Fattoush Salad

Fatoush is a wonderful Lebanese salad made with many of summer's best vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. And we got all of them in today's box!


The thing I love most about fattoush is that it has toasted pita chips in it to give it a fabulous crunch. You can buy pita chips at most markets; or you can make them yourself by separating the two halves of the pita bread, brushing them with a little olive oil, and toasting them in a 375 degree oven until brown and crisp. I like using the whole wheat sesame pita, but you can use any flavor you like.


Another wonderful things about this salad is that you can use a variety of greens. I like using romaine lettuce and mixing in some arugula or dandelion greens. Sorrel, with its bright, lemon-y flavor, also goes nicely in the mix.


Fattoush Salad

4-6 C washed and dried salad greens, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 large tomato chopped
1 cucumber, quartered, seeded and chopped
1/4 C chopped sweet onion
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/2 C chopped bell pepper (green, red or yellow - your choice)
3/4 C cubed feta cheese
2-4 T chopped Italian parsley
1-2 C pita chips
salt and pepper to taste
dried Moroccan olives or Kalamata olives, optional


Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, except the pita chips, salt and pepper.

Mix up the dressing:

2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T finely minced shallot or 1 T mashed roasted garlic
1/4 t salt
pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Pour over salad and toss. Add pita chips and toss again. Serve immediately.


By the way, sumac is a wonderful herb to add to a fattoush salad. Get some at the Spice Station on Sunset.


Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: romaine lettuce, bi-color corn, orange carrots, Hungarian bell pepper (pic above), yellow zucchini, cucumbers, bok choy, and avocados.


From Sage Mountain: Broccoli florets, collard greens, dandelion greens, arugula, and chard.


Cottage Grove provided the tomatoes - Early Girls pictured above. And Sweet Tree Farms provided peaches, plums, and nectarines.


And Silver Lake Farms provided arugula and mustard micro-greens, as well as new basil and cilantro micro-greens (cilantro pictured above). Sprinkle some of those basil micro-greens over your next Caprese Salad.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Stuffed Peppers

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Summer squash
Carrots
Oranges
Red leaf lettuce
Celery
Dandelion greens
Garlic chives
Basil
Red tomatoes
Purslane
Rainbow chard

And here's what Tara brought down from Underwood Family Farms:
Galia melon
Sharlyn melon
Kabocha squash
Easter radishes
Yellow wax beans
Green leaf lettuce
Eggplant
Orange bell pepper
Chocolate bell pepper
Yellow Brandywine tomatoes

And Silver Lake Farms provided delicious micro-greens - pea shoots and radish!

I love to make stuffed peppers. You can stuff almost any kind of pepper; and you can put almost any savory item in the filling. It's a great way to get creative and use whatever's in your fridge. All you need are some vegetables and a grain; meat and cheese are delicious options, too. With the beautiful orange and chocolate bell peppers in today's box, I couldn't resist making this wonderful treat.

I prefer cutting bell peppers in half lengthwise. One-half makes a nice side dish; two halves make a great main. Depending on the size of your peppers and how full you stuff them, you'll need about 2/3 C filling (or more) per half.

It's best to chop your vegetables into small pieces, but don't mince them. I like to saute all the vegetables before mixing them into the filling; that way some of the water is cooked out and the filling won't get soggy.

A nice, thick tomato sauce in an important component of my recipe. I've been making slow-cooked tomato sauce all summer with tomatoes from my garden. It freezes well for months. If you don't have your own sauce, use whatever tomato sauce you put on your pasta.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe is for 2 peppers or 4 halves. You can double this recipe if you wish.

2 medium bell peppers
1 T olive oil
1/4 lb bulk (or 1 link, casing removed) Italian sausage (optional)
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 small carrot, trimmed and chopped fine
1/2 rib celery, trimmed and chopped fine
1-2 small summer squash, washed and chopped into small pieces
2 leaves chard, washed, trimmed and chopped
3/4 C fresh corn kernels, removed from the ear
1-1/2 C cooked brown rice
2-1/2 to 3 C thick tomato sauce
grated cheese, optional
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 t olive oil and brown the sausage, breaking it up into small chunks as it cooks. When done, remove from pan, chop finely and set aside. Pour off any grease from pan and wipe clean.

3. In same skillet, heat remaining 2 t olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 1 minute. Turn down heat. Add carrots, celery and squash. Cover and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add chard and corn kernels. Cook until chard is wilted and vegetables are just soft. If necessary, uncover and cook off any excess liquid.

4. In a bowl, mix the cooked sausage (if you're using it) and the cooked vegetables together with the cooked brown rice. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 C thick tomato sauce - just enough for the mixture to hold together, but not so much that it's saucy. [If you'd like, you can add some grated cheese to this mixture, but I usually don't.] Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Fill each half pepper with the filling mixture.Place them snugly in an oven-proof baking dish. Top each pepper with 1-2 T tomato sauce and/ or 1 T grated cheese. Pour about 1/2 inch hot water in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.

6. Remove peppers from baking dish and serve each half pepper with 1/2 C thick tomato sauce. You can serve the pepper in a pool of sauce or pour the sauce over the pepper; or you can omit the sauce entirely if you prefer.

I'll post my recipe for slow-cooked tomato sauce next time.

Enjoy!

Shelley