leek, chopped

1 parsley root
4 c   water
1 tsp. salt to or to taste
several whole black peppercorns
1 whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 lg potato, peeled and grated
1 smoked sausage, skin pricked with fork
1 tbs. vinegar

In a large pot, heat fat and add parsley root (and other root vegetables if used) and onions. Sauté until onions are golden. Add lentils, water, and seasonings. Grate the potato into the mixture and add sausage. Simmer covered 1 hour until lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves. Add vinegar just before serving and adjust salt. Serve with a crusty bread and salad. Adapted from Mariquita.com

This recipe is a fun way to use the little carrots in your basket.  You can add other root vegetables like the root parsley, celeriac, or parsnip with good effect.  It also is a good way to take advantage of the parsley root leaves.

CAROTE INSALATA

2 lbs carrots

coarse grain salt

1 med lemon

15 sprigs Italian Parsley

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbs. capers

½ cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Boil carrots, skin on, for 10 minutes.  Remove skins by rubbing under cold water.  Cut into ¼ inch disks.  Cut lemons into quarters then slice as thinly as possible.  Chop parsley and garlic.  Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl & season to taste.  Serve at room temperature.

ROOT VEGETABLE, WHITE BEAN AND BREAD CRUMB GRATIN

2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 medium cloves garlic, divided

2 sage leaves

2 tsp. tomato paste

2 cups cooked white beans

Salt and pepper

1 large parsnip or root parsley

1 large carrot or 2 small ones

⅓ cup toasted breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, sauté the onion in 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil over moderate heat until golden. Mince the garlic and add half of it to the onions, reserving the rest. Cook and stir for one minute, then add the sage and tomato paste. Mix the tomato paste into the onion mixture and sauté for two more minutes, scraping up any brown bits that accumulate on the bottom of the pan. Add the beans and ½ to ¾ cup of their reserved cooking liquid. (If using canned beans, substitute water for the cooking liquid.) The mixture should be somewhat soupy. Season with salt and pepper. Partly cover the pot and let the beans simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the parsnip and carrot and cut each into ½-inch pieces. Steam the parsnip until tender, about 5 minutes, then steam the carrot until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the vegetables to the bean mixture and simmer 2 minutes longer. Add more bean broth or water if necessary. Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining garlic and the parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Lightly oil an 8-by-10-inch baking dish or gratin dish. Turn out the bean and vegetable mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the seasoned breadcrumbs over the beans and vegetables and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the gratin begins to bubble. Serve warm. By Kelly Myers on culminate.com