Author Archives: Pumpkin Ridge Gardens

Baked Kale Gruyère

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  • 1 quart salted water
  • 2 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded gruyère cheese (divided)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter

Bring the salted water to a boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, wash the kale several times in cool water; drain well. Add kale to boiling water, cover tightly and boil steadily for 20 minutes, or until the kale is tender. Drain, cool and chop finely.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9-by-7-inch baking dish. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Add the flour to make a paste (called a roux). Cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk, a little a time, waiting until the roux absorbs the milk before adding more. Add 1/4 cup of the shredded gruyère, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.Toss the bread crumbs with the butter and the remaining 1/4 cup cheese; set aside. Combine the sauce with the kale and transfer to the baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and bread crumbs are browned.

Baked Elephant Garlic

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Elephant garlic is not a true garlic, it is a leek.  It has a milder garlic flavor which means you can use it the same way as regular garlic in even larger quantities.  The mildness also makes it very well suited to mashing in potatoes, roasting on kabobs or slicing into scalloped potatoes.  Our favorite way to use it is roasted: take a knife and cut through the wrappers at the neck of the garlic.  Peel the wrapper so that the head stays intact at the root end.  Pour 2 Tbsp. olive oil or a pat of butter on top of the head, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until the skins on the cloves are browning.  Add a little water to the bottom of the pan and keep baking for 15 minutes.  The garlic should be soft.  It can be squeezed out of the clove onto crusty French bread.  Top with goat cheese and accompany with red wine.

Enjoy!

Baked Beet Salad

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Bake a beet in the oven by wrapping in aluminum foil and baking at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  After baking, the beet will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.  When you want to make the salad, gently rub the skin off the beet and slice onto a bed of salad greens.  Top with crumbled blue cheese and roasted hazelnuts.  Dress with your favorite vinaigrette.

Baeckeoffe

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Baeckeoffe is traditionally a marinated meat and potato stew or casserole. Here, the preparation time has been dramatically reduced by cooking the lamb directly in the white wine.

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
  • 4 turnips, cubed
  • 12 oz lamb, cubed
  • 4 oz white wine
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy Dutch oven, sauté the leeks in the butter until they start to turn tender. Add the potatoes and the lamb to the oven, and then toss with the white wine, salt, and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

Makes 4 servings.

Baba Ghanouj

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  • 2 med. eggplants
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cook whole eggplants under broiler, turning occasionally, until charred and collapsed (approx. 20 min). Remove from broiler, cool and remove skin.

Heat oil in a skillet, add onions, cook until translucent.  Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are golden brown.  Combine eggplant, onion and garlic and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend to a chunky puree.  Serve at room temperature with pita bread.

Avocado and Kohlrabi Salad

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  • 3 medium kohlrabi, bulbs
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Peel the kohlrabi by cutting off the top and bottom, and peeling with a potato peeler. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then cut the slices into chunks. Place in a bowl. Cut avocados in half lengthwise. Tap the blade of a heavy knife in the pit, twist to remove, and discard. Quarter and peel avocados, then cut into chunks. Drizzle lime juice over avocados to prevent browning and to add flavor; set aside. Whisk together green onion, balsamic vinegar, oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over kohlrabi and mix to cover. Mix together the chunked avocados and the kohlrabi mixture. Make a bed of the salad on four plates, and sprinkle each with feta cheese.

Avocado and Buttermilk Salad Dressing

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  • 1/2 Hass avocado, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 small shallot or onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 small garlic clove, smashed
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

In a blender, combine the avocado with the buttermilk, vinegar, shallot, parsley and garlic and process until smooth. With the machine on, add the vegetable oil in a thin stream and process until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper.

Autumn Gold Squash Soup

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  • 1 med. to large butternut squash
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 ½ c. water
  • 1 ½ c. tomato juice
  • 1 c. apple juice
  • 1 c. orange juice
  • salt and pepper

For a full recipe, you need about 2 c. cooked squash pulp.  Bake or boil the squash.  To bake, halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves cut side down on an oiled baking sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake at 350 degrees until tender (45 minutes-1 hour).  Scoop out pulp and discard skin.  To boil, peel the squash, halve it and scoop out the seeds.  Cut it into chunks and place in a saucepan with water to cover.  Bring the water to a boil and cook until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain and reserve the liquid.  Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion in the oil with the nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, and bay leaves until onion is translucent.  Add the diced carrot and celery and the water (if you boiled the squash, use the reserved liquid).  Cover and simmer until the carrots are tender.  Remove the bay leaves.  In a blender or food processor, puree the cooked squash, the onion-carrot mixture, and the juices in batches.  Gently reheat the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.

From Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant.

Arugula Soup

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Cooking the greens will mellow their flavor quite a bit.  The soup itself has the consistency of cream of spinach soup with the unique flavor of arugula.  We serve this soup with a hearty, peasant style bread and hard cheese and fruit.

  • ½ to 1 lb. greens
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 baguette
  • 3-4 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 5-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

This recipe works best if the baguette is somewhat stale, which can be achieved by simply leaving it out, uncovered overnight.  In a large heavy-bottomed pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until browned.  Add arugula and other greens and sauté until wilted.  Add stock and cover.  While the soup is coming to a boil, break or cut the baguette into 2-inch chunks.  When the stock is at a full boil, add the bread chunks and allow the soup to simmer until the bread is thoroughly soaked.  Place the soup in a food processor and blend until smooth.  More stock can be added at this time if the soup is too thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste and reheat if necessary.

Apple and Raw Beet Slaw

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  • 1 tsp. grated ginger
  • 1 lb. beets, peeled
  • 1 large Granny Smith apple
  • 3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
  • ½ tsp. coarse grain salt
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
  • 1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

In a medium sized salad bowl, using smallest grater holes, grate fresh ginger directly into bowl. Grate beets and apples, add them to the bowl with ginger, and toss until ginger is evenly distributed. Add sherry vinegar, salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly. Add olive oil, stir to combine, Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated.

Serves 6.

From Foodnetwork.com