Garden Vegetable Stew

 

This is one vegetarian dish that even the die-hard meat eaters will enjoy! The quality of your veggies will turn this from ordinary to amazing and full of flavor. Its filling and incredible versatile based on the vegetables and herbs you use. This veg stew is perfect over a boiled potato or polenta. With the eggs from our hens, we love poaching an egg and placing it atop this gorgeous garden stew, adding a little protein and making it into more of a meal. Plus, eggs are hot right now!! Which just cracks us up (who comes up with these things?! By the way kale is out and cauliflower is in!) 

Remember with simple dishes like this its important to use the best quality ingredients. This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got /like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

Garden Vegetable Stew
serves about 6

This is just the base for the veggies - use what you've got/like/grow. Add in potatoes if you want, etc.

1 long eggplant
1 onion
1 pepper
1 zucchini
1 bulb of fennel
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
a couple of large tomatoes, diced or 1 jar of whole crushed tomatoes
herbs of your choice (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf etc)
optional: capers, olives

Dice all your vegetables in a large dice, keeping them separate. Since its a stew the sizing isn’t exact. But don’t mix all the veggies together in a bowl.

In a large heavy pot, with a little bit of olive oil on medium high heat, sauté the onion for a few minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Then remove from the pot. We are just looking to start the onions cooking.

Repeat the same process, a little bit of olive oil, salt & pepper, sauté for 2 minutes or so and then remove, with each of the remaining vegetable except the tomatoes.

Keep an eye on your pan heat - you don’t want it too hot or too cool: too hot and they will burn your vegetables, too cool and you’ll sweat instead of sauté the vegetables.

Then return all the vegetables to the pot, together, along with the tomatoes and your herbs (and capers/olives if you like). Bring the pot up to a simmer and let slowly simmer until all the vegetables are tender. OR I like to pop it in a 375 F/190 C degrees oven, uncovered for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced some.

Check your seasoning, remove the herb stems and finish with good extra virgin olive oil on top.

If you like, poach an egg and place atop or serve with boiled potatoes or grilled polenta. Makes a great hearty vegetarian dish. It will get better as it sits in the fridge. Change up the vegetables as you like or play with the spices.

Warm Artichoke, Asparagus, Fava & Potato Salad

 When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and when the garden is producing kilos of fava and neighbors deliver homegrown artichokes and asparagus we make this delicious warm salad! It's a shame to call is a 'potato salad' but when I asked a handful of guests, as they were eating this dish after a cooking class they all replied 'the best potato salad ever!' Use whatever Spring veggies you've got but the combo of warm boiled new potatoes with sweet artichoke hearts and bright asparagus & or fava is simply...the best potato salad ever!

Check out the short video on Tastemade to see a glimpse of the cooking class with this one the menu!

Artichokes & New Potatoes with Fava and Asparagus

Serves 4

12 artichoke hearts, cleaned (we have small artichokes, if you are using big Roman artichokes you can use 1 artichoke heart per person, cut into quarters)
4 medium potatoes (the best looking potatoes you can find)
2 handfuls of cleaned, double shelled fave beans (or peas)
handful of thin asparagus if you have them (grilled or blanched)
handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered (seeds removed)
small handful of chopped herbs: oregano, basil, parsley - whatever you’ve got.
good extra virgin olive oil
vinegar
salt & pepper

In separate pots, of boiling salted water, cook: the artichoke hearts,  the potatoes with the skin left on whole and fave beans until just soft, but not mushy. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
When you can handle the potatoes, peel them and cut into similar size chunks as your artichoke hearts.

While everything is still warm, place the potatoes, artichokes, bean/peas and tomatoes, etc. into a bowl and season with salt & pepper, chopped herbs and dress with olive oil and vinegar. (General rule of thumb, dress with 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, i.e.: a 3 count pour of olive oil to a 1 count pour of vinegar.)

Toss gently, adjust seasonings and allow to sit for five minutes and serve slightly warm. Garnish with grated hard egg over the top if you like.

Roasted Lamb with Potatoes & White Wine (Roman Spring Lamb)

A beautiful dish for Easter, Roasted Spring Lamb with Potatoes & White Wine - good every time! The recipe is adapted from one of our favorite Italian cookbooks, The Silver Spoon. Have you ever cooked lamb before? Have questions? Try our LIVE! online, interactive Cooking Class from our farmhouse/cooking school in Italy on March 16th and make this dish right along with the Chef! (Details Here)

Roman Spring Lamb
Roasted Lamb with Potatoes & White Wine

1 kilo or 2 lb leg of lamb, in pieces (ask the butcher to do this for you)
flour for dusting
2 glugs of olive oil
3 sprigs of rosemary
a small handful of sage leaves
couple of cloves of garlic
glass of white wine
1/3 glass of white wine vinegar (about 5 tablespoons)
4 potatoes, sliced
salt & pepper
2/3 cup water, boiling
optional: 2-3 anchovies (or capers or anchovy paste)

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C

Dust the pieces of lamb with flour, shake off the excess.

In a heavy bottomed roasting pan, over medium-high heat brown the lamb on all sides in a couple glugs of olive oil, turning frequently (about 10 minutes).

Once browned, season with salt & pepper. Toss in the rosemary, sage & garlic.
Combine in a glass the wine & vinegar, then add to the roasting pan. Reduce until almost all the liquid has evaporated, turning the lamb frequently.

Once the pan is almost dry, add the boiling water. Then top with the slices of potatoes (its OK not to cover the entire dish) and roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes until tender WITH a foil lid.

If it seems to be drying out - add in a little hot water mixed with a dash of white wine.

For something truly authentic, 10 minutes before the lamb is ready smush 2-3 anchovy filets in a bowl with a little of the pan juices/sauces and pour over the entire lamb/potato dish and return to oven to finish cooking for another 5-10 minutes.

Check your seasonings.
To Serve: pick out the stems of herbs and transfer the meat to a warm serving dish and spoon the pan sauces/gravy over the top with the potatoes.

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Why do roasted potatoes taste so much better in Italy?! Well, it could be a few reasons. First the potatoes are golden and buttery to begin with (and homegrown at our farm) and secondly because they are made with with a two-step roasting process. This two part cooking process uses two different temperatures to achieve the desired flavor and look of the potatoes. The first half of the cooking time done at the lower temp is primarily to cook the potatoes until soft. The second half of the cooking time is done at a higher temp to get that gorgeous golden color. (The movement of air with a convection fan will act in lieu of raising the oven’s temperature.) 

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Serves 4

4 medium sized yellow potatoes (you can use any type you like, but we prefer gold/yellow potatoes) - peeled or skins left on is your choice.
whole clove of garlic, skin removed
salt & pepper
olive oil
small sprig of rosemary (do not cut into pieces)

Place a roasting pan in a cold oven and preheat to 350 F/180 C degrees.
Cut your potatoes into chunks, the larger the size, the longer it will take to cook. The smaller they are cut, the crunchier they will get and a shorter cooking time is needed.

In a bowl, combine the potatoes, a little salt & pepper, clove of garlic and rosemary sprig broken in half - do not chop it up. Toss the potatoes with a very little amount of oil, just enough to coat it. Too much oil will result in greasy potatoes.

Once the oven comes up to temperature, carefully remove the roasting pan and line with parchment paper. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the roasting pan, not too crowded.

Place in the oven and roast until they are soft about 20-30 minutes (depending on the size you cut your potatoes). They will not have much color yet. Remove from oven, with a spatula give the potatoes a flip/turn and return to oven.

Now, if your oven has a convection fan, turn it on - leaving the temperature the same - allowing the the potatoes to continue to roast until they have good color. (about 15-20 minutes depending).

If your oven does NOT have a convection fan raise the temperature to 375 F / 190 C degrees until your potatoes have a nice color, cooking about another 15-20 minutes (depending).

During the 2nd half, you may need to give the pots another turn/flip with the spatula.
To serve, remove the garlic & rosemary sprigs.

Potato & Cabbage Mash

Nothing says home cookin' like mashed potatoes.   For a "new" spin try the classic rustic Italian recipe of Potato & Cabbage Mash (Lesso di Patae e Cavolo Verza) by adding cabbage to boost the flavor. You can't get any more simplistic - a perfect example of cucina povera or peasant cooking. This dish goes great with stews, roasts and chicken.

We grow kilos & kilos of potatoes and rows of cabbages so we eat this all winter long!

pounds of freshly dug-up potatoes from the garden

Potato & Cabbage Mash

Lesso di patate e cavolo

Serves 4

1 head of savoy cabbage or cavolo verza, rinsed, cored & chopped
3 medium potatoes, (I grow & use yellow potatoes but use what you like)
2-3 glugs of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper


Bring a large pot of water up to a boil with a healthy pinch of salt. Toss in your potatoes with the skins-on. Cook until a knife slides into the potato easily (just like you would for mashed tatters), remove from boiling water & allow to cool slightly. Then peel potatoes once you can handle them.

In the same pot bring new water back to a boil with a pinch of salt.
Place cabbage in boiling water 8-10 minutes until soft. Remove cabbage from water & set in colander, draining excess water.

In a large frying pan (don't use Teflon pans for this!) on med-low heat slowly heat oil, rough chop your garlic & add it to the pan. Gently sweat for moment or two without burning or becoming brown. Then begin adding your potatoes to the pan, smashing them with a fork, incorporating the garlic & oil.

Give your cabbage a squeeze to remove some of the excess water, add the cabbage to the pan & continue smashing the cabbage with the back of the fork until the two are incorporated.

Taste. Season with salt & pepper, add another drizzle of olive oil if it seems dry.
Serve.

cavolo verza from our garden

Spezzatino (Stewed Pork)

There is nothing better on a cool autumn Sunday evening than walking into the kitchen, welcomed by the glow of the fireplace and the rich smells of meaty goodness: a pot slowly simmering on the back burner with stewed meat, falling apart ready to top thick golden polenta. This is a "stick to your ribs" hearty dinner perfect for the fall & winter.

photo: iocomesono-pippi.blogspot.com

Spezzatino

Stewed Pork

1 lb of beef or pork for stew (or a mix of both)
1 carrot, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
handful of olives
2-3 spoonfuls of capers, drained
1/2 glass of white wine
salt & pepper
flour for dusting
olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
aromatics/herbs - thyme, sage, rosemary
stock, enough to cover the meat
optional: mushrooms

Dredge meat in flour.
In a heavy bottomed pot on medium/high heat, brown meat on all sides.
Remove meat from the pan.
Reduce heat to low, add in vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes.
Add meat back to the pot (as well as the optional mushrooms) with your aromatics.
Deglaze with white wine and lemon juice.
Cover meat with stock.
Toss in capers & olives.
Simmer very slowly for 1.5 - 2 hours until meat is very tender.

Serve over polenta or boiled potatoes.

Garden Casserole

Perfect for those crisp fall nights- hearty fall veggies in a casserole with crunchy bread - keeps you toasty by the fire! Our garden is filled with these veggies & it is one of the easiest ways to utilize what we've got! Plus - this recipe is ridiculously simple!!

Ingredients

* 2 nice sized potatoes (yukon gold are best), peeled & thinly sliced
* 2 medium zucchini, sliced on the bias with seeds removed
* 2 shallots, chopped
* couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
* handful of fresh herbs, chopped (oregano, parsley or marjoram)
* salt & pepper
* extra virgin olive oil
* good bread

The Steps~

* Pour a little oil in a casserole dish (oven safe).
* Make a layer of potatoes covering the base of the dish
* Layer of zucchini
* Salt & pepper
* drizzle of olive oil
* couple of tomatoes ( does not have to fill in completly)
* sprinkle of shallots
* salt & pepper
* drizzle of olive oil
* chopped herbs
* repeat these steps until the dish is filled eding with potatoes on the top & a final drizzle of olive oil
* bake in a 400 degree oven until it is bubbling & a knife slips in easy & soft. Cooking time depends on size & height of your caserol dish - normally about an hour - hour & half.