ITEMS
Honeycrisp Apples
Spinach
Green Bell Peppers
Cherry tomatoes
Basil
Dozen Eggs
PRODUCERS
Home Acres Orchard - Stevensville
Amaltheia Organic Produce - Belgrade
Harlequin Produce - Arlee
Gallatin Valley Botanical - Bozeman
Lowdown Farm - Moiese
Happy Eggs - Manhattan
Chickpea Curry
A simple and comforting warm meal for a chilly fall evening. Serve over rice, quinoa, or other cooked grain that you like. Adapted from America's Test Kitchen. Serves 4.
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced*
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated - sub 1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbs curry powder*
2-3 C cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-oz cans of chickpeas)
2 C cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered - sub 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 14-oz can coconut milk
1-2 handfuls spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped if large
Cilantro and/or basil, chopped, for garnish
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add bell peppers, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until bell peppers begin to brown, 5 -7 minutes. Add the minced jalapeño, garlic, ginger, and curry powder and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
Add the cooked chickpeas, tomatoes w/ their juices, and coconut milk and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until bell peppers are tender and flavors have melded, ~20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped spinach for the last few minutes of cooking. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Serve with rice or other cooked grain, and top with fresh cilantro and/or basil.
*Notes: 1) Curry powder is a combination of spices that can vary widely from brand to brand. You may need to adjust the quantity in your dish to suit your tastes. You can make your own curry powder using this recipe. 2) Adjust the heat level by using or more less jalapeño, add some of the seeds, or add some cayenne pepper.
Eggs in Purgatory
I love a good name for a dish. Whoever first called it this clearly had an imagination. It goes by other names, and has different iterations in different cultures (like shakshuka), but this one is notably Italian. Adapted from Bon Appétit + NYTimes Cooking. Serves 4.
2-3 Tbs olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, sliced, plus 1 additional clove cut in half for garlic toast if you want it
1/2 tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes - use more or less depending on your preferred heat level
1 lb cherry tomatoes (you may need to supplement with more tomatoes - dice if large)
1-2 handfuls of spinach, rinsed, dried, and roughly chopped to bite-size pieces*
4-6 eggs
1 whole sprig fresh basil, plus a small handful, chopped, for garnish
2 Tbs Parmesan, grated, plus more for serving (optional)
Toasted bread for serving
Fresh lemon (optional)
In a skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until garlic just turns golden brown at the edges, 1-2 min. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and basil sprig, tossing occasionally, until tomatoes look plumped and some of the skins start to split, ~2 min. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and cook, stirring tomatoes every couple of minutes and smushing them with a wooden spoon to help them break down, until mixture is looking saucey but still rustic, 10-15 min or so. Remove basil stem and discard.
Stir in spinach until it just wilts, followed by Parmesan and butter, then taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Adjust heat to keep sauce bubbling gently, then use the back of your spoon to make as many divots in the tomato sauce as you have eggs; crack an egg into each divot. Cover the pan and let cook until the eggs are set to taste, probably 3-4 minutes for runny yolks. (If the pan is not covered, the eggs won't cook through, so don't skip it!)
While the eggs are cooking, toast your bread. Optionally, rub cut garlic clove over the warm toasts, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt. Or you can butter it. Or just drizzle with olive oil. Or leave it dry...
To serve, spoon eggs into shallow bowls, or onto plates. Spoon extra sauce around the eggs. Top with chopped basil and more Parmesan, if using. Serve with toast.
*Note: The spinach is not an essential ingredient. Feel free to omit entirely, or make a simple salad to go on the side, dressed with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe more Parmesan.
BONUS RECIPE: Pasta Salad with Oregano Dressing
The great thing about pasta salad is that the ingredients are all optional. The bad thing is that sometimes you get lots of tasty ingredients chopped and mixed together, only for it to turn out bland. A bold dressing, and plenty of it, makes the difference for me. If you don't want pasta salad, make this as a chopped salad with iceberg lettuce instead.* Serves 4-6.
4 cloves garlic
1-2 Tbs dried oregano
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/4 C red wine vinegar -you can sub white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar, but red is best here
1/4 C olive oil, ideally extra-virgin
1 lb short pasta, any shape
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green bell pepper, chopped to bite-size
up to 8 oz hard salami, cut into cubes or sticks (or ribbons if it's pre-sliced)
6-8 oz mozzarella, provolone, or your preferred cheese, cut into cubes or sticks
1/4 C basil leaves, loosely packed, then cut into ribbons (sub or combine with fresh parsley)
1/2 C olives - black, green, kalamata, or whatever you like, sliced
Additional ingredient suggestions: fresh spinach cut into ribbons, red or white onion (or scallions) sliced thin, broccoli or cauliflower chopped small, cooked chickpeas or white beans, pepperoncinis sliced into rings, etc.
Cook the pasta according to package directions in generously salted water. Drain and rinse briefly under cold water to keep the pasta from sticking. While boiling the water and cooking the pasta:
A) Make the dressing. Roughly chop the garlic, then add the oregano, 2 tsp kosher salt, and up to 1/2 tsp ground pepper. Chop and mash the mixture together using the side of a knife or a mortar and pestle to make a grainy paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl or jar, then add the lemon juice and vinegar. Mix with a fork to dissolve the salt, then slowly add the oil and whisk with a fork (or seal and shake) until well combined. The dressing should be thick with garlic and oregano. Set aside until you're ready to assemble the salad. You may not need all the dressing.
B) Prep your ingredients, if you haven't already. Add them one at a time to a large bowl, then add a generous pour of the dressing and gently stir to coat. Fold in the pasta, adding more dressing as needed until everything is well-coated and just combined. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve chilled or at room temp. It should keep well for a few days in the fridge.
*Note: If you decide to make a chopped salad instead of pasta salad, combine dressing with lettuce right before serving.
Additional Recipe Suggestions
Here's a version of Shakshuka if you want to try a more North African version of eggs poached in tomato sauce
Apple Galette - you can skip the labneh cheese, or use plain goat cheese instead
You could easily adapt this recipe for Baked Eggs with Spinach and Tomatoes to accommodate today's delivery