Notes From Nikki-Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Tarragon Dressing

Photo by Kiah Graham

Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Creamy Tarragon Dressing

Hello summer! Hello heat! Thank goodness Claire is supplying us with ample amounts of salad greens to eat; light dinners for oppressively hot evenings (or lunches for afternoons). This recipe does call for a quick roasting of the baby fingerlings from your Inverbrook share in a hot oven. It doesn't take long though, and having roasted potatoes in a salad helps to add staying power. Feel free to use whatever type of tomatoes you have on hand. I just happened to find some local grape tomatoes that were divine. Enjoy, and stay cool!

Ingredients
1 bag of Inverbrook salad greens, washed, spun dry, and torn into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb or so baby fingerling potatoes, washed (and scrubbed in spots if needed)
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2-3 T chopped chives
Handful of fresh tarragon leaves (or more, I love tarragon so I tend to go heavy)
3-4 T extra virgin olive oil, plus another tablespoon or so for roasting the potatoes
Dollop or two of mayo
Dollop or two of sour cream, plain whole milk yogurt, or even cottage cheese
2-3 tsp dijon mustard (depending on your taste for it)
1 tsp local honey (support local beekeepers :-))
Generous splash or two of white wine vinegar (or a big squeeze or two of lemon juice)
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Drizzle 1-2 T olive oil over a baking sheet and spread the potatoes over. Season with a bit of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
3. Roast in the oven for until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Remove and set aside.
4. While the potatoes are cooling, put the chives, tarragon, 3 T olive oil (you can add more later if you need it), a dollop of mayo and a dollop of sour cream (or yogurt or cottage cheese... again you can add more later if need be), 2 tsp dijon (or more if you really like dijon), 1 tsp local honey, a generous splash of white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon, and a dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
5. Taste and adjust (very important!). At this point you can add in more mayo, sour cream (or yogurt or cottage cheese), vinegar or lemon juice, dijon, sea salt, chives, tarragon, etc. It took me a few tries to get this perfect, and my taste buds are different than yours so what worked for me won't necessarily work for you. Play with it. Have fun!
6. Toss the potatoes with the tomatoes and a bit of the dressing.
7. Toss the salad greens with a bit of the dressing.
8. Toss the dressed salad greens with the dressed potato/tomato mixture.
9. Drizzle with a bit more dressing if desired, and toss lightly again.
10. Serve topped with a bit of ground pepper, and a tarragon sprig for garnish.

Serves 4-6

This Week's Share--More Potatoes, Eggplant, and the first of the Tomatoes

This is one of those week's where Monday's share will not match Wednesday's share. The green beans are not quite ready today, but should be harvestable on Wednesday.


This week's share includes:
Potatoes--both fingerlings and regular new potatoes
The First of the Tomatoes
Eggplant (or Summer Squash if are not an eggplant fan)
Baby Beets (on Monday) and Green Beans (on Wednesday)
Carrots
Herbs

Next week (if we get a little rain) the share should include larger quantities of all of the summer crops like squash, beans, eggplant and tomatoes--in the meantime I hope you enjoy a little taste (and color) of summer.

Speaking of summer vegetables the latest issue of fine cooking arrived with a great profile on the various types of eggplant.Click hear for the Eggplant explanation from Fine Coking Magazine

I realize that those who are new to the CSA might not be so familiar with those tiny little knobby potatoes known as fingerlings. They are one of my favorites, in fact Nikki's potato salad recipe from last week was made with the fingerlings. The tender fingerlings cook relatively fast; they are great pan roasted or cooked on the grill. Here is a great meal idea from the My Life Runs on Food Blog that pairs salmon with green beans and fingerling potatoes. The herb yogurt sauce is a perfect use for the Highland Farm sheep yogurt. One more note, all the potatoes at this time should be considered "new potatoes" and there is no need to peal them. A little scrubbing will remove the papery outer skin.

Enjoy the share. Enjoy the summer. If you are craving more of the summer vegetables be sure to stop by the farm stand on Friday 2-7PM. Next week I will have pick your own cherry tomatoes, this week you can purchase them from the farmstand.

This Week's Share-Potatoes and Eggplant (Notes from Nikki)

This week's share includes the beginning of summer staples like potatoes and eggplant, a welcome change from all the green, I am sure. This will be the last week for lettuce for a while. It has got quite a bit to it, luckily Nikki has provide a great recipe for it that can be found at the end of this post.

This Week's Share:
Potatoes
Eggplant
Small Bag of Lettuce
Cooking Greens (Chard or Perpetual Spinach)
Carrots
Beets
Herbs (mint, cilantro, and dill)

Notes From Nikki--Three Great Recipes Below:

Summer Picnic Potato Salad

Upon my arrival to pick up our Inverbrook Farm share yesterday, I was pleased to discover that two of the most important ingredients I needed to make the potato salad I was planning on bringing to a 4th of July potluck were right there in the distribution shed: potatoes and dill. Perfect! This salad is best served at room temperature for full flavor, but saves nicely in the fridge and can be eaten cold too. Enjoy!


Ingredients
2-3 lbs. new potatoes, scrubbed, boiled until tender, drained, cooled (enough to handle), and halved or quartered depending on size (I used the banana fingerlings from this week's share)
8 oz. sour cream
4 oz. mayonaise
1-2 T dijon mustard
3 scallions, trimmed and chopped (white and green parts)
6 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
2 T capers
Handful chopped dill leaves plus more for garnish (you can also use parsley for garnish, and/or even add some chopped parsley to the mix)
4 oz. bacon, fried, drained, and broken into smallish pieces (optional)
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

1. Combine the sour cream, mayo, and mustard, and mix with the potatoes, smashing up some of the potatoes in the process. Add more sour cream or mayo if the mixture is too thick. (It's okay if the mixture is warm. This actually helps to bring out the flavor. It will cool to room temp by the time you're ready to serve it.)
2. Fold in the scallions, celery, capers, dill, salt, pepper, and bacon (if using).
3. Taste and adjust to your liking.
4. Serve and enjoy.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish (can be doubled)




















Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Sauteed Shallots, Fresh Garlic, Chard, and Exotic Mushrooms
Admittedly, this dish is a bit heavy for this time of year, but I had a hankering for something substantial after eating so many salads. :-) You could skip the cream and use the parmesan as a garnish, rather than incorporating both ingredients into the dish to create a sauce, for a lighter version. Either way, it is sure to please. The chard can be swapped out for spinach, kale, or any other cooking greens you have on hand. The bacon is totally optional (I've been on a bacon kick lately); again, for a lighter version, just omit it. However you decide to prepare the dish, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredients
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T butter (optional, just add a tad more olive oil if you decided to omit the butter, I was going for decadence ;-))
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or trimmed and chopped garlic scapes if you still have some on hand)
6 small shallots, sliced
Red pepper flakes
2 bunches chard, thick stems removed, torn or chopped
10-12 oz. exotic mushrooms (I used a combo of local crimini, shitake, and oyster), roughly chopped
1-1.5 lbs. whole wheat rigatoni (penne or rotelli will work too; you can also use a non-whole wheat version, I just love the nutty flavor that the whole wheat versions produce)
Handful or two of freshly grated or shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (plus more for topping)
1 C half-and-half or cream
Sea salt
8 oz. bacon, minced, sauteed until crispy, and drained (optional)
Fresh ground pepper

1. Put on a large pot of water to boil the pasta in.
2. While you are waiting for the pasta water to boil, saute the shallots, garlic, and pepper flakes in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and softened.
3. Add the chard to the pan and continue sauteing until it starts to wilt.
4. Add in the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft, and the chard is completely wilted.
5. Once your water is boiling, add in the pasta along with some sea salt, and cook until al dente, reserving about 1/2 C of the cooking water for the sauce.
6. Add 1/2 C pasta water to the chard/mushroom mix, plus the half-and-half (or cream), and bring to a simmer.
7. Add in the parmesan, stirring to incorporate.
8. Season with sea salt, taste, and adjust to your liking.
9. Toss the pasta with the sauce, divide among plates, top each plate with a sprinkling of parmesan, some of the bacon (if using), and some fresh ground pepper.
10. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 6-8
Honey Dijon Salad with Pan-Roasted Chicken Tenders
Claire warned us, the salad greens this week have a bit of a bite. :-] Actually, they create the perfect foundation for this salad that sports a simple honey-dijon dressing and pan-roasted, boneless, skinless chicken tenders. Very light and flavorful. A perfect meal on a hot summer night. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1-2 T dijon mustard
1-2 T honey
2 T white wine vinegar
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
8-10 oz. baby lettuce (I used two bags from our Inverbrook share)
1 lb.-2 lbs. chicken tenders
Splash of olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

1. Put the olive oil, mustard, honey, vinegar, sea salt, and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth and emulsified (you can also do this by hand with a wire whisk). Taste and adjust to your liking.
2. Season the chicken tenders with sea salt and pepper, and pan-roast in olive oil until browned on both sides and cooked through.
3. Toss the dressing with the salad greens, divide among plates, place 2-3 chicken tenders on top of each, drizzle with a bit more dressing, top with fresh ground pepper, and serve.

Serves 4-6

Notes From Nikki--Roasted Fingerlings and Haricot Vert and Mushroom and Perpetual Spinach Risotto

Two More Great Recipes from Nikki:

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Haricot Verts with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Ingredients

2-3 pints whole fingerling potatoes
1-2 quarts haricot verts, stem sides snapped off
2 glugs olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Glug olive oil
Small, sweet, yellow onion (or half of a medium onion) minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Generous splash of white wine
Handful of fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped + a sprig for garnish
1/4-1/3 C half and half or cream
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Toss the potatoes in a glug of olive oil and a bit of sea salt and pepper, and roast in a 400 degree oven until tender. This should take about 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
Toss the haricot verts in a glug of olive oil and a bit of sea salt and pepper, and roast in the oven along with the potatoes, keeping in mind that the potatoes will take longer to cook. Put the beans in for approximately the last 5-10 minutes of potato roasting time. The beans should still have a snap when you take them out of the oven. They roast very quickly.

While the potatoes and beans are roasting, saute the onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat until softened.
Add in the wine and simmer, reducing by at least half.
Season with sea salt and pepper and throw in the tarragon, stirring to combine.
Add in the half and half, stirring and simmering just a bit longer.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the potatoes and beans are finished roasting, nestle the potatoes on a bed of the beans.
Drizzle with the tarragon cream sauce and garnish with a sprig of tarragon.

Serve and Enjoy!


Mushroom and Perpetual Spinach Risotto

Ingredients

2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small-medium yellow onion chopped (I suggest going for a milder, sweeter version)
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. stemmed and chopped mushrooms (I used a combination of crimini, oyster, and shitake)
2 bunches Inverbrook perpetual spinach, stemmed and chopped (any variety of spinach or chard would also work)
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped, fresh oregano
2-3 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/3 C white wine
About 3 C Arborio rice (I used a 17.6 oz package from Trader Joe's)
6 cups chicken or veggie stock
4-6 oz. grated or shredded parmesan + more for passing at the table
Generous splash of half and half or cream
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

Using a decent sized soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions are softened a bit.
Add in the oregano and thyme and stir to combine.
Toss in the mushrooms and saute briefly until the mushrooms just start to release their juices.
Add in the perpetual spinach and saute until just wilted.
Add the wine to the pot, and simmer until reduced by about a third.
Add the rice and stir until well-coated.
Add in a cup of the stock and stir. Continue to stir occasionally until the stock is significantly absorbed/evaporated.
Repeat this step until you have used up all the stock and/or the rice is firm tender (al dente).
Add in the half and half and the parmesan, stirring until well incorporated.
Add in sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Serve garnished with a sprig of parsley.

Enjoy!