Here are some of the meals we’ve enjoyed this week using meat and produce from the farm.
Milk Braised Chicken
Looking for a new way to do chicken? We tried Jamie Oliver’s go to cooking method.
| 1 whole Chicken salt & pepper olive oil cinnamon stick | handful of sage leaves zest of two lemons 10 cloves of Garlic 2 cups of milk |
Preheat the oven to 375°F and find a snug-fitting pot (dutch oven works well) for the chicken. Place the pot over medium high heat on the stove.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown the chicken in olive oil. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, discard the excess oil.
Place chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours.
Baste with the cooking juices about every 20-30 minutes.
To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it onto your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds from the lemon and milk.
We served ours with stuck pot rice and an incredibly tangy green salad.
Borscht
Courtesy of a great friend of ours, this recipe has been passed down through generations – for good reason! Hands down this is one of the best ways to eat beets.
| 4 medium Beets, grated 1 large Onion, grated 2 medium Potatoes, grated ¼ to ½ green Cabbage, shredded 1 can beans in tomato sauce 1 can diced Tomatoes 1 L vegetable broth | 2 tbsp granulated sugar 2 tbsp wine vinegar 1 ½ lbs Smoked Ham, chopped Salt & fresh ground pepper fresh dill, chopped yogurt or sour cream |
Place Beets, Onions, Potatoes, Cabbage in a large soup pot and cover with broth; add some water if not covered. Cook until tender.
Add salt and pepper*, sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes, add rest of ingredients and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and garnish with fresh dill.
*if you like things spicy, we suggest adding a lot of freshly ground pepper – two or three tablespoons if you can handle it. It gives this soup an incredible heat.
Meat and Pear Pasta
This pasta recipe is taken from Pasta Modern, a great cookbook with interesting and delicious flavor combinations. The original recipe also calls for 4 oz. of roast beef, cut into thin strips, but we don’t think that omitting this meat takes anything away from the dish.
| 2 tablespoons butter2 ounces Bacon, diced 2 sweet Sausage 1 large pear, thinly sliced, skin on 2 tbsp golden raisins 4 fresh sage leaves 1 Garlic clove, minced | 1 lb tube pasta, try calamarata or rigatoni zest of½ lemon Grana Padano or other hard, aged cheese ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg fresh Parsley, chopped salt & pepper |
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 5 minutes.
Remove the sausages from casings and crumble it into the pan; cook until browned.
Add the pear, raisins, garlic and sage and cook the mixture until the pears are soft.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water until it is almost al dente.
Drain and toss into the meat and pear mixture, reserving some cooking liquid to adjust sauce consistency.
Stir well and cook, adding more cooking liquid if needed, until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the zest and season with grated cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, and parsley to taste.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.