Tomatillo Recipes

"Life after Salsa Verde"
By Blake Van Roekel

Polenta with Tomatillo Relish

Serves 6 as side dish or 10 to 12 as appetizer

Polenta:

• 1 cup of polenta or yellow corn grits
• 2 cups of water
• salt

Boil water. Throw a tablespoon of salt in it or so with the cream. Drizzle the polenta in while stirring. Reduce heat to a simmer, and stir the grains "vigorously". Slowly cook until the polenta grain is tender to the bite (salting the dish as you go to taste), 30 minutes or so. Intermittent stirring will produce a creamier texture.

Pour into a shallow serving dish, no larger than 9x13. Let cool and firm up while you prepare the tomatillo relish.

Tomatillo Relish:

• 5-6 cloves of garlic minced
• 3 yellow onions finely chopped
• 7-10 tomatillos chopped
• 4 Black Hungarian peppers finely chopped
• 2 Hungarian Hot wax peppers finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
• 2 Jimmy Nardello peppers (sliced lengthwise for garnish)
• olive oil
• salt

In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, cover bottom with olive oil. Add the onions and garlic, sprinkle with 1-2 tsp of salt, cover and "sweat" over low heat until the onions and garlic are tender. Add the tomatillos, peppers and oregano. Cover and cook until the tomatillos break down and become a sauce. Remove lid and reduce about 1/4 of the liquid until it is firm and thick. Salt to taste. Spread on the polenta. Sauté the Jimmy Nardello peppers slightly. Arrange on the top of the tomatillo relish. Refridgerate 4 hours or overnight if you would like to cut into squares and serve chilled (great for hot days).

Tomatillo Apple Jalapeno Sorbet

Serves 6

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 medium apples
• 3 medium tomatillos
• 1 jalapeno (I used the Gales Meadow Padrone pepper - wonderful!)
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Peel and core the apples, reserving the peel and core. Bring water and sugar to simmer. Add apple peel and cores. Halve and seed the jalapeno or Padrone pepper. Add to sugar/water mixture as well. Lightly simmer for 2 hours and reduce by about 1/3 (after words can be pulled off heat to sit all day further infusing the apple and pepper flavors). Meanwhile, chop the apples and tomatillos. Cover and cook until they break apart and form a sauce. Purée in blender or food processor. Strain the sugar mixture and pour liquid into the tomatillo apple purée with the lemon juice. If needed, cool in a cold water bath. Make sorbet according to your ice cream maker directions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can pour into a freezer bag/ziplock and massage it intermittently while it freezes to break up the ice crystals. Scoop and serve!

Winter Squash

There are four common species of hard shelled cucurbits that can keep for several months. Some of them are called winter squash and others are called pumpkins. There is no botanical distinction between squashes and pumpkins.

The Cucurbita pepo species includes most pumpkin varieties from the little Baby Boo to the 30-pound Howden, as well as most of the colorful small gourds. Winter squashes in the pepo species include acorn, delicata, sweet dumpling, and spaghetti squash. Zucchini, crooknecks, scallopini, and other summer squash are also pepos.

Butternut squash is C. moscata. There are pumpkin-shaped moscatas including Long Island cheese, Musquee de Provence, and the Japanese Black Futsu. The delicious summer squash called tromboncino is also a moscata. The flesh of moscatas tends to be smooth, not very stringy and bright orange when ripe. In general, they are sweeter and more intensely flavored than pepos.

The really big pumpkins, Dill's Atlantic giant and Connecticut field pumpkin, are C. maxima. So are buttercup, hubbard, kubocha, and sweet meat squash. They have drier flesh than pepos, and a wide range of flavors. Some, but not all, have very tough shells.

The last species, C. mixta (or argyrosperma, according to one seed catalog), - Tennessee Sweet Potato, Tohono O'Odham Ha:l, and Pink Banana - have not produced mature fruit for us in the Gales Creek Valley. They might do better elsewhere in the Portland region.

There are distinctive botanical features that distinguish the different cucurbita species. The shape of the stems is an easy way to identify them. Pepos have hard stems with a rounded joint, moschata stems are hard with a pentagonal ridged joint, and maximas have fat spongy-looking stems. The seeds are also different. But their shapes, sizes, and skin colors, and the color of the raw and cooked flesh overlap.

There are differences in culinary characteristics: small pepos are usually baked and served in their shells; moscatas and maximas are used for soups, pies and puréed dishes. Large pepos, like jack-o-lantern pumpkins and spaghetti squash have stringy flesh.

Roasted Squash Soup with Sage

This soup is most flavorful and least likely to be stringy if it is made with butternut (moschata) or one of the maxima squash varieties. Delicata or acorn squash will work nearly as well. Four pounds could be one whole butternut or kabocha, one-fourth of a sweet meat squash, or two or three delicatas. You can guess at the weight; proportions are flexible.

• 4 pounds of whole squash
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 12 whole sage leaves
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400oF. Cut squash in half and put it on an oiled cookie sheet, cut side down. If you are using less than half of a large squash like sweet meat, brush olive oil on exposed side (if it gets brown, that's good). Roast until very soft, about one hour.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot and fry sage leaves, a few at a time, for about 15 seconds each. Put them on a paper towel to drain, and set aside. Sauté onion and garlic in the same oil until soft but not brown.

Remove squash from oven, let it cool until it can be easily handled, scrape flesh from skin and purée in a food processor with a little of the broth. Add purée to onions and garlic in pot, stir in the rest of the broth and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until flavors are blended.

Serve in large bowls, garnished with fried sage leaves.

Servings: 6

Buttercup Squash New England Style

• 1 2-4 lb. squash, unpeeled and cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 large apples
• 1/2 c. cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam squash until the inside is soft but the shell remains fairly firm. Let squash cool slightly, then scoop out the mash. Whip the mashed squash with the butter, nutmeg, salt, and maple syrup. Core and slice apples into 1/4 inch slices and spread on buttered cookie sheet. Mound the mashed squash on the apple slices. Heat for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cranberry sauce. Serves 4

Stuffed BonBon Squash

• 1 2-4 lb. squash
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 med. onion
• Dried red peppers
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c. wheat germ or 1 c. bread crumbs
• 1 lb. ground chuck (optional)
• 1 clove garlic 1 tomato
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1 c. grated Tillamook Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Bake, cut side down, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large frying pan and sauté onion, garlic, and dried peppers. Add the ground chuck and brown. Mix together with eggs, cheeses, wheat germ or bread crumbs, and pepper. and celery flakes. Stuff squash with mixture and bake an additional 20 minutes or until done. Cut in half to serve 4.

Butternut Squash & Leek Soup with Herb Butter

For the Herb Butter:

• 1 oz. Shallots, finely chopped (About 2 T.)
• 1/4 c. dry sherry
• 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2 T chopped fresh chives or garlic greens
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

For the Soup:

• 4 c well washed and chopped leeks,
• white part only (about 3 large leeks)
• 8 cups 1-inch cubes of butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 6 c chicken or vegetable broth
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Chopped fresh chives or garlic greens for garnish

Herb Butter: Heat a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and heat to release their aroma and lightly toast them, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the sherry. Set the pan back on the heat and reduce the liquid to 2 Tbs., about 8 min. Let cool. In a small mixing bowl, blend the butter, chives or garlic greens, sherry-shallot mixture, salt, and pepper. Cover and chill.

Soup: Put the leeks in a heavy-based non- aluminum, 8-qt. stockpot. Put the squash over the leeks; add the wine and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until the squash is fork-tender, about 25 min. Let cool 15 min. Add the salt and pepper; purée in a blender (or food processor). To Serve: Reheat the soup over low to medium heat, stirring frequently (or in a microwave). Ladle the hot soup into shallow bowls and garnish with dollops of herb butter and fresh chives or garlic greens.

Baked Holiday Squash

• 4 Carnival squash, halved lengthwise; seeds and membrane removed
• 1 cup organic brown rice
• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 4 cups or water
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup apples, diced
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon each ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375º F. Cook both varieties of rice together in broth or water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt (omit salt if broth is already salted). Meanwhile, place squash halves, cut side down, into a large shallow baking dish or cookie sheet (you may need two). Bake for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until it becomes transparent. Remove from heat. Using a large mixing bowl, blend this mixture together with the cooked rice, cranberries, nuts, apples, and remaining seasonings.

When done, remove the partially baked squash from the oven. Spoon out some of the cooked squash and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to scrape only a little; you want to leave squash in the shells, too.

Press the rice mixture into each squash cavity, mounding rice as much as possible. (Depending on how large the squash are, you may end up with some leftover rice mixture, which makes a great side dish by itself.)

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until squash flesh is thoroughly tender.

Carnival Squash And Wild Rice

• 2 Carnival squash
• 1/2 pound Small Brussels sprouts
• 2 teaspoons Olive oil
• 1 cup Diced onion
• 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Dried marjoram
• 1/4 cup Minced fresh sage
• 1/4 cup Fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoons Fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon Freshly grated pepper
• 2 cups Cooked wild rice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Cut each squash in half and remove the seeds and pulp. In a large baking dish, place the squash, cut side down, with about 1 inch of water. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

Pour about 2 inches of water into a large stockpot. Place a collapsible steamer in the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Place the Brussels sprouts in the steamer, cover, and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over low heat. Add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the fennel, marjoram, sage, orange juice, lemon juice, and pepper, and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the cooked wild rice and the Brussels sprouts and heat through. Spoon the wild rice and Brussels sprout mixture into the squash cavities. Serve immediately.

Moroccan-Style Vegetable Soup

• 2 T Safflower oil
• 2 lg Onions,chopped
• 2 Potatoes,scrubbed and cut-into 3/4" chunks
• 2 c Raw butternut-squash,peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
• 2 lg Carrots,coarsely chopped
• 1 14 oz can tomatoes with liquid,-chopped (14 oz)
• 2 t ground cumin
• 3/4 t Turmeric
• 2 c Chick peas, canned or well-cooked
• Salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste
• 1 c Whole grain couscous -(presteamed, cracked semolina)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over moderate heat until golden. Add the potatoes, pumpkin or squash, carrots, tomatoes, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then add the seasonings and simmer over low heat, covered, for approximately 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chick peas and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer over very low heat for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, place the couscous in an oven-proof bowl. Cover with two cups of boiling water, then cover the bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place a small amount of the couscous in each soup bowl, then ladle the soup over it. Serve at once.

Costata Romanesco Squash

Costata Romanesco is an Italian heirloom zucchini with a green and white speckled skin and lengthwise ridges. We think it is so much better than other zucchini varieties that we do not grow any other kind. It is about twice the size of other zucchini when it blooms, and is tender with undeveloped seeds even when it is about 15 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. It has a pleasant, slightly nutty taste. When it is sliced crosswise, the slices have a pretty, fluted edge. The key to summer squash quality is a tender skin. A few surface scratches are almost inevitable because the skin of a perfect summer squash is thin and delicate.

We sell large squash - the ones which eluded our notice in the rampantly growing squash patch until they got a hard skin and more developed seeds - as “monster zucchini.” These are good for zucchini bread, soup, stuffed baked zucchini, and for the zucchini bake recipe below.

Zucchini Bake

This is a great vegetarian main course for four. It makes a nice snack or appetizer when cut into smaller servings. Leftovers, if there are any, are good cold.

• 1 large zucchini, 2 - 3 lbs, grated or finely chopped, but not peeled.
• 1 t. sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup biscuit mix
• ½ cup basil, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 375ºf. Oil the sides and bottom of a 13 x 9” baking pan. Mix the ingredients in the order given. Spread into pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely browned on top. Cut into large squares to serve.

Grilled Costata Romanesco

Use medium to large squashes, at least 2 ½ inches in diameter. Slice crosswise in ½ inch slices. Brush lightly with olive oil. Put them on a hot grill and turn after 3-4 minutes. They should be browned but not burned. Cook them another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped basil.

Costata Romanesco can also be roasted in a 400° oven for about 10 minutes. Turn each slice over after the first five minutes.

Zucchini with Pasta

Slice zucchini into ½ inch slices and sauté until just tender (about 5 minutes) in olive oil. Add some chopped filberts. Cook some pasta; when it's done, spoon a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water into the zucchini pan. Add pesto. Serve immediately over the pasta, with a sprinkle of grated parmesan.

Fennel

Fennel originated in the Mediterranean. It's used in many cuisines, flavoring dishes from Indian curries to French stews. The flavor of the bulb is more pronounced when used raw. Thick slices grill or bake beautifully, with the heat creating a more subtle and complex flavor. Fennel fronds can substitute for dill. The seeds are used for meat and baked goods or in spice mixes including Herbes de Provence, Chinese five spice powder and Indian curry powder.

Fennel - Parmesan Salad

• 1 fennel bulb, shaved thin
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 Tbsp chopped flat-leafed parsley
• 2 Tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together.

Roasted Fennel

• 2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with aluminum foil. Lay out pieces of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.

Fennel Braised with Tomatoes and Shallots

• 3 fennel bulbs, cut into quarters
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 2 Tablespoons dill
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable stock

Steam the fennel for 5 minutes, or place it in the microwave with a little water and cook on high about 3 minutes or until slightly tender.. In a sauté pan, heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the shallots and cook stirring until soft ~ about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, fennel and vegetable broth. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill and coriander.

Fennel Soup

• 1/4 cup butter
• 5 fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the quartered fennel bulbs; cook and stir until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pour in the broth, and simmer until fennel is tender, about 15 more minutes. Ladle into soup bowls, and season with salt and pepper.

Using Sorrel

If you've never used sorrel, try adding small amounts to your salads. In any recipe that calls for spinach you can substitute a small amount of sorrel-try 1/4 sorrel, 3/4 spinach as a start. Place a sprig or two on sandwiches. Shred sorrel into soups with a tomato, beet, cabbage, or fish base. It is one of the herbs that is best added at the last minute instead of cooking for longer periods of time. Sorrel does not dry well, but you can purée the leaves and store in the freezer to use as seasoning. For salads choose leaves that are less than 9 inches, and use the larger ones for cooking.

Greens and Fish

An old French recipe

• 1/2 pound chard
• 1/2 pound spinach
• few leaves of sorrel
• one garlic clove
• 2 pounds thin fish fillets
• Crusty bread

Place the greens and one peeled, crushed garlic clove in a pot and cook for ten minutes, then chop. Add the fish, and cook for 10-15 minutes until done. Place piece of crusty bread on a plate and serve the fish and the chopped greens beside one another with the liquid.

Sorrel Soup

• 1/2 pound sorrel
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg yolk

Clean and shred sorrel, then chop. In a large heavy pan, heat butter. Add sorrel and cook, stirring, for ten minutes until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add the water, potatoes and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Strain and mash or purée the vegetables. Stir the cooking liquid into vegetables and return to pan. Bring to boil. Stir in milk and yolk. Cook until hot, but do not boil. Serve with French Bread.

This information on Sorrel comes from: http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/vegetables/sorrel2.asp.

Ragout of Turnips, Peas, and Sorrel

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6 spring onions, cut in 1” pieces
• 3 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound of peas, shelled
• 1 bag of sorrel (3-4 oz), chopped fine
• Yogurt

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the turnips, onions, and sprig of thyme. Add about 1/2 inch of water and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer, partially covered until the turnips are tender, about 15 minutes.. Add the peas and sorrel and simmer for another two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a spoonful of yogurt on top. (Based on a recipe from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers Markets.)