Farro, Pesto & Cherry Tomato Salad w/ Roasted Chicken

Farro, Pesto & Cherry Tomato Salad

So, several weeks ago I took a cooking class with the great Joanne Weir. She made this farro, pesto & cherry tomato salad that I really liked. When I saw a huge head of bright green basil in my box I knew I needed to make this salad.

Farro is a grain that has a nutty flavor and a crunchy texture. It is really wonderful in this salad. And, easy to make. You just boil it like rice or pasta.

If you can't find farro, I think you could use rice or risotto. But, I highly recommend you find some farro. I also substituted almonds for the pine nuts. I just happened to have some almonds around and I thought they would work out. I served the salad with a roast chicken.

A Word About Roast Chicken

A roast chicken is a beautiful thing to behold and very easy to make at home. A year or so ago, I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen that had me convinced that there was no way that I would ever successfully roast a chicken. They had a two day recipe and you had to do strange things to the skin to make it crispy. I was exhausted and demoralized just watching the show. But, then, Martha Stewart showed me the way. Yes, Martha is intimidating and if she were coming to my house I would probably have a nervous breakdown worrying that she would notice my lack of window treatments and army of dustbunnies. However, if you want to know how to perfectly and simply roast a chicken -- Martha is your woman.

In her book, Great Food Fast, Ms. Stewart has a simple and delicious roast chicken recipe. It helps to buy a good chicken. I have had good luck with Rosie's chickens from Petaluma. They are local and they raise free range organic chicken. This beauty is a 3 1/2 pound junior roaster.

So, this is super easy. You wash the chicken. Then you push the wings down into the body and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Slather it with butter, generously sprinkle it with salt and pepper and pop it into a 425 degree oven for 45 - 50 minutes. Now, don't get cute with the chicken. I got all cocky and tried to stuff my chicken with herbs and lemon and all manner of thing. It just didn't work out as perfectly as a simple butter and salt and pepper preparation.

When you take this beauty out of your oven anyone who is in the vicinity of your kitchen will be impressed and will demand a piece immediately -- even the most dignified guest may drool.

My kids lost their minds with this bird came out of the oven. I think they were glad to have a break from mom's usual veggie experiments (don't worry reader I will never give up on my veggie experiments). Anyway, make roast chicken at home! It is a great meal and everyone at the table will be happy. And, try the chicken with the farro, pesto & cherry tomato salad. This is a winning combination.

Tuscan Farro, Pesto, and Cherry Tomato Salad

from Joanne Weir

Ingredients

2 cups farro

1/4 pine nuts, toasted

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 packed cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus a bit extra at the end)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 cups various colored cherry tomatoes, halved

Basil leaves as garnish

1. Place farro in a large bowl and cover with plenty of cold water. Let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Drain the farro. Place the farro in a saucepan and cover with water by at least 2 inches. Bing to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the farro is tender but still crunchy, 15-20 minutes. Drain and cool.

3. In the meantime, place the garlic, basil and Parmigiano in a blender or food processor. Process until a rough paste is formed. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and process until the paste is smooth.

4. In a large bowl, toss together the farro and basil paste and mix well. Add the pine nuts and tomatoes and gently stir together until just mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper and some really good extra virgin olive oil. Serve garnished with basil leaves.

Serves 6

Easy Roasted Chicken

from Great Food Fast

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed and patted dry

2 tablespoons of butter, at room temperature

Coarse salt & freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine (tuck wings under the chicken, if desired, for a neater presentation). Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan (or on a rimmed cooking sheet).

2. Rub the chicken all over with the butter; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone), 45 to 50 minutes. Serve, or let cool before refrigerating, up to 3 days, covered.

Week 10

Here is the box for this week:

In this week's box: arugula, basil, broccoli, fennel, green leaf lettuce, kohlrabi, purplette onions, red russian kale, and strawberries. What a great combinations of veggies! Sorry I couldn't get them all in the photo. Check in later this week to see what I make.

Roasted Cauliflower

Every week I post two recipes -- one quick and easy and one that is a bit more involved. This week I have two quick and easy recipes due to a soba noodle mishap that I do not want to recount here in detail. I'll just say this -- when I got my box last week I had big plans and my big new recipe didn't work out. But, no worries. This roasted cauliflower recipe is really nice. It's quick, it's easy, and it's delicious. I promise to you my fateful reader that I will not post any crap recipes. If I post a recipe that means I made it and it was really good and this cauliflower recipe is no exception.

I found this recipe on the website Simply Recipes (where I also found a really good homemade lemonade recipe). You just cut up cauliflower, sprinkle some lemon juice on it, add some salt & pepper, and then drizzle olive oil on it. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes and sprinkle with parmesan cheese -- that is it.

I had this with chicken sausage. It would be great on pasta. If you want to add an Indian flavor to this you could omit the parmesan cheese, melt some butter, sprinkle the butter with curry powder and lime juice, pour the curry lime butter on the roasted cauliflower, and garnish with cilantro.

So, next week I promise something special (that is if there are no further kitchen disasters along the way).

Roasted Cauliflower

from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

Lemon juice from half a lemon

Olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over the cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Place baking sheet in the hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the top is brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Remove from oven and generously sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Radish Butter on Toasted Baguette

I have some radishes in my box this week. I was using them for salads; but, I also wanted to try something new with them.

I searched the usual sites and cookbooks and found an interesting recipe from Martha Stewart. It also looked really quick and easy; so, I decided to make it for lunch on Saturday. This recipe is very simple. You just grate some radishes on a box grater, mix them with butter, put them on toasted baguette slices and sprinkle salt and pepper on them.

Simple and elegant. This recipe is so Martha. It is a great quick lunch or would be nice to leave out for guests as they arrive at a party maybe with some Prosecco (I love the bubbly). It also would make a nice midnight (or relatively late night) snack.

Radish Butter on Toasted Baguette

from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients

8 medium radishes, cleaned, roots trimmed

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 8-ounce baguette

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grate radishes on the large holes of a box grater; place on paper towels, and squeeze out extra liquid. Combine radishes and butter in small bowl; mix well.

2. Slice baguette in half lengthwise, and place in oven; toast until slightly crisp and browned. Remove from oven, and cool slightly. Spread radish mixture on toasted baguette; season with salt and pepper. Slice each half into four pieces, and serve.

Week 9

Here's my box for this week:

Inside the box are: white cauliflower, romaine lettuce, parsley, yellow onions, collard greens, red cabbage, french breakfast radishes, and strawberries. Check back later this week to see what I make. Also, if anyone has any good cabbage recipes please let me know. I'm a bit challenged regarding cabbage preparations.

Crunchy Cornmeal Galette with Tomato & Basil

Last week, I had the great honor of taking a cooking class from Joanne Weir. Her cookbook, Weir Cooking in Wine Country, was one of the first cookbooks I ever bought. I still use it regularly. Anyway, I really enjoyed her Summer Supper cooking class. The food was beautiful and delicious and she is a wonderful teacher. I highly recommend that you take a class from her if you can. Future classes are posted on her website www.joanneweir.com.

Ever since I took the class, I have been craving the galette she made. It had tomatoes, basil, and cheese tucked into a crunchy cornmeal crust. I had some nice basil from Blue House Farm.

And, I had some cherry tomatoes.

The recipe is for a cornmeal crust. The key here is to keep the ingredients cold and to keep the dough cold until you put it in the oven. The dough was fairly simple to make (and, I am not much of a baker). I put the cornmeal, flour and butter in a food processor to incorporate the butter into the flour. Then I put the butter/flour/cornmeal mixture in a bowl and slowly added the wet ingredients. I rolled the dough in a ball and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. The dough came out a bit goopy. I think it would be better to let it rest in the freezer for 30 minutes. I think that would make it cooer and easier to work with.

Nonetheless, I did shape the dough into a very rustic tart.

Baked it in the oven.

And, served it with a little corn, tomato, and avacado salad with a roasted red pepper dressing.

The crust is crunchy and has that nice cornmeal flavor to it. This is a good pastry for someone who is not a baker. My only advice is keep the dough cold. It will make it easy to handle and easier to shape.

Crunchy Cornmeal Galette with Tomato & Basil

from Summer Supper cooking class with Joanne Weir

for more information about Joanne Weir's classes go to www.joanneweir.com

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, frozen for 1 hour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal or polenta, frozen for 1 hour

Coarse salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, frozen for 1 hour

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 ounces coarsely grated mozzarella

3 ounces coarsely grated fontina

1/4 cup basil leaves, cut into thin strips

3 ripe but firm medium tomatoes, cored, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the flour, cornmeal and 1/2 teaspoon salt on a work surface. Add the butter to the flour with a pastry scraper, cut the butter until it is the size of peas and oatmeal. Alternately this step can be done in a food processor by pulsing several times.

Whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and 1/3 cup ice water and add a tablespoon at a time to the flour/cornmeal/butter mixture using a fork to toss and distribute the water. Add water until the dough holds together. If the dough does not hold together add more water a teaspoon at a time until the dough holds. Let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to make a 12 inch circle. Trim the edges to make a rough circle shape. Place on a baking sheet. This can be done several hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to finish.

In a bowl combine the cheeses and the basil. Spread the cheese over the dough leaving a 2 inch border along the edge. Place the tomatoes over the cheese overlapping slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the uncovered edge of the pastry over the cheese, pleating it to make it fit. Bake until golden brown, 35-45 minutes. After 5 minutes, slide the galette off the pan and unto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

CSA Girl COMMUNITY LEADER AWARD WINNER

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that Rachel Jordan has won the CSA Girl COMMUNITY LEADER AWARD. Rachel organized a CSA pick up site for Blue House Farm in her neighborhood in San Mateo. Great work, Rachel! Thank you for supporting your local farm (and my favorite) Blue House Farm in Pescadero. And, thank you for bringing healthy, delicious food to families in your neighborhood.

If you live near San Mateo and are interested in joining this pick up site please e-mail Rachel at rachelajordan@yahoo.com. There are still some spots available. Or, if you are interested in organizing a site in your neighborhood you can e-mail Rachel to discuss how she did it or you can e-mail me at csagirlcal@gmail.com. I would love to help you!