Recipes: Buttery Spaghetti Squash, Farro with Fennel and Carrots and Arugula Salad

 

The force is strong with this one.

 

We got a great haul on Friday so dinner last night used a ton of  different veggies, including a spaghetti squash which has been sitting on our counter for weeks (months?) which I had been avoiding cooking because I just don’t like spaghetti squash that much.

Buttered Spaghetti Squash

• 1 spaghetti squash, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out and generously rubbed with oil
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of parmesan
• a few sage leaves, chopped
• a pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated)

Roughly following this recipe from a Serious Eats thread, I roasted the spaghetti squash at 400 for 45 minutes, cut side down.  Turn the squash over and cook for 15 more minutes, or until tender.  While the squash is cooling a bit, melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan.  Add the sage leaves and cook the butter until it starts to brown and smelly nutty.  Combine everything in a large bowl.

Farro with Carrot and Fennel

Based on this recipe, I scaled it down for 2 people, and made some substitutions with ingredients I had on hand.

• 3/4 cup of farro, soaked for 30 minutes
• 3-4 small carrots, cut into matchsticks (or grated)
• half of a fennel bulb, cut into 1/4 inch die
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 small clove of garlic, pulverized into a paste
• some capers
• some garlic chives (or any other green herb, like parsley)
• olive oil

Drain the farro and discard the soaking water.  Combine with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil then cook for 15 minutes with the lid off.  Meanwhile, combine fennel, garlic, capers, vinegar and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a serving bowl and let marinate.  When the farro is done, drain and add to the fennel along with the carrots and herbs and a good dose of olive oil.  Taste for S&P, or add more vinegar if you’d like.

Arugula Salad with Avocado and an Orange Vinaigrette

• Enough arugula for 2 people, washed
• 1 avocado, cut into large pieces
• Some orange juice
• 1/2 shallot, diced
• Some rice wine vinegar
• Olive oil

Combine the orange juice, rice wine vinegar, olive oil and shallot to taste.  Add some S&P.  Toss with arugula and avocado.

Recipe: Giant Kitchen Sink Salad

It’s Thursday and we’re picking up more veggies tomorrow, but have too many that we haven’t been able to eat yet.  So tonight we combined as many of them as we could into a giant kitchen sink salad.

Ingredients

• A few leaves red oak leaf lettuce
• A few leaves green oak leaf lettuce
• A few leaves wildfire lettuce
• A few leaves dandelion greens
• Small bunch of radishes, sliced
• 1 avocado, chunked
• Bunch of sugar snap peas, from our garden (!)
• Half red onion, thinly sliced
• Baked tofu (five spice flavor), cubed
• 2 cuties (tangerines), separated

Wash lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces.  Combine with the rest of the ingredients in a giant bowl and toss with salt & pepper.

Ingredients for dressing

• 1 T dijon mustard
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 5 T olive oil
• 2 green garlic, sliced

Whisk together mustard and vinegar, add salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in olive oil until emulsified.  Throw in garlic and let sit to marry the flavors.

Toss everything together in the giant bowl and serve on giant plates.  Try to figure out how to use the rest of the lettuce asap.