Category: Gluten-free

Kohlrabi, Carrot, Scallion Fritters

Kohlrabi, Carrot, Scallion Fritters

Recipe adapted from: https://www.acouplecooks.com/kohrabi-fritters-with-avocado/

It’s Kohlrabi season and I love this vegetable! While it is a new vegetable to many of us here in the states, it is a very popular vegetable in Eastern Europe and Australia. It is often cooked and prepared similar to potatoes – soups, mashed, simmered in cream, etc. Peeled, diced, seasoned and roasted like potatoes is probably my favorite preparation (until this creation)! I also greatly enjoy raw (peeled) kohlrabi – it makes a great salad addition, but honestly I also eat them like radishes, smeared with butter and topped with sea salt. 

A friend of mine recently texted me in a kitchen emergency situation. She was making veggie fritters and had run out of all purpose flour and wondered if rice flour would work in a vegetable fritter recipe she was making from a cookbook. And that’s where this idea started! We make summer squash and zucchini fritters in the summer all the time. Served alongside something from the grill – it’s an excellent way to use up a bumper crop. So I applied the same technique to some winter vegetables. Honestly – this recipe is super flexible. I used chickpea flour, because I had it and I love the flavor. It can be “thirsty” and an excellent, unique thickener. I also served this alongside a vegetarian spread and was looking to add as much protein as possible to my dinner plate. But you can use all purpose flour, wheat flour, rice flour — all will work great. Not a fan of kohlrabi? I encourage you to try it in this recipe, but if it’s a hard no, I bet butternut squash or sweet potatoes would be divine too!

This was a huge hit with my kids, too, though maybe they were just in it for the avocado yogurt sauce. Either way – they gobbled up their servings! 

Ingredients:

  • 2 small kohlrabi, peeled
  • 2 large carrots, peeled
  • 1 large scallion, sliced lengthwise and then sliced into thin ribbons
  • 1 garlic clove, grated into bowl
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for salting after frying
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Frying oil of choice. I used avocado oil – enough to spread a nice thin layer (more than coat the pan, but we’re not deep frying here) on the bottom of your frying pan (~ ½ cup, depending on size of your vessel)

For the avocado yogurt sauce 

  • 1 small avocado
  • 1/4 cup yogurt
  • 1/2-1 lime, juiced
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • Salt & pepper

For sauce – blend all ingredients – I wiped out my food processor after shredding and used that, but combining by hand would work out just fine too. 

Directions for fritters:

  1. Shred kohlrabi and carrots in a food processor or using the large holes in a box grater. 
  2. Place shredded vegetables in a clean tea towel. Wring out all the excess moisture. If you’re using purple carrots (as pictured here), you may want to consider what tea towel you’re using as the carrots stain!
  3. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well. I found my hands to be the best tool for the job, to ensure there weren’t any pockets of flour or eggs that hadn’t penetrated the vegetables. You may also find that more liquid escapes the vegetables during this step. I just strained it out of the bowl over the sink. 
  4. Set your oven to warm or lowest heat. Set aside a baking pan, preferably with a rack on top. Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once it is hot, add the oil. You can test when the oil is ready by placing a small piece of batter into the pan to test it’s readiness to fry!
  5. When the oil is hot, use your hands to scoop about ⅓ cup of vegetables out and make a patty shape. 
  6. Gently place into pan and fry on each side about 2-3 minutes until nicely browned and crispy. Remove the done patties to the rack on the baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set in the oven until everything is done. Your goal is to keep everything hot and crispy! Continue frying until all the batter has been used. 
  7. Top with avocado yogurt sauce and dig in right away – the hotter and crispier, the better! 

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Creamy Whiskey Pork Chops with Rutabaga Mash

This has been a standard for Farmer B and I for years. Originally based off this recipe , I have adapted and simplified it over the years, to suite our needs and likes. My kids enjoy this dish as much as we do (don’t worry, the alcohol from the whiskey cooks off entirely!), I mean, who doesn’t like pork chops and mushrooms in a creamy sauce over mashed potatoes. Truly a stick to your ribs, comfort food night!

In this recipe, I pair it with some seasonal rutabaga available from a neighboring local farm. Rutabaga’s are in the brassica family (brassica napus which is a cross between a cabbage and turnip), so do have some bitterness to them, but they’re also a root vegetable and can have some of that sweetness if you know how to prepare them right! I do a 50/50 split with rutabaga and Yukon gold potatoes to achieve a similar but slightly different taste and feel to your normal mashed potato side.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

For the Pork Chops

  • 4 bone-in pork chops
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh thyme leaves 
  • 1-2 TB EVOO 
  • 2 TB butter 
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced 
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 
  • ½ cup whiskey
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • Chicken stock/water to thin sauce if desired or needed

Rosemary Rutabaga Mash

  • 1 lb rutabaga, peeled and diced
  • 1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 6 TB butter, plus more for serving
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled (keep whole)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Splash of cream or milk for mashing

Directions:

1. Season pork chops with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves on both sides. Let sit while you prep your ingredients.

2. In a large pot, boil rutabaga and potatoes until fork tender, about 25 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, in a small wide saucepan, brown the butter. On medium, let the butter melt and then continue cooking. It will start foaming and then milk solids will drop to the bottom and the butter will start to smell nutty and delicious. This takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on your heat. Keep a watch and don’t let it burn! Once it’s browned and smelling great, remove from heat and drop the rosemary springs and garlic cloves in — they will sizzle. Swirl to combine and set aside to let the rosemary and garlic infuse into the butter. 

4. Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium- high heat. Brown the pork chops for three minutes on each side to create a nice, brown crust. Remove from the pan and set onto a plate. Cover with foil. Set aside. This is the initial step to create flavor, but you will complete the cooking later.

5. Turn the heat down a bit to medium, and melt butter in the same cast iron skillet used for the chops. Add the onions and mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about eight minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms release some liquid and onions are well-cooked and browning. 

6. Turn the heat back up to high and deglaze the pan with the whiskey, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. After about a minute and the alcohol has cooked off, turn the heat to low. There should still be some liquid, you don’t want it to evaporate entirely. Add the sour cream and stir to combine. Taste to adjust your seasonings, and when you’re satisfied, place your pork chops and any accumulated liquid back in your pan. Cover with foil and let it cook on your lowest setting while you finish your mashed rutabaga. 

7. Strain the rutabaga and potatoes, and place back in the same pot. Discard the rosemary and garlic from the browned butter and add any remaining butter to the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and start to mash. If you need more liquid, slowly add only a splash of milk/cream. Rutabagas have a higher water content than potatoes so you’ll find you don’t need as much liquid when mashing them. Keep mashing to desired consistency and taste as you go. 

8. Test your pork chops to ensure they’re done cooking. If you’re a temp person, you’re looking for an internal 145 degrees, and if you’re a feeling kinda person you can test by pressing for firmness to your liking. 

9. Load your plate with mashed rutabaga, top with a pork chop and a heart helping of the creamy mushrooms and onions. We served it with a Caesar salad!

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Pork and Ricotta Meatballs

I’ve been making this recipe for years. The results are a tender, delicious meatball with endless possibilities. Serve them over spaghetti with tomato sauce, glazed in jam for an appetizer, or simply with a side of Romesco as I have here. I used ground pork, but you can use any meat you like including ground chicken as in the original recipe. I would imagine that already spiced up breakfast sausage would also be delicious, just reduce the seasonings! In the summertime, I swap the rosemary for basil — use what speaks to you and the seasons. You really can’t go wrong. My family prefers straight up meatballs without the bread, but you can certainly add in breadcrumbs if desired.

Ricotta Meatballs 

Adapted from this recipe. 

Ingredients: 

  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lb ground meat
  • 8 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 2 stalks of fresh rosemary, minced
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 1 tspn. salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper

DIrections:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 
  2. In a small saute pan, saute the onion until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Set aside to cool down. 
  3. Set up a sheet pan and line with a silpat mat, parchment paper or tin foil. 
  4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, cheese, rosemary, cooled onion/garlic, egg, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until combined. 
  5. Form the mixture into meatballs and arrange on the sheetpan. 
  6. Bake for about 25 minutes. Turning the meatballs and pan about 15 minutes in. They should get nice and brown spots. 

Pictured here with a romesco sauce, one of my favorites, find it here. 

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Asian Style Bowls

This recipe first appeared on the CAFE newsletter in April 2020

Recipe and words by Amanda Callahan, edited by Ellie Sharp

The “bowl” has become one of the easiest, tastiest and most versatile ways to get a satisfying dinner on the table. You can customize a bowl menu to your family’s taste — Asian, Mexican, Mediterranean — and the combinations within each profile are endless. I try to prepare everything in one pan for easy cleanup. And, if you plan ahead and chop ingredients ahead of time, this meal is usually ready in about 30 minutes. Provided here is my Here’s a super-simple take on an Asian-style bowl. 

First, start with a protein base. I like to use ground pork (pictured), but any ground meat will work well. Chicken and turkey are lovely! If you don’t have ground meat, use finely chopped or sliced chicken breast. I haven’t tried meat substitutes like crumbled soy, “scrambled” tofu or Beyond beef products, but I imagine even they would soak up the delicious Asian flavored sauce, too.

Asian greens are superb AND in season right now — perfect for this dish! Varieties like mizuna, and bok choy are ideal, but feel free to experiment with what you like or want to try. Kale is a good option as is a 50/50 mix of spinach and dandelion greens. Endive, mustard and arugula will all be delicious, too. If you prefer to stick with an old favorite, you can use classic cabbage.

A final note on seasonings: this is a great chance to use that bottle of Asian sauce or seasoning you bought for that one recipe that one time and is now hiding in the back of the fridge or pantry. Mirin, hoisin, and miso would all be exquisite. This recipe is just a template for basic Asian flavors using standard pantry ingredients. But go wild and experiment with what you’ve got! I have a bottle of pickle wine (!?!?). It definitely makes it into my Asian bowls.

I just can’t get enough of the amazing local mushrooms currently available and those are the next essential ingredient in my bowls. Any mushroom will do! Don’t like mushrooms? You can use a umami, flavor packed substitution such as frozen shelled edamame or cook broccoli, green beans, or asparagus over high heat with soy sauce until crisped on the edges. In the summertime, eggplant is my favorite to include. 

Ingredients:

  • 3-6 TB high heat tolerant oil, divided (examples: coconut, avocado, canola)
  • 1 small onion, minced (scallions are a great substitute but don’t need to cook as long!)
  • 1 rounded TB grated ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
  • 1 lb ground meat or meat substitute
  • 3 TB good quality soy sauce or tamari* see note at the bottom
  • 1 tspn. Asian chili paste or sriracha (more if you like it spicy!)
  • 2 TB rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tspn. Honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tspn. sesame oil
  • 12 oz. oyster or shiitake mushrooms, sliced (or any fresh mushrooms you like)
  • 2 TB soy sauce
  • Splash of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 large bunch of greens (such as bok choy, pictured)
  • Salt and pepper
  • For serving: rice or cauliflower rice, ½ cup kimchi, sriracha, sesame seeds, scallions

Directions:

  1. Over medium high heat, melt 1TB oil and add the onion and ginger. Saute for about two minutes. Add the meat. Break up the meat and disperse among onions. When the meat is almost done and there’s a bit of pink left, add ⅔ of your minced garlic. Incorporate well. 
  2. Turn heat down to low and add soy, chili paste, vinegar and maple syrup. Combine well and cook for a few minutes. Add the sesame oil and turn off the heat. Dump meat mixture into a separate bowl and keep warm. 
  3. Using the same pan, heat 2 TB oil over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms release their juices. The mushrooms will soak up all the oil. If needed, and the pan gets too dry and mushrooms start to burn, you can add more oil. After about six to eight minutes, the mushrooms should start to look juicy. Add the soy sauce, vinegar and reserved ⅓ minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two. Taste for seasoning (I needed to add a pinch of salt and pepper). Move mushrooms to a small bowl and keep warm.
  4. Heat another 1 TB oil in a pan over medium high heat and add greens. Cook over high heat to slightly wilt and brown around the edges. Lightly salt and pepper. Add mushrooms back in and heat back up. Turn heat off. Taste for seasonings again and adjust to taste. 
  5. To serve, divide the rice, meat and veggies into bowls and top with kimchi, extra sriracha and sesame seeds. 

* I use a super high quality mushroom flavored soy sauce that is found in Asian grocery stores. The best local grocery substitute will be tamari. However, if all you have is soy sauce, you may find you need to use more with a bit more sweetener, too. You might also find that your meat won’t be dark and sticky like mine pictured. If you like that texture/flavor profile, you might find that adding some hoisin sauce will do that trick as well! 

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Saag Paneer-Inspired Greens and Feta

Saag Paneer-Inspired Greens and Feta 

This first appeared in the CAFE newsletter, published in May 2021
Words and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms, edited by Ellie Sharp

Back when I was in graduate school at the University of Denver, my apartment was just around the corner from this little Indian place. As a born and bred Southern girl, I had never experienced Indian food but after one dinner there I was hooked. I spent a lot of money at that little Indian place, and I vowed to learn how to make my favorites at home. Armed with the Internet and books, I started ordering spices online and referring back to my remembered tastes of the restaurant to re-create dishes.

Once we moved to South Carolina, I had to adapt recipes to our garden and native species: I make a mean masala with crowder peas in place of the usual chickpeas, and my family enjoys many delicious vegetables in curry sauces with okra and beets being some of our favorites. But when “Sweet Tea” at Saint Basil Farm (now Growing Green Farms) asked if I’d ever made “saag” from wild spinach or lamb’s quarter I answered, “You know, I haven’t!”, and I knew that was a challenge I needed to meet as saag paneer is a personal favorite. Saag paneer is a classic Indian dish. It starts with puree of greens in a spiced sauce to which fried cubes of fresh paneer cheese, which is a mild farmer’s cheese, are added at the end of cooking. The greens and the creamy cheese are reminiscent of creamed spinach in American cuisine, but complex and vibrant with the Indian spice profile.

One of the more recent, approachable Indian cookbooks is “Indian-ish” by Priya Krishna and it is a fabulous cookbook if you’re looking for easy, adaptable Indian-ish recipes. Paneer is very hard to come by in the rural US. I often make it from scratch or buy it in bulk from one of my favorite restaurants up in Greenville, SWAD. However, Priya suggests using feta cheese thus making this dish easy to recreate with a local ingredient list!

And so I set out to adapt Priya’s already adapted version of the dish to include local greens. Priya uses only spinach in her recipe, but traditionally saag is often cooked with bitter greens, usually mustard greens with spinach and I have even seen some old-school Indian recipes that use kale, radish and turnip greens. I suspect saag would do excellent with a handful of dandelion greens from your yard too.It also makes a truly excellent dish with the lamb’s quarter offered on CAFÉ. 

I invite you to step outside the box with this local take on a classic Indian dish! 

  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) or oil of choice (such as vegetable, avocado, coconut, etc), divided 
  • 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 2 green cardamom pods or ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 lb braising greens mix (kale, turnip greens, Brussel sprout greens, etc.)
  • 2 packages lamb’s quarter, spinach or radish greens
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1 small hot pepper, chopped, or ground cayenne to taste
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup of feta cheese, drained from brine to dry out a bit, chopped into small cubes
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafetida (optional, but is a great Indian pantry spice if you plan to cook Indian food!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

  1. Over medium heat, warm the ghee (or oil) in a large pan. Once warm, add the coriander and cardamom and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until the seeds start to brown. Add the onion and cook until it is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. 

2. Add the greens in batches, wilting down and adding more as you make room. Once all is added, cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lime juice, green chile, and salt. Let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and blend into a chunky paste. Return the spinach mixture to the same pan and set it over low heat. (If you have an immersion blender, blend in the pan.) Stir in 1/2 cup water, then gently fold in the feta, being careful not to break up the cubes. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes more to soften the feta slightly and allow it to soak up some of the spinach sauce.

4. While the feta cooks work on the ghee-spice mixture. In a small pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee (or oil) for 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds. As soon as the cumin seeds start to sputter and brown, about 1 minute max, remove the pan from the heat (cumin seeds will burn quickly, so keep your eye on it!). Immediately add the asafetida (if using) and chili powder.

5. Pour all of the ghee (or oil) mixture into the spinach and feta once that is done cooking and mix.   

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Thai Pork Larb

Thai Pork Larb
Recipe and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms, words co-written and edited by Ellie Sharp, first appeared in the CAFE newsletter
Inspired by: NYTimes and here

If you’ve been to a Thai restaurant, chances are you’ve seen this iconic dish on the menu — and for good reason! It combines the best of sweet and savory elements with textures that run the gamut from soft to crunchy. At its core, larb is a Laos-based meat salad that is then spiked with all sorts of ingredients making it a cinch to prepare — and to customize to your preferences. I used pork, but you can also incorporate beef, chicken, turkey, tofu, or even mushrooms. Add-ins are flexible too, such as lime juice, cilantro, peanuts, chile peppers, fish sauce and other condiments. The more variety you add, the more the resulting flavors will mingle and meld into a truly palate-pleasing experience.

For me, the distinguishing characteristics of larb are the combination of lime juice, fish sauce, and ground toasted rice. The toasted, ground rice can be difficult to make without the right tools – a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder will do. If not, skip the step! It won’t be as authentic of an experience, but will still produce a tasty dish! 

Ingredients

  • 1 large red onion or 3 shallots, divided per instructions below
  • Hot water – between ½ cup – 1 cup
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons jasmine, basmati or long grain white rice 
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 1 pound of local ground pork, chicken, beef (you could even try tofu or mushrooms for my plant based peeps!)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup lime juice (2-3 limes, juiced)
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Crushed red pepper or fresh chilis, sliced, quantity to taste
  • 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

For serving

  • Butterhead lettuce, outer/large leaves removed for cups
  • Radishes, chopped
  • Pickled jalapeños/peppers and the onions 

Instructions
1. With the onion/shallots – you want half of it sliced for pickles and the other half finely minced to cook with the meat. Prep as so.  

2. For the pickles: put the sliced half of the onion in a large bowl. Add the red wine vinegar and salt, and cover with hot water. Set aside. 

3. For the larb: place a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the rice, swirling to coat it with oil and allow to toast. It should only take a few minutes for the rice to take on a golden, almost brown hue. Remove and grind using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. You’re aiming for a textured powder-like consistency. Be careful not to over do it with the coffee grinder. Set aside.

4. In the same pan, add the oil. Once it is heated, add the remaining diced onion. Sauté for a few minutes to soften, add the garlic, sauté another minute until fragrant, and season with salt and pepper. Add the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Add additional heat, if desired, with crushed red pepper or fresh chilis. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

5. To a small bowl, add the lime juice, fish sauce, and honey. Stir to combine. 

6. Set up with lettuce cups and toppings.

7. When the meat has cooled a bit, pour the reserved lime juice/fish sauce on top, combine with chopped cilantro and taste to adjust seasonings. Add more salt, pepper, or heat as needed!

8. Scoop large spoonfuls of larb into lettuce cups, top with pickled onions, radish or other toppings you desire. Serve with steamed rice if you’d like.

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