Category: Carrots

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Beef Cabbage Carrots Celery Olive Oil Onions Tomatoes

Cabbage Rolls

Words and Photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms

The classic cabbage roll dish that we generally think of is an Eastern European ancestral food, commonly incorporating tender cabbage leaves stuffed with a filling of rice, ground beef and aromatics then gently braised in a simple tomato sauce. However, this comforting combination turns up in many global cuisines like Asia, Europe, and North Africa. 

This is a method recipe and once you have the basics down, it’s infinitely adaptable to seasonal changes and flavor preferences. For instance, in the fall I make one with a filling of roasted sweet potatoes, apples, and quinoa finished with a cinnamon spiced tomato sauce. It is divine. It also doesn’t have to be cabbage! Swap in collards or even Swiss chard. Heck, if greens aren’t your thing, the sauce and filling would be delightful tossed with pasta and baked.

Though the results are worth it, because of the rolling process this recipe does take some time and is best as a weekend cooking project as opposed to a weeknight dinner. However, we love the flavors of cabbage rolls so much that on weeknights we apply the flavors in different ways like in a soup or meatballs. 

Ingredients

  • 1 large head of green cabbage
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small to medium onion, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 small carrots, shredded
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped small
  • 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup uncooked rice
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 to 4 cups of your favorite simple tomato sauce, my favorite is here

Directions

  1. Cut the core out of the cabbage, but leave it whole.  Place the cabbage in a large bowl with the cored part facing up. Boil a small pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
  1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Cook the onions until they are soft, and add the carrot and celery. Sauté them for a couple of minutes, until they are soft. Add the minced garlic and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.
  2. In a large Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid), heat your tomato sauce (or make it). 
  3. Drain the head of cabbage. Pull off large leaves, trying not to rip the leaf. Cut out the large vein — if the leaf is very large, you can make two rolls from each, if it is smaller, you can cut the vein out partially and pull the sides to overlap before you roll it into one roll. Pat the leaves dry with towels. 

Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf. Place each roll in the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Categories
Bacon Carrots Celery Garlic Olive Oil Onions Potatoes Recipes Turnips

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup with Guanciale and Celery Salad Topping

Words and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms

Ready for another super easy, super versatile and super delicious recipe? Keep on reading! I love roasted turnips: the cooking process brings out the sweetness of this misunderstood root veggie and makes them approachable for those who shy away. That said, turnips do tend to have a “love ‘em or hate ‘em” reputation, so I wanted to make something that would be appealing to fans and could-be fans alike. Soup seemed a natural place to start with its cozy vibe well-suited for our current cold temperatures.

But, how could I make unconvinced turnip eaters more interested? Enter the ever-popular garden darlings: potatoes and carrots. By pureeing and blending the turnips with these beloved add-ins, you get the best of both worlds: full, rich flavor without the pronounced turnip twang. Win!

If you’re still unsure, let me give you a little firm-but-polite nudge. Put your support-the-farmers-money-where-your-mouth-is, step outside your comfort zone and bring a variety of vegetables and meat cuts into your home. Buy the turnips, grab and cure the pork jowl and let’s get these overlooked items onto your plate! 

Pro tip: Save all your resulting veggie peelings to make stock. Keep a freezer bag in your freezer and add onion, carrot and celery peelings/ends until it’s full. Mushroom stems, some potato peelings and herbs stems are other great additions, but steer clear of brassica items (cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc.). Once the bag is full, add to a large pot or stock pot with leftover bones, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer on low for three to four hours (or longer if you wish). Add water as needed to keep ingredients covered while they cook. Strain and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
2 turnips, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 pounds carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large onion or several small, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, leaves removed and saved, cut into large chunks
2 heads of garlic
1 handful of roasting blend of fresh herbs, chopped (or more to taste)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 slices guanciale or thick-cut bacon, sliced into lardons (small strips or cubes)
6 cups stock
½ lemon, juiced

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 425.
  2. On a large rimmed sheet pan, layer all the vegetables in a single layer, using two pans if you must (you won’t get the charred edges with an overcrowded pan). Drizzle with oil, season aggressively with salt, pepper, and herbs. Toss to coat. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until charred in spots, flipping and rotating pan halfway through cooking time.
  3. While the vegetables cook, mince the celery leaves and place in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and cracked black pepper. Mix thoroughly, set aside.
  4. In a large soup pot set over medium heat, crisp the jowl or bacon pieces. Remove from heat, set aside. Remove all but 1-2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. 
  5. When the vegetables are done, place in a high-power blender with 2 cups of stock and puree until smooth. Alternatively, put vegetables and stock into the soup pot and use an immersion blender to puree.
  6. Pour the puree into the soup pot and set to low heat. Add the rest of the stock and simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Adjust seasoning to your liking.

To serve: ladle soup into bowls. Top each with crispy guanciale or bacon pieces and a scoop of the celery leaf salad. I also was thinking a chili oil would perk it up nicely as well. Enjoy!

Substitutions: The vegetables are pretty interchangeable here. Try rutabaga, squash — whatever you’ve got in the fridge that needs to be used. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, replace the pork with chickpeas roasted in a hot oven until crispy and browned.

Categories
Carrots Garlic Ginger Onions Pumpkin Sausage Squash Sweet Potatoes

Thai Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Recipe and Photos by Blueridge Brinery

This is a rich and flavorful way to incorporate an abundance of nutritious foods, many of which can be sourced through CAFE. It features silky coconut milk, tender root vegetables, seasonal pumpkin and more in a hearty curry-spiked broth. Local sausage and creamy lentils add depth and protein, but you can omit the meat for an equally tasty vegetarian spin. 

Ingredients
2 pounds squash or pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
1 pound pork sausage
2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 to 3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup dried Lentils, rinsed (substitute split peas if desired)
1 large or 2-3 small/medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2-inch ginger, freshly grated
1-inch turmeric, freshly grated
Crushed red pepper to taste
A few tablespoons of Thai curry powder or paste to taste

Boil 8 cups water, add pumpkin (or squash) and simmer until very soft, about one hour. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and crushed red pepper. Simmer until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Add curry powder or curry paste to taste, and chopped greens or green onions and sweet peppers if desired. Simmer to allow flavors to mingle. Use this time to brown and crumble the sausage.

After all vegetables are tender, add one can coconut milk to the soup. If you like it a little sweet, you can add some sugar or honey to taste. Finally, add in the browned sausage.

Serve garnished with kimchi.

Categories
Cabbage Carrots Green beans Recipes Slow Cooker Tomatoes

Crockpot Veggie Soup

All veggie quantities can be modified based on what you have on hand.
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Large carrot, chopped
Stalk of celery, chopped
Small turnip, chopped
1 cup green beans, cut in 1″ pieces
6 cups chicken or veggie broth
1/4 head cabbage, chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup potatoes, chopped

Continue reading “Crockpot Veggie Soup”
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Apples Carrots Cucumber Kale Pears Recipes Spinach

“Drink Your Produce” Green Smoothie

Submitted by Ellen Hotz

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Categories
Baked Food Carrots Recipes

Crazy-Good Carrots

Submitted by member Ellen Holtz

Continue reading “Crazy-Good Carrots”