Summer Slaw

This cool, crunchy, savory salad makes good use of sturdy summer veggies.

Prep time:  20 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
3 scallions
2 small fennel bulbs (about 1 cup when shredded)
1/2 head arrowhead cabbage (about 2 cups when shredded)
1 Hakurei Turnip (about 1/2 cup when shredded), greens separated and coarsely chopped
4 small or 2 large carrots (about 1 cup when shredded)
1 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Freshly-ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Using a food processor equipped with the coarse shredding wheel, process the scallions, fennel, cabbage, turnip, and carrots.  Scrape vegetables into a serving bowl, and stir in the basil, sage, lemon juice and olive oil.   Serve, sprinkling with feta and black pepper.

Photos and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Broccoli Slaw Saute

In this simple, waste-nothing dish, the fragrant fennel and caraway seeds frame the fresh broccoli and onion flavors.










Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Serves:  4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 - 2 cups tender broccoli stems, processed using the coarse shredding wheel in your food processor, or the large holes in a box grater.
1/2 - 3/4 cup onion, shredded the same way
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Process the broccoli stems and the onions, and set aside.

Heat a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat for a minute, or until a drop of water dances on the surface of the skillet.  Add the fennel and caraway and stir for 15 seconds, or until fragrant, then add the olive oil, and  the shredded broccoli and onions.  Stir to mix, cover, and turn the heat to medium low.  Cook, stirring every few minutes, for 7-8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Distribute to serving plates, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Harvest Season Slaw

Can you say Crrrrunch?

Prep time:  25 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 bulbs (about 2 cups) shredded fennel bulb and lower portion of the stems
2 apples, cored, sliced, and shredded
2 ears cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded sweet onion
mint leaves, one leaf for each year of age of the cook, chopped
juice from two lemons (about 4 TB)
3-5 tablespoons olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Get busy with your food processor, using the thin slice disk.  Place all ingredients in a large salad bowl, and toss with lemon juice and olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Then crunch.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Roast & Saute Platter

Photo:
Tod Dimmick











This dish turns the waste-nothing approach into a somewhat dramatic vegetable dish, roasted vegetables on a bed of greens. This version uses radishes, beets, fennel, & spring onions, but substitute at will.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time:45 minutes
Serves: 4-6

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 bunch beets, cleaned, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 bunch radishes, cleaned, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 bunch kohlrabi, peeled if necessary, cut into 1/2" chunks, appetizing leaves and stems reserved
1 fennel bulb with a good amount of stem, cleaned and cut into 1/2" chunks
Spring onions or scallions in the amount you like, cut into 1/4 inch dice.
salt and pepper to taste
shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix the olive oil, garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl.

Chop the beets into 1/2 inch chunks, toss in a large bowl with the olive oil mixture, scoop with a slotted spoon into a large baking dish, and roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the radishes, kohlrabi, Fennel, and scallions, and toss in the bowl with the remaining olive oil mixture. At the beets' 20-minute mark, scoop in the rest of the vegetables and roast for another 20 minutes, stirring a few times, or until all vegetables are tender.

While chopped vegetables are roasting, heat any remaining olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat (add a little more oil if necessary) and saute the greens until tender. Arrange greens on a platter, top with roasted roots, season to taste with salt, pepper & parmesan, and serve.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Fennel & Chicken Slaw

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










This crisp, cool, savory salad is perfect for summer weather.

INGREDIENTS
1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 fennel bulb, sectioned, rinsed, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
1/4 cup dry toasted, sliced almonds
a handful fresh basil leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about half a lemon)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh dill, minced
DIRECTIONS
Mix the chicken, fennel, parsley, onion, almonds, and basil in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix the garlic, mayo, lemon juice, olive oil, and dill. Scrape this dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly to mix, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with a dry rose' or dry white wine and enjoy this salad, as you survey the view from the shade of your Provencal farmhouse. Or, in our case, as you survey the tailgate lot outside of Gillette Stadium before a Revs game.

Tip: A food processor equipped with the thin slice disk is a good tool for preparing this salad.

Sliceapalooza Salad

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










"Salad" is a matter of interpretation. Its most common form includes leaves and the color green, but this salad has neither. This does, however, offer great flavor and texture, and makes good crunchy use of fresh vegetables.

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 4

1 fennel bulb, cut into chunks small enough for a food processor feed tube.
1 small sweet onion (about the size of a pool ball)
A handful of fresh carrots, scrubbed, or scraped if necessary
1 apple, cored and cut into slices
1-2 cooked beets, cut into chunks as above.
2 TB shredded Parmesan cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette

Run the fennel,onion, carrots, apple, and beets through a food processor equipped with a slicing disk. Scrape into a serving bowl, toss with the parmesan and dressing, and serve.

Crunch, crunch, yum, yum.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Fennel, Cucumber & Fresh Greens Salad

 






A crunchy, savory salad that is hard to stop eating.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2-4

INGREDIENTS
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
4 cups fresh spinach (or other greens)
1 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, chopped into 1/4" pieces
1 small sweet onion, chopped into 1/4" pieces
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
2-3 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Combine solid ingredients, and toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Fennel

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a white or pale green swollen stem ("bulb") below a green celery-like stalks with feathery leaves on top. The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds of the fennel plant are all edible. It is related to parsley, carrots, dill and cilantro. This slightly sweet, crunchy, licorice-flavored vegetable is found often in Mediterranean cooking.

Fresh fennel can be stored in the refrigerator crisper up to a week. The fennel bulb can be used in many recipes, the stalks are often used for soups, stocks and stews, and the leaf fronds are useful for herb seasonings, dressings or on salads. Try sauteeing bulb strips with onions for a yummy side dish, or adding it fresh to salads or sandwiches.

Roasted Fennel with Olive and Garlic
from epicurious.com

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
4 small (3-inch-diameter) fennel bulbs, trimmed, each cut vertically into 8 wedges with core attached to each wedge
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, coarsely crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine fennel, olive oil, garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper in large bowl; toss to coat. Spread fennel out on baking sheet; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Roast fennel 15 minutes. Using tongs, turn wedges over. Continue to roast until tender, turning 1 more time, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle olives over fennel. Roast until fennel begins to brown at edges, about 8 minutes longer. Season fennel with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Beets and Beet Greens

Beets (Beta vulgaris) are a widely cultivated plant related to amaranth, chard and commercially grown sugar beet. You will find these sweet and tasty roots and greens in your share throughout the growing season. At the farm, we grow red beets, yellow beets, and pink-white ringed Chioggia beets. Beetroots are high in vitamins A and C, carotenes, folate, manganese and potassium. Beet greens also provide extra vitamin C, calcium and iron.

Beetroots will store for a very long time, for 3 months or more in optimal conditions! Cut off the greens and keep roots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store beet greens, cut away from roots, rinse and keep in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Roots: Peeling is a myth! No need to do so, just scrub them clean under running water. Try them raw, grated into salads or as a dipping veggie. Cook beets by boiling whole (until a fork pierces through easily, 40 minutes or so) or steaming, slip off skins, slice them and toss at room temperature with a simple vinaigrette. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1-2 hours until fork can pierce easily. On an outdoor grill, place beets on heavy foil, drizzled with oilve oil, salt and pepper, wrap tightly and cook about 30 minutes.

Greens: Wash well. Substitute them in any dish calling for spinach or a cooked green. Try steaming or sauteeing greens with garlic and olive oil. Squeeze a little lemon juice on top.


Beet and Fennel Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette
Serves 4

Salad:
4 large or 6 small beets
1 bulb fennel
Black pepper to taste

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
Grated zest of 1 clementine
Juice of 3 clementine
4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Scrub beets and boil covered in a pot until they can be stabbed easily with a fork. Drain and cool under cold running water. You can rub off the peels and stems easily now. Slice beets thin and refrigerate.
2. Trim outer parts and base of fennel. Slice fennel as thin as possible. Soak in ice water while you prepare dressing.
3. Whisk all dressing ingredients together.
4. Arrange 4 plates by covering bottom of plate with beet slices, put 1/4 the fennel on top, sprinkle with rosemary, pour dressing and sprinkle pepper on top.
Recipe based on: The Cafe Pongo Cookbook by Valerie Nehez


Beet Chocolate Cake
Serves 10:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3-4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
1/4 oil
3 cups shredded raw beets

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9" cake pans. Whisk dry ingredients together. Melt chocolate very slowly over low heat or in double boiler. Cool chocolate; blend thoroughly with eggs and oil. Combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture, alternating with the beets. Pour into pans. Bake until a fork is clean when removed from the center, 40-50 minutes.
Recipe from: From Asparagus to Zucchini.


Warm Beet Salad: Balsamic Beets and Beet Greens
from "greens glorious greens" by johnna albi and catherine walthers.

ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 bunches beets with beet greens (about 6 medium beets)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
sea salt to taste
1 vidalia or red onion, sliced into thin half-moons

Toast the walnuts in an iron skillet on the stove or a baking dish in a 375˚F oven.
Cut the beets from the greens. Chop the stems at the base of the leaves and discard stems. Wash the greens and cut into 1/2 inch strips.
Scrub beets and place unpeeled in a steamer and cook until tender (about 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the beets). Slip off the skins of the cooked beets under cold water.
Cut beets into quarters and cut each quater into 1/4 inch slices.
Place in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, balsamic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and salt.
Set asideIn a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add the greens cook, covered, for 5-6 minutes until wilted.
Add the beets to heat through (1-2 minutes).
Move to a bowl, garnish with toasted walnuts and serve.

Serves 4