Tag Archives: Sport Hill Eat Local CT Challenge

Eat Local Challenge, farms, locavore, recipes

Challenge Meal: Caponata

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Life is funny. There you are, making your Giambotta, marveling at its resemblance to its first cousin Ratatouille, when along comes Caponata.

It seems that the Sicilian version of Caponata introduces something in a brine, like olives or capers. Some are arguing that if it isn’t Sicilian, it isn’t Caponata. I’m reserving judgment until I get to try it Sicilian style.

For a version without the brined punch, I found this recipe for Greek Caponata from Giada De Laurentis (go figure) which is a baked version of the Giambotta I made (and similar to the Ratatouille from the movie (sans the decorative arrangement of the ingredients).

I served it over polenta, using Anne Burrell’s recipe, where you let it set, then pan-sear it. I didn’t use any of the herbs that Anne did because hers was meant to accompany braised lamb shanks. I added butter to the polenta mixture instead of mascarpone (about 2 T) and seared them in butter too. Mmmm.

Food sources:

  • garlic, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant from Sport Hill Farm
  • red onion from Newtown Cedar Hill Farm
  • tomato puree from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT (from the freezer)
  • oregano, dried, from my garden
  • extra-virgin olive oil  from Italy
  • corn meal from Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill
  • milk from Stone Wall Dairy, Cornwall Bridge, CT
  • butter from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy

Despite baking for about an hour, the individual flavors of the eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash came through. While this dish goes perfectly with some crusty Italian bread, the polenta was a pleasant accompaniment, moving the whole meal into the comfort food category.

Since I was serving this over polenta, I left out the potatoes. I don’t think that took much away from the overall flavor profile. Next time, I’ll use thyme instead of oregano. Will it still be Greek?

Update: Almost forgot the beverage! Here’s my CukeTini:

  • 1/2 cup  of cucumber juice (about 1/2 cucumber) either through the juicer, or use the food processor and pass through a strainer
  • 1 T lime juice
  • 1/2 tsp dried mint leaves (or 1 T if using fresh)
  • 1 jigger of gin

Very refreshing. I’m thinking about adding garlic and dill and calling it the TzatzikiTini. H/T to Two Farm Shares for this fabulous idea.

 

Eat Local Challenge, locavore, recipes

Giambotta

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In Pixar’s movie, Ratatouille, the food critic is dismayed at being served a peasant dish, ratatouille. But as he tastes this dish, made so well, so lovingly, with the perfect co-mingling of flavors, he experiences a complete transformation. It could happen.

Then there’s giambotta, an Italian vegetable stew, and first cousin to ratatouille. I don’t know which came first and which is the spin-off. Both dishes were born in regions of countries where they tend to use fresh, local ingredients and let the inherent flavors do the talking.

Both dishes have nearly identical ingredients: zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes. (Note: these are all in season right now here in CT!) With giambotta, you cook the ingredients together (for the most part) and allow the flavors to meld. Generally, with ratatouille, you cook the ingredients separately and then bring them together so as to retain the the distinct flavor of each item.  Generally.

There are several variations on this dish, some approaching giambotta. Julia layers the cooked ingredients  into a casserole. Remy’s ratatouille (from the movie) arranges the raw ingredients into a casserole. At Cooking For Engineers, the ingredients are cooked together, but in a very deliberate, methodical order (like a precision giambotta).

I don’t have a family recipe for giambotta, so I borrowed Rachel Ray’s. I figured that since her meals are under 30 minutes, the flavors would meld modestly but still retain some individuality. And in fact, that’s how it happened. I was faithful to the recipe except fpr leaving out the bay leaf. It probably didn’t need the chicken broth either. (For a slight variation, see Sara Moulton’s recipe.)

Food sources:

You can serve giambotta as a side dish. You can serve it over pasta. You can make a meal of it by starting with sauteed meat (like Italian sausage). Don’t care for meat? Try adding cooked beans instead. You can also drain off the liquid and use it as the filling in a vegetable lasagne or even in a fritatta. You can freeze it and do any of those things to bring summer sunshine to the dead of winter. As they say, the possibilities are endless.

CSA, farms, locavore, organic

Sport Hill Farm 2011 CSA – Week 8

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Wow, this past week went fast! Here was the bounty from my Sport Hill Farm CSA last week:

  • 4 zucchini
  • 2 of either zucchini or yellow summer squash
  • 1 head of green cabbage
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 bag of tomatoes
  • 1 head of escarole
  • 2 cauliflower heads
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1 bunch of salad turnips

Here’s what became of most of it:

Yellow summer squash sauteed in garlic and olive oil with some tomatoes tossed in at the end.

Sauteed kale (in garlic with olive oil and chicken bone broth) with beets (golden and red). The kale is warm. The beets are not.

String beans, carrots, salad turnips and radishes with a tzatziki dipping sauce, loosely based on this recipe. Sources: yogurt from Arathusa, all vegetables from SHF.

Zucchini (raw and shredded) and escarole (braised) are put by for the winter.

This cabbage is supposed to be fermenting itself into sauerkraut. I bought a Fermented Vegetable Master from Cultures for Health, as recommended here. I added the salt and the whey to the shredded cabbage and crushed, crushed, crushed. It’s been four days and it’s not bubbling. I think I’m doing something wrong. Anyone have any ideas?

challenge, Eat Local Challenge, farms, locavore

Fried Squash Blossoms

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It was a fairly unexciting food week with most of the greens getting sautéed with garlic scapes and olive oil and stored away for the dark days.

However, I did make fried squash blossoms and that’s something you don’t see every day.

Before

.

After

I made a batter using:

  • one egg (Woodbury Laid)
  • 2 Tbsp of milk (Stone Wall Dairy)
  • enough of corn meal (Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill) to make it dippable
  • a pinch of salt

I dipped the flowers (Maple Bank Farm) into the batter and fried them in a pan with olive oil and butter (Ronnybrook Farm Dairy).

If you’ve never had this fun treat, you owe to yourself to try it at least once.