This is a rare opportunity to learn from one of Portland’s best cooking teachers and Slow Food national board chair Katherine Deumling. She is only teaching one public cooking class this fall and it is this coming Saturday Nov 10th from 2-4pm at Luscher Farm in Lake Oswego. The focus of the class is cooking with all the beautiful local winter veggies that we grow here. Learn how to make a variety of dishes illustrating simple and inspiring ways to enjoy the winter season produce. The class offers opportunities for participation, interaction and lots of tasting, so bring your questions about winter produce and come cook with us!!

Get more info and sign up for the class HERE.

From Katherine Deumling at Cook With What You Have

This makes at least 3 pints of sauce and at least 2 or more meals worth of enchiladas.
Olive oil
2.5 lbs green tomatoes, diced
1 large or 2 smaller onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried (or fresh) oregano, crumbled or finely chopped
3 green peppers (bell, anaheim, poblano or any combo), broiled until blackened then peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1-2 serrano chilies (or jalapenos), finely chopped (leave seeds in for some heat or remove for mild sauce)
3 1/2-4 cups water or broth
Salt
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems, well washed and chopped

In a large pot or skillet, saute the onions in some olive oil until translucent and soft. Add the cumin, garlic, serrano or jalapeno and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally for a few more minutes. Then add the tomatoes, roasted peppers and water or broth and some salt (probably close to a teaspoon if you’re not using broth or the broth isn’t salty) and bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are mostly broken down. Add the cilantro and blend or process in the food processor until fairly smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.

My favorite way to use this sauce is with enchiladas. I fill small corn tortillas with most any combination of home-cooked pinto or black beans, sometimes sauteed with winter squash and lots of onions and garlic, or leftover chicken cut up and sauteed with some onions and whatever other veggies you have sitting around. Then warm tacos in oven in foil until pliable and fill with filling and a bit of grated sharp cheddar or other cheese and a little bit of the sauce.

Spread some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Roll up tortillas and place seam-side down in the dish and top generously with sauce and more cheese. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

This recipe was sent to me with rave reviews from Steve Bilow, shareholder at Luscher Farm. Thanks Steve for passing it along!!

Kohlrabi Pancakes

Ingredients
6 medium Kohlrabi
2 medium onions
4 tbsp general purpose white flour
3 medium eggs
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
vegetable oil for frying

Cooking Directions

1. Peel kohlrabi and shred in a food processor.
2. Finely chop the onions
3. Combine the kohlrabi and onions in a large mixing bowl
4. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then add them to the vegetable mixture
5. Add the salt and pepper, and mix well
6. Dust the flower over the top of the mixture so that it is evenly dispersed and mix with a fork to insure the mixture thickens without the flour forming lumps.
7. Heat the oil over medium/high heat until evenly heated
8. Spoon the mixture into the frying pan and form it into patties.
9. Fry until you see that the edges are turning brown, then flip the pancakes and fry until you can peer under them and see that the second side has browned.
10. Drain on paper towels to remove the excess oil, then serve while still hot.

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas & Greens
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
By Deborah Madison

2 tablespoons safflower or olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion diced
1 celery rib, finely diced
2 med carrots, diced
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile or red pepper flakes
2 cups fresh or 1 cup dried black eyed peas
1 quart water or soup stock
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper to taste

Heaps of sauteed Greens: Collards, Mustard & Turnip Greens are most traditional, but many other greens work as well. I’ve used everything from mizuna to purple sprouting broccoli with good success.

Heat the oil and butter in a sauce pan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, pepper, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Cook for 15 min, stirring occasionally, then add the allspice and chile and cook for a few minutes more. Add the peas and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons salt and cook for 20 minutes more or until peas are tender.

Coarsely chop the greens and saute them with a bit of olive oil & salt in a large wok. Collards will take slightly longer to cook than more tender greens like mustard & turnips.

Put a scoop of greens in the bottom of a bowl, pour peas & broth over the greens and serve.

Gino’s Cauliflower Pasta

The rains have arrived and I’ve had several people ask me about harvesting this time of year. Hopefully you’ve already picked most your red tomatoes! The rain will definitely cause tomatoes to split and they aren’t as flavorful after being rained on either. If you have them under cover, then you might be able to pick for another week or so but wait until the sun comes out again if you can. On the farm we usually try to wait for a dry day to pick green tomatoes as well. It is important pick these before the late blight attacks the fruit, and definitely before the frost comes. We’ll have lots of green tomato recipes in the website next week, but in the meantime try these from the NY Times.

We’re hoping for another week or so of mild weather to keep ripening sweet peppers. The slugs are beginning to attack the fruit so this week we’ll probably harvest everything that is close to the ground. Before the first frost make sure you pull all the rest of the fruit off, wash it, and then you can store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If you’re swimming in peppers this time of year like we are try this recipe for Marinated Red Peppers from Kelly Meyers blog Front Burner on Culinate. I think it works just as well with yellow and green peppers too.

We also grow several varieties of hot peppers and dry extras to give out during the winter share. Usually the cayenne and habeneros start to ripen sometime in September. We’ll check the plants about once a week and bring any fully ripe fruit inside to dry. Before the first frost we’ll pick all the remaining hot peppers that have started to blush with color and bring them inside to dry. Most of them will slowly add more color during the drying process. Fully dry peppers can be stored in airtight containers or frozen.

Ensalada de Berenjenas a la Morisca
Based on a recipe from The Complete Spanish Cookbook
By Jacki Passmore

4 medium to large eggplant (about 1 1/2 lbs)
olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped mint
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red chili pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3-4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Thickly slice regular eggplant or cut Japanese eggplant in half lengthwise. Spread on an oiled baking sheet and brush with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 until soft and starting to carmelize about 20 min. I often turn the eggplant halfway through cooking so they get toasted on both sides. Let eggplant cool, then cut into cubes. Place in salad bowl. Whisk some olive oil with the chopped ingredients. Add vinegar to taste and pour over the eggplant. Toss to coat evenly. Let stand for at least 30 min before serving. You can make a day ahead and marinate in the fridge overnight.

Ignacio Matta’s Grilled Favas

– from Food52.com via Cook With What You Have

This recipe is brilliant. I first tried whole grilled fava beans (including the pods) at the Gathering Together Farm booth at a farmers’ market this season. Then I found this recipe, which is incredibly good. You can also just grill them with olive oil and salt and a squeeze of lemon with the same method. But all the extra goodies are worth it. And it seems like a lot of anchovies but it is well balanced. And if you don’t have a grill, a smoking hot cast iron pan works too—just turn your fan on high and open the windows.

Serves 4 to 6

1 pound fresh fava beans in their pods, the younger/smaller the better
1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ground chile pepper
1 teaspoon picked rosemary
3 to 4 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more to finish
2 tablespoons water
1 lemon
6 canned anchovies in oil, chopped finely
1 handful toasted bread crumbs (optional)
Mix first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss to coat the fava pods, then place them on the grill over medium-high heat.

Grill favas for several minutes, until charred, then flip them over and char the other side, cooking until the pods seem about to open.

Remove pods from grill, return them to the mixing bowl, and squeeze the lemon over them. Toss the pods to coat. Check the seasoning, and add salt if necessary. Add the anchovies to the bowl, mixing well.

Place the pods on a serving platter, drizzle to taste with olive oil, and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top, if using. Serve hot or at room temperature; eat with your hands or with forks and knives, depending on how messy you want to get.

The American food establishment has deemed that favas are edible only when the seeds are peeled. In our experience shelling the beans raw, then blanching and peeling the seeds is tedious and unnecessary, and robs this amazing vetch of much of its flavor, nutritional value and fiber. Worse yet, a simple, hearty staple has become a fussy, special occasion food, and a daunting one at that.

The best way to prepare favas for everyday use is to bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a handful of salt, a quarter cup or so, and then throw the whole pods into the water. Cook them for about 12 minutes, until the pods are limp. Drain and leave to cool for 20 minutes, or until they are comfortable to shell. A gentle squeeze and the seeds will slip out of the pod. Favas cooked in this manner are free of bitterness and strong flavors. The combination of the heavily salted water and cooking the seeds in the pod makes skin of the bean nutty flavored, and the fresh favas become a much more satisfying dish than the naked cotyledons touted in the food magazines.

These fresh favas can be sauteed with some garlic and olive oil. On her blog, www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com Katherine Deumling, a happy convert to this method of preparing fresh favas, has a recipe for favas in yoghurt, a very traditional was of serving them. For the field day, we prepared a ful made from a combination of fresh and dried favas, along with some chickpeas. The ful was seasoned with some olive oil, lemon, garlic and cumin.

We must credit Mimi Serafi, the mother of our sister-in-law Shirin, who taught us this simple Persian approach to cooking favas. It works and has improved our life. Can’t ask more than that.

Thank you,
Carol and Anthony Boutard
Ayers Creek Farm

This recipe may sound a bit complicated but after making it once I think you’ll find it quick, easy and versatile. Alliums – all those wonderful members of the onion family including spring onions, green garlic, leeks, whistles, ramps and shallots – are at the heart of this dish. I saute whatever alliums are in season, add a few other veggies and herbs, the egg and a bit of cheese to bind it together, and surround the whole thing with a giant free form pie crust. YUM!

3 cups alliums including some greens, chopped
8-10 Nicoise or Kalamata olives
butter/olive oil
2/3 cup parmesan
2-3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced lemon zest
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1-2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cream or crème fraiche
1/4 cup chopped parsley (or other herbs)
salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup soft goat cheese (about 4 oz)

Almost any greens and/or mushrooms are a great addition to this dish. Saute them separately, allow to cool for 10 min, then add in with the olives at the end.

Thinly slice and wash the alliums then saute them in butter or olive oil for 5-10 min. Add thyme and 1/2 cup of water. Stew over medium heat stirring frequently until alliums are tender- about 5-10 min more. Add the wine and continue cooking until it’s reduced, then add the cream and cook until it just coats the leeks and a little liquid remains. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add olives, parmesan, and lemon zest. Let cool 10 minutes, then stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg and most of the parsley & herbs.

Preheat the oven to 400. Roll out the dough (see below) for one large or six individual galettes. Spread the leek mixture on top, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Crumble the cheese over the top then fold the dough over the filling. Brush with reserved egg and bake until the crust is browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove, scatter the remaining parsley over the top, and serve.

Galette Dough

Based on a recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 cups all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3-1/2 cup ice as water as needed

Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand or using a mixer with a paddle attachment leaving some pea sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press it into a disk and refrigerate for 15 min if the butter feels too soft.

I always roll the dough out onto lightly floured parchment paper because it makes then it doesn’t stick! To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8^th inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides. Unfold it. It will be larger than the pan.

I usually make savory galettes, but this dough is also wonderful wrapped around sweet summer fruit for dessert.