Farm to Freezer: savoring summer in February

Today's colorful abundance won't last long.  Its glory reminds us winter is coming; pickings will get slim. And that's probably why we  are so tempted right now to grab it all and go. Overdoing it is the moment's theme, and it easily crescendos to overwhelming.

Well, one way to handle that abundance, to have it all, is to process it for the freezer.  Some vegetables accommodate nicely to having their life prolonged that way, notably tomatoes, peppers and corn.  (Note: garlic loses its flavor when frozen so you have to renew it with fresh when you reheat whatever you put it in.)        

I've posted some of these recipes before but they're here again because they're treasures whose worth never diminishes.      

Red pepper sauce

This is one of the reach for recipes I post again and again. Those red bell peppers in profusion right now are storehouses of all the vitamin C and A you want in winter.   And the color they bring to a February table!   Plus this tasty sauce has many ways to light up your life: on pasta, on burgers or steak or roast lamb or pork chops, on roasted cauliflower, on scrambled eggs, on pizza with goat cheese... . 

2 tbsp olive oil                          

3 lg/4 sml red bell peppers, seeded

4 garlic cloves, sliced               

1 mildly hot pepper

½ tsp dried oregano                 

2 tbsp fresh basil OR coriander (your taste)

1 tbsp wine vinegar                  

1/8 tsp salt

Slice red peppers into thin strips. Dice hot pepper. Chop the herb. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, garlic and oregano. Sauté 15 minutes on medium low heat. Stir in vinegar, hot pepper and salt. Sauté 10 minutes. Stir in the herb. Simmer 5 minutes. Purée in a blender or processor.

Provencal Tomato Soup 

 This is another gem I keep posting because it's so easy, so nourishing and so tasty. It's perfect for all those less than gorgeous tomatoes farmers are selling by the bin.  It's great for all those cheaper non heirloom varieties too. And it's loaded with Vitamin C.

Serves 4-5

2 lbs. fresh tomatoes, skinned (optional) and chopped

2 lg. onions, peeled and finely chopped

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter

1 mildly hot small pepper, whole

2 tbsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper to your taste

2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley for garnish (5-6 sprigs)

In a medium sized heavy gauge casserole, heat the butter and olive oil together until the butter melts. Stir in thyme and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add onions, bay leaf and a pinch of ground black pepper. Stir to blend and sauté over medium low heat until the onions are soft and glistening.

Add the tomatoes and mix well. Drop in the whole pepper. If the tomatoes aren’t juicy, add ½ cup water to avoid burning. Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, until the tomatoes become soupy. (If the soup is too thick and pasty, add either another ¼ cup of water or dry sherry if you’d like.)

Remove the bay leaf and whole pepper. Stir in the parsley. Remove from heat. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Freeze by portion in plastic containers.  You can drink this from a mug. 

Piperade

I gave this its own post a few weeks ago when peppers starting flooding the market. Here it is again because you can freeze it. I do it in baggies or small containers because a little goes a long way to brighten an omelet or a burger or a pilaf.  If you want a perfect autumn meal right now, once the peppers are soft, add sausage, brown it and then add short or medium grain rice with the requisite amount of broth or water to cook it.  This will give you the Hungarian dish: leszco.

serves 4-6

1 large green bell pepper, washed and seeded

1 large red bell pepper, washed and seeded

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, washed and seeded

1 dark purple bell pepper or yellow or orange

1 sm poblano pepper  

1 med-lg red onion, peeled

3 lg garlic cloves, peeled and minced

¼ tsp dried oregano leaves

1/8 tsp salt

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Fresh ground black pepper to your taste

Slice all the bell peppers into long thin strips. Cut the onion into thin rings, then in half and break the rings apart into thin half moon pieces.

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil (use enough tbsp to thickly coat the entire bottom of the pan. Add the onion and oregano leaves and sauté for 1 minute.

Add all the peppers and garlic, trying to keep the peppers in a uniform direction. Continue cooking over medium to medium low heat until the pepper strips are soft but haven’t lost their bright colors. This will take 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Minestrone Soup

This is not only the ideal way use up the odds and ends of farm vegetables in the bin. It's the way to store a very nourishing, colorful, vegetarian and hearty soup in the freezer.  Bring it out in January and serve a bowl with crusty bread and good cheese, then polish the meal off with a crisp apple. You will feel virtuous and well fed.  

There is no exact recipe for this. Just use whatever veggies you've got on hand but be sure to include a small onion and a carrot. If you have a celery stalk so much the better. Those are the flavor trio. If you don't have celery use celery seed. Suggested vegetables this time of year: green beans, corn off the cob, red cabbage, summer squash/zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, beet greens, daikon, kale, and turnip. 

Additionally you will need a can of cooked cannellini (white) beans, a small piece of Parmesan rind or else a few bits of real reggiano parmigiano for the flavor, and finally to make it very hearty small pasta like fregola or orzo, maftoul or macaroni or else medium grain rice. 

To get it all together, cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Coat the bottom of a lidded heavy medium sized pot with olive oil.  Get it hot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery or celery seed plus the parmesan rind or cheese. Add at least 1 tsp dried sage, 2 tsp dried rosemary, 2 tsp dried oregano and a good pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir to blend and saute over med/low heat 3 minutes to soften the vegetables. Toss in the other vegetables you've cut up. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. (You may need more salt than you think).  If you didn't have fresh tomatoes to add, you can now add 1/2-1 c depending on how much soup you're making of boxed or canned chopped tomatoes. Stir everything.  Now cover with vegetable broth or water  that is at least  2" higher than the vegetables.   Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook 15 minutes. Add the pasta or rice. Stir it in. You may need to add more broth or water now because you want to end up with juice: it's soup! Cover the pot, and simmer another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the soup sit.  After 10 minutes or so, taste and adjust salt, red pepper flakes  and broth.  Cool to freeze in airtight plastic containers.
              
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
I posted this recently with the tomato recipes so it's just a reminder that you can freeze these in baggies. 
  

Corn chowder 

What to do with corn from the cob when you bought too many.         

Serves 6

2 tbsp butter or ghee

1 lg onion, peeled and diced

1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced

1 Serrano or other hot chili, seeded and diced

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground chipotle

1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper

3 cups corn kernels (can be 4-5 fresh ears, frozen or canned corn)

3 celery stalks, cleaned and diced

2 cups water

3 medium potatoes (any color), peeled and cubed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp. diced pimento (roasted red pepper)

2 cups vegetable broth

12 oz. evaporated milk (not sweetened)

4 oz heavy cream

For garnish: chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded jack or cheddar cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds

Cut the corn off the cobs and put the cobs into a pot with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer while you make the chowder.

Melt butter in a medium soup pot or casserole. Add onions, poblano and chili peppers, sage and oregano. Sauté over medium heat until onions are golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

Stir in coriander, chipotle, black pepper and celery. Continue to sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree one cup of corn with 1 tbsp vegetable broth and add to the pot, stirring to blend. Add potatoes, salt and the rest of the vegetable broth. Blend ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add 2 cups corn kernels and pimentos. If you have boiled corncobs in water, remove the cobs and pour the corn-flavored water into the soup. If you didn’t do this, simply add two cups of water. Continue to simmer covered on medium low heat for 5-8 minutes. (You don’t have to be exact.)

Taste for salt and adjust to preference. Stir in evaporated milk and heavy cream. Cook over medium low heat uncovered until the soup is warmed thoroughly. Do not bring to a boil once the milk and cream have been included.  Stir once to blend all flavors.

              
 Plum or Fig Torte      

 This is another favorite recipe I post annually and included in the book, How to Fix a Leek.... because it's so simple and elegant.   And it freezes well. To serve take from the freezer and put into a cold oven and turn the oven to 350º. Heat just until the cake is soft, maybe 25 minutes.  A lovely coffee cake perfect for tea or breakfast or after a rich dinner. You can substitute figs sliced for plum halves; just add some anise seed to the mix.

  fig version

12-14 plums, pitted and halved       

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter

½ c white sugar

¼ c light brown sugar                                  

1 tsp baking powder

1 c unbleached flour, sifted         

2 extra large eggs

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp milk

¼ tsp cinnamon                             

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

Preheat over to 350º. Butter a 9” springform pan. If yours is 8” or 10”, no worries.

Put the halved plums in a bowl with lemon juice, 1 tbsp brown sugar and spices. Stir to blend.

In or with a mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and beat to incorporate. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat just enough to incorporate everything. Fold in the milk to lighten the mix. The batter will be thick and it will seem meager in the pan but it will rise!

Spoon batter into the buttered pan and level the top. Arrange the plum halves cut side down around the top. Bake 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool and release from spring form pan. This can now be frozen double wrapped in foil and sealed in an airtight plastic bag for later.