Ramp Pesto

I ventured down to the farmers market this morning in 40-something weather.  Not my idea of great weather to be wandering around an outdoor farmers market.  However, it was WELL worth the trip!  At the second to last stand I stopped at, I found ramps!  Oh Yeah!  If you've been following me all these years, you know that I adore ramps.  And today, they put and extra bunch in my bag as I checked out.  So, I decided to make pesto with the extra batch.  I make basil pesto and garlic scape pesto every year, but I have never made it with ramps before because I generally only have enough to make whatever dish I planned.  Well, now that I've made a batch, I will probably make it every year now.  Out of the three versions, this ramp pesto is my favorite! 

Ramp Pesto

• 1 bunch of ramps* (leaves and stems only - about 10)
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Wash and dry ramps and baby spinach.  Cut ramp leaves and stems into 1-inch pieces.  Add ramps, spinach, parmesan and walnuts to food processor.  Plus until small pieces.  Switch to puree; add lemon juice and then slowly add olive oil until pesto is desired consistency.  Taste to adjust seasoning (you may add salt and pepper if you desire, or more lemon juice).  Store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or freeze up to 30 days.  Best flavor if warmed.

*Farmers market ingredients

I Can't Believe It! Garlic Scapes!

I will admit that when this season started I thought I was going to miss out on all my favorite strange veggies.  Gotta hand it to the farmers at the Midland Farmers Market!  They have come through for me! This morning, I found garlic scapes!  It's been a couple years since I have had enough scapes to make pesto and I ran out of my stock about a year ago, so you can imagine that I am thrilled to have found these.  As with any recipe I make, what I put into it depends on what I have available.  Since I didn't buy anymore greens this week, I had to rely on what I have growing.  So, this pesto turned out a little less green than the batches I've made before.  What I had available was basil (which I have never included in my garlic scape pesto before) and burgundy Swiss chard. I have always used spinach in the past which kept the green theme going.  The burgundy chard did not change the color THAT much, but you can tell it's not the same.  I also didn't have pine nuts this time, so I decided to try almonds.  It definitely gives a different flavor to the mix.

Garlic Scape Pesto with Swiss Chard and Almonds

• 1 bunch garlic scapes**
• 5 leaves burgundy Swiss chard**
• 1/4 cup basil leaves**
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup roasted almonds
• Olive Oil

Wash the scapes, chard and basil leaves to remove grit.  Cut scapes into 2" pieces and add to the blender.  Break chard and basil leaves into bite-sized pieces and add to blender.  Add parmesan and lemon juice.  Place top on blender and process, on Puree, slowly adding olive oil until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.  Add the almonds and puree, adding more olive oil as needed, until smooth.  You may store in the refrigerator for up to a month or freeze.  I find it works very well to pour into ice cube trays to freeze as that size is about what you need for recipes.

**Farmers market ingredients

Ramps Pesto

I got the most beautiful bunches of ramps this week. If you haven't tried these beautiful wild leeks, you need to go find them at a farmer's market. They have a flavor that combines onion and garlic flavors. I discovered these 3 years ago in my first year of the CSA and now they are my most-anticipated item. This year, I decided to do double duty with my ramps. I am making pesto from the leaves and I will pickle the bulbs. Look at how beautiful these are!

Ramps Pesto

•  2 bunches ramps leaves*
•  1/2 cup romano cheese
•  1/4 cup pine nuts
•  olive oil
•  1 Tbsp lemon juice

 Wash ramps and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Place ramps, cheese and nuts into blender with 1/4 cup olive oil. Puree, drizzling more olive oil as needed, until pesto is right consistency. Add lemon juice to taste. Pour pesto into an ice-cube tray to freeze if not using right away.

*CSA ingredients

 To come: Chicken in the crockpot

How to use Garlic Scape Pesto!

So this morning, all I could think of was that batch of garlic scape pesto I made last night.  I wanted to incorporate that into my breakfast and what better way than to replace the garlic in my scrambled eggs?  Here is how I used the pesto and took advantage of the beautiful vegetables I received this week in my CSA share:

Pesto eggs with Spinach & Tomatoes

• 2 large eggs*
• 4 large egg whites*
• 1 small bunch spinach*
• 1/2 medium tomato*
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Scape Pesto (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/06/garlic-scapes.html)
• 1/4 cup shredded Houtz cheese*

1) Wash spinach and coarsly chop; set aside.  Dice tomatoe; set aside.  Beat eggs and egg whites; set aside. 

2) Spray a medium saute pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.  Add Pesto and cook until just fragrent.

3) Add chopped spinach and saute until just wilted.

4) Add tomatoes, eggs and shredded cheese.

5) Cook until bottom of eggs are white, then continue cooking and stirring until eggs are just wet.



Makes 2 servings.

Notes: If you do not have garlic scape pesto, you can get the same flavor by mincing 1 or 2 garlic cloves and sauteeing them at the beginning.  Houtz cheese is a dry, strong cheese similar to parmesan.  You may substitute parmesan or romano for this cheese.

*CSA ingredients

Garlic Scapes!!!

One of the biggest perks of getting CSA shares is the variety of vegetables that you could receive.  This week we got garlic scapes, yet another first for me.  Garlic scapes are the green shoots that grown out of garlic cloves.  They are curly and may have flowers on them.  And there is a variety of things that you can make with them.  They can be sauteed and used in place of garlic and/or onions.  But what intrigued me most was the idea of making pesto with them.  This is where another first comes in.  I have never made pesto before.  Being a bit Italian, I love a good fresh pesto and this sounded like a great idea.  Besides, I picked up some pignolia when I was at the market earlier this week, so there's another reason to give it a try!

The batch of scapes we received was less than what was called for in any recipe that I looked at (I like to look at many recipes and then create my own).  I also got a nice bunch of fresh spinach in my package, so I decided to supplement the scapes with spinach.  Here's what I came up with:

Garlic Scape & Spinach Pesto

• 1 bunch of garlic scapes (about 1/4 lb)*
• 4 large leaves spinach (or 1 cup baby spinach)*
• 3/4 C grated parmesan
• 1/2 C fresh lemon juice
• Olive oil
• 1/3 C pine nuts

Wash scapes and spinach; dry.  Cut garlic scapes into 4" pieces (including flowers); place in blender.  Break spinach leaves up into bite-sized pieces; place in blender.  Add parmesan cheese and lemon juice and begin blending.  Slowly add olive oil while blending until all vegetables have been pureed.  Add pine nuts and continue blending and adding olive oil until pine nuts are pureed and the pesto is a good consistancy.  Serving size 1-2 Tbsp.  May be used as spread on sandwiches, on pasta, or as a dip.

* CSA ingredients


This pesto has quite a bite to it, so it will probably be best used as a condiment, but not a bad first try at all!  Maybe I can find a way to use it with the chicken that is thawing in my refrigerator right now!

My version of the Pesto Lasagna

Okay, well, I took the time this morning to go ahead and make the Pesto lasagna that I posted the other night, but I adapted it to use more ingredients from my CSA (I still had chicken to use up).  So, here is the recipe as I adapted it and a picture of the whole lasagna:

Pesto Spinach Chicken Lasagna

Adapted from Better Homes & Garden

• 12 dried regular or whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 recipe Lemon-Parsley Pesto (see recipe below) or 1 cup purchased pesto
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 1 8-ounce package shredded Italian blend cheese or mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 of an 8-ounce package fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cups leftover chicken, shredded
• 1 28-ounce can whole Italian-style tomatoes
• Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 4-quart or larger pot cook noodles according to package directions until just tender. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.

Prepare Lemon-Parsley Pesto; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together egg, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the shredded Italian blend cheese, salt, and pepper; set aside.

To assemble lasagna, lightly coat the inside of a 9-inch springform pan or 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange 4 of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the pan, trimming and overlapping as necessary to cover bottom of pan with 1 layer of noodles. Top with spinach. Spoon half of the ricotta cheese mixture over spinach, spreading evenly. Spoon one-third of the pesto over ricotta layer, spreading evenly. Top with another layer of noodles, trimming to fit. Top with mushrooms and chicken. Spread remaining ricotta cheese mixture over mushrooms. Spread half of the remaining pesto over ricotta layer. Top with another layer of noodles and remaining pesto. Drain tomatoes. Slice, quarter, or halve tomatoes and place on top of layers.

Place pan in a foil-lined shallow baking pan. Bake, covered with foil, in a 375 degrees F oven for 40 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Nutrition (8 servings): Calories 513, Fat 26g, Carbs 42g, Fiber 4g, Protein 29g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 16

Now that we have eaten some, I would make some major changes to this recipe.  The pesto really didn't add anything to the flavor profile.  I think I would choose to just use fresh basil leaves instead.  And there wasn't nearly enough tomatoes.  I would add a layer of tomatoes in the middle too.  But it was very tasty and very hearty.  A good 16 points spent, I believe.

What to do with late spinach

Good morning everyone.  Well, we all survived Thanksgiving, so now it's onto Christmas.  It's going to be a crazy month with concerts, meetings, moving....hope we survive!

So, this morning, I have been trying to figure out what I want to do with the spinach I received in this CSA package.  I have never really worked with late spinach.  I usually buy baby spinach.  But I found a recipe that I think will be quite good.

Pesto Lasagna Pie

From Better Homes & Garden

ingredients

• 12 dried regular or whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 recipe Lemon-Parsley Pesto (see recipe below) or 1 cup purchased pesto
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 1 8-ounce package shredded Italian blend cheese or mozzarella cheese (2 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 of an 8-ounce package fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 28-ounce can whole Italian-style tomatoes
• Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 4-quart or larger pot cook noodles according to package directions until just tender. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.
2. Prepare Lemon-Parsley Pesto; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together egg, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the shredded Italian blend cheese, salt, and pepper; set aside.
3. To assemble lasagna, lightly coat the inside of a 9-inch springform pan or 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange 4 of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the pan, trimming and overlapping as necessary to cover bottom of pan with 1 layer of noodles. Top with spinach. Spoon half of the ricotta cheese mixture over spinach, spreading evenly. Spoon one-third of the pesto over ricotta layer, spreading evenly. Top with another layer of noodles, trimming to fit. Top with mushrooms. Spread remaining ricotta cheese mixture over mushrooms. Spread half of the remaining pesto over ricotta layer. Top with another layer of noodles and remaining pesto. Drain tomatoes. Slice, quarter, or halve tomatoes and place on top of layers.
4. Place springform pan in a foil-lined shallow baking pan. Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining Italian blend cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. Carefully remove sides of pan. Top with parsley leaves. To serve, cut lasagna into wedges. (For 13x9x2-inch pan, bake, covered with foil, in a 375 degrees F oven for 40 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through.) Makes 8 to 10 servings.
5. Lemon-Parsley Pesto: In a food-processor bowl combine 4 cups fresh spinach leaves (about 8 ounces), 1/2 cup fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts, 2 cloves garlic quartered, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and process until nearly smooth. (If desired, use a blender and add 2 to 4 tablespoons water with the spinach leaves.) Makes about 1 cup.
6. Cooking Club Directions: Prepare lasagnas as above for each member except do not add tomatoes and do not bake. Cover each pan with plastic wrap (if freezing, also wrap in aluminum foil). Package remaining cheese in a resealable plastic bag or a resealable freezer bag for each member. Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 3 months.
7. Test Kitchen Tip: It is possible to make up to a quadruple batch of ricotta mixture at one time.
8. Reheating and Serving: Thaw lasagna, if frozen, in the refrigerator 48 hours before baking. Place thawed or refrigerated lasagna on a foil-lined baking sheet. Remove plastic wrap; top lasagna with tomatoes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In springform pan, bake, covered with foil, for 60 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes more or until heated through. (For a 13x9x2-inch pan, bake, covered with foil, for 40 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted and lasagna is heated through.) Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. Carefully remove sides of pan, if necessary. To serve, cut lasagna into wedges. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

I need to run to the grocery store for supplies after going to work, but this should be dinner tonight.

Off to get things done!!!!