- Lettuce – enjoy the sweet centers of this amazing lettuce “Kiribati” recommended to me by my friend Jamie at Springhill Farm.
- kale or chard
- sugar snap peas (just a few, waiting for the outside crop to take off)
- green onions – add them to any meat stir fry for delicious flavor
- fennel – crisp licorice flavor add to salads or kohlrabi
- fava beans – once a year we feature these delicious labor of love legumes, see recipes below (peeling them is a great thing to do on a hot day)
- Herb of your choice: parsley or cilantro or dill or basil
- garlic – starting to dry down, still with a thicker outer covering, good to use this week
- beets or carrots
- potatoes – so sweet, enjoy
- zucchini – the first of the summer squash, just a taste of what is to come!
Umbrian Fava Bean Stew (Scafata)
This recipe is about as simple as spring cooking gets. It’s adapted from Antonella Santolini’s La Cucina Delle Regioni D’Italia: Umbria The name comes from the Umbrian word for the hull of the beans.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup shelled fava beans
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fennel
1 1/2 cups chopped chard leaves
1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes
salt, pepper
Cook oil, beans, onion, fennel, carrot and chard over low heat in medium saucepan. When beans are quite tender, after about 45 minutes, add tomatoes and cook for another 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
FAVA BEAN Salad
Ingredients
4 cups shucked fresh fava beans
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound Manchego cheese, shaved thinly (or Asiago or Romano)
2 tablespoons finely chopped flatleaf parsley
Directions
Fill a bowl with ice and water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fava beans and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water. Drain again and remove outer skins. Place the beans in a medium serving bowl. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the beans and mix well. Add the cheese, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
Fava Bean “Ful”
Lebanese bean dish
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- 1 can of fava beans -drained
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 finely chopped tomato
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
PERPERATION:
- In pan sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until the garlic is lightly golden. Add the drained fava beans and bring to a boil and simmer on low. Then add the lemon, salt and pepper and mix while trying to mash at least half the fava beans. Turn heat off and remove from oven.
- Place the cooked fava beans in a serving dish.
- Garnish the beans with parsley, tomato, green onions and the re remaining olive oil. Serve with pita bread and a plate filled a Varity of fresh vegetables of your choose.
Kohlrabi Coleslaw from Jane Brody
Salad:
1 1/4 lbs kohlrabi, peeled and coarsely shredded
2 lge carrots, peeled and coarsely shredded
1/2 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 c. chopped scallions, including green
Dressing:
2 T oil, pref olive oil
2 T vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
2 t or more fresh snipped dill
1 t sugar (I used 1/4 t)
1/2 t ea. cumin and mustard powder
1/4 t crumbled tarragon
1/4 t ea. salt and pepper
1/3 c plain yoghurt
Toss salad ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, blend oil and vinegar, then blend in other ingredients. Pour over salad, toss, cover and refrigerate for about 2 hrs before serving.
Serves 6
Spring Onion Sandwiches
from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters
Onion Sandwiches were an old favorite of James Beard’s. These are best made in may when onions are very sweet. Trim the crusts off thin slices of good white bread. Spread two slices of bread with mayonnaise, on one side. Slice fresh onion very thinly and make a layer of onion slices on one slice of bread. Top that with the other slice of bread. Dip the four side edges of the sandwich into thin mayonnaise and then into chopped parsley.
“One of our favorite ways to enjoy scallions is as a vegetable side dish.” Marcella, a CSA member:
occasionally, 5 minutes.
Zucchini Trifolati (family favorite)
Sautéed Zucchini
The secret to this fabulous cooking technique is the long slow cooking which infuses all the flavors. Vegetables cooked this way make great pasta sauce or you can serve them as crostini. Try mushrooms with garlic and mint.
2 pounds Zucchini
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
chili pepper (or herbs)
Salt
Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and chile peppers to the pan; NOW turn on the heat. Slice the zucchini into thin slices and add to the golden garlic, salt and cover the pan. The salt will bring out the liquid in the zucchini and they will stew in their own juices and infuse with the garlic. Let them over cook. It is a pleasant surprise.