Seared Fish with Beets and Broccoli

The second 40 pound vegetable box from the winter share is now officially gone – I’ll be happy not to see another beet until next year’s winter share. It’s good, because we will have CSA vegetables in 11 days (but who’s counting). Our CSA is delayed by a week, the farm had a terrible thunder/hail storm and some early crops were destroyed. Very sad. In other more upbeat and adventurous news I will have a full share this year. I’m hoping to store many things and write about methods and ideas for filling the freezer and pantry shelves.

Thursday Menu – Seared Fish with Beets and Broccoli
Farm Share Produce - Beets

Seared Fish with Beets and Broccoli
http://www.marthastewart.com/335096/seared-fish-with-beets-and-broccoli

My review would be, it’s a dish with beets. It was actually an okay beet dish. I didn’t change anything, but be sure and follow the link to see a beautiful purple representation of the dish.

Pesto Salmon and Broccoli

Thursday Menu – Pesto Salmon, Broccoli, Pilaf

Last night's dinner smelled so good while it cooked. The fresh broccoli from the market had a lovely aroma while it steamed, the basil filled the room when the salmon cooked, and the garlic in the pilaf comforted everyone.

Along with the arugula pesto I mentioned the other day, I also have my last bag of basil pesto from the summer that I froze in ice cube trays in the freezer. One cube was perfect for last night’s salmon.

Pesto Salmon

2 T basil pesto
2 or 3 T corn starch
2 salmon fillets

Spread pesto on salmon in a thin layer. Coat salmon fillet with cornstarch. Place salmon in a skillet with hot oil. Cook salmon 4 minutes per side.
Same method as in this post, just added the pesto under the cornstarch layer.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/03/crispy-thai-style-seared-salmon.html

I cut up the florets of broccoli and then cut the stalks very thin. If you cut the stalks thin they will cook at the same rate as the florets and turn out rich and buttery. I put it all in the skillet and let it steam with some olive oil and chicken stock for about 10 minutes with the lid on. Then I took the lid off and let it brown on the edges. I finish it with a little sesame oil and my family gobbles up broccoli every time.

Crisp Roasted Potatoes with Celeriac

Actual Tuesday Menu - BBQ Chicken, Crisp Roasted Potatoes with Celeriac, Broccoli

Did the dinner help empty the pantry or freezer? YES! The BBQ chicken was simple. I just marinated chicken breast I had frozen in a bottle of BBQ sauce we had in the pantry and grilled them on the George Foreman Grill. The Broccoli was also in the freezer. My favorite way to prepare frozen broccoli is to heat 1 – 2 T of olive oil in a skillet and then add the broccoli. Stir to coat with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cover and let steam to warm through. Remove the lid and when the broccoli starts to get golden brown sprinkle with sesame oil. Once I remove the kids broccoli I generously add crushed red pepper. The Crisp Roasted Potatoes with Celeriac used up some potatoes I had in storage and I still had some Celeriac from my CSA. This is a favorite of mine, the recipe follows.

Crisp Roasted Potatoes with Celeriac
Here is the original recipe, my adaption adding Celeriac follows.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/crispy-potato-roast

3 T unsalted butter, melted
3 T olive oil
4-6 russet potatoes, peeled
15 – 20 slices of celeriac, about the same size as the potato slices
1-2 shallots, thinly sliced
Coarse salt
1 tsp red-pepper flakes (optional)
4-5 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush some of the mixture on the bottom of a baking dish. Slice potatoes (slice crosswise) and celeriac very thinly.

Arrange potato slices in dish. Wedge celeriac and shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. Brush with remaining butter/oil mixture. Bake 1 ¼ hrs. Add thyme and bake 35 minutes more.