Fall Harvest = Winter Feast
If you’ve ever wondered what the fuss is about when it comes to buying locally produced food, this is the time of year to find out. Farmer stands and tailgate markets are displaying all of summer’s variety from now until about Halloween in most areas and in many cases cool-weather crops are just now arriving.
* Tomatoes of all colors are displayed alongside glossy black and skinny purple eggplants.
* Beans, greens and chard are back, along with fresh apples.
In addition, it’s time to stock up on onions, garlic, hard-skinned squash and potatoes — all of which can be stored to stretch into fall and for a homegrown Thanksgiving.
Anne Kearney knows how to put all this local bounty to good culinary use. A former chef and owner of a New Orleans restaurant, she runs a small organic farm north of Lebanon, Ohio.
She sells what she grows at farm markets, along with soups, salsas and focaccia she makes from her produce and fresh herbs.
Winter’s meals with today’s fresh ingredients
Eggplant ‘caviar’
11/4 to 11/2 pound eggplant
3 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)
1/2 cup small-dice Roma tomato
1/4 cup small-dice red onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped capers
1 tablespoon chopped Nicoise or Kalamata olives
1 medium lemon, zest and juice
kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the eggplant with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, place on a sheet tray and roast for 75 minutes (rotate eggplant every 15 minutes to promote even cooking). Let the eggplant cool to room temperature, peel and chop the pulp finely. Place the pulp into a medium mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste, adjust seasoning and chill for 1 hour prior to serving. Makes three generous cups. Serve with pita chips, marinated olives and feta cheese as a party appetizer.
One-day pickles and onions
1 pound baby cucumbers or seedless English cucumbers, cut into one-eighth to one-fourth inch slices
1/2 pound red onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons kosher salt (divided use)
11/4 cups champagne vinegar
11/4 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
11/2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 bay leaf
Salt cucumbers and red onion with two tablespoons kosher salt and allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a nonreactive saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for two minutes. Allow this mixture to sit for 10 minutes, then pour over the cucumbers and onions. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Kept in a refrigerator in a clean glass container, they will keep for several weeks.
Makes 1 quart.
Autumn harvest soup
3 strips hickory-smoked bacon, cut into thin strips
1 cup small-dice leek, whites only
1 cup small-dice apple (Granny Smith works nicely)
11/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup medium-dice butternut squash
1 cup medium-dice sweet potato
2 cups pumpkin puree (see note)
1 sprig sage
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons honey
4 cups chicken stock (water may be substituted)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Render the bacon in a 4-quart stockpot until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and allow it to drain on paper towels. Gently cook the leeks, apples and garlic in the bacon fat for three to four minutes until tender. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin puree, sage, bay leaf, honey and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and sage. Add the heavy cream and season with the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Makes 2 quarts. Serve with the crispy bacon as garnish. Toasted pumpkin seeds are a lovely garnish as well.
Note: Use either canned pumpkin or roast your own: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut small pumpkins into thick slices, remove seeds and strings. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, bake until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Scrape flesh off peel.
Balsamic braised pearl onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups pearl onions
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a 12-inch saute pan until it begins to ripple. Saute the pearl onions until they begin to brown and get tender, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and toss to coat them until the sugar begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vinegar has reduced and becomes syrupy. Makes 2 cups, about 4 servings.
Swiss chard rolls
1 bunch rainbow or red Swiss chard
2 tablespoons olive oil
11/2 cups medium-dice yellow onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
1/3 cup chopped golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups cooked basmati rice
Carefully cut the chard leaves from the stems. Chop and reserve 1 and one-half cups stems for the stuffing.
Blanch the chard leaves in salted water for 30 seconds, shock in ice water, drain and reserve.
Heat the oil in a 2-quart saucepot, sweat the onion and chard stems until tender. Add the ginger and garlic; continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Place the cooked vegetables in a medium mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and taste again. Cool for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully lay out each chard leaf to make an area (roughly 5 inches wide by 7 to inches long) big enough to hold one-third cup of the stuffing.
Place one-third cup of the stuffing at the wide base of the leaf and roll up the leaf like an egg roll. Repeat with the remaining chard leaves. Place each roll onto a pie tin or sheet tray and bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 12 rolls.