Tis the Season of Cooking with Winter Vegetables

Series: Produce Box, December 20, 2011 Deliver; Published Blog 12

Scorpacciata. In Italy, scorpacciata is defined as consuming large amounts of local ingredients while in season. A produce box provides local ingredients of a certain season grown by the farmers. Currently in season are lots of winter vegetables that do not mind a little cold air or frost on their leaves. The farmer from Capay Valley even thinks that a little frost might add a little flavor to the vegetables being frosted on his farm.

In this product box series I will provide a recipe to encourage you to use vegetables in season to make your own vegetable stock. All the vegetables provided my box are organic meaning no chemicals are used in the growing process.

In my produce box received this week, I have the following vegetables:

1 Red Kuri Squash, winter

1 lb. Red Potatoes

1lb. White Potatoes

2lb. of Baby Bok Choy

2 Fennel

1 bunch of Leeks

1 bunch of Nantes Carrots

1 bunch of Spinach

1 bunch of Green Leaf Lettuce

1 bunch of Fresh Rosemary

Fennel Vegetable Stock

I am creating my own vegetable stock to develop into a recipe to make fennel sauce. I like the smell and flavor of fennel. It has the hint of anise but not too overpowering like black licorice. It works well as a substitute for onions since it is also a bulb. It can be diced, sliced, minced, or finely chopped. If it is sauteed the edges of the fennel caramelize up lovely. The other part of the fennel of the plant are the stalks that stick out of the ground with its leaves similar to dill plant.

Ingredients and Directions:

Grabbing a large pot and turn on the heat to about medium.

Add in 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil (or canola oil.)

Toss in a hand full of fresh herbs: Sage, Rosemary, Thyme

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

Stir to prevent the garlic and fresh herbs from burning.

I tossed in a torn up fennel bulb piece to saute with the fresh herbs and garlic. I didn't leave anything to toss.

Add in the rinsed fennel stalks and stir.

Fill the pot with water covering the vegetables.

In addition to the fennel to balance the flavor I tossed in a handful of carrots and a few strangling lettuce leaves.

I also carefully flipped over the vegetables inside the pot to make sure the top of the vegetables get cooked on the bottom.

Then only seasoned with pepper- No Salt needed. Why? In your final dish of using the vegetable, you will flavor with salt. So to decrease over use of salt, do not season the vegetable stock.

Optional:

Since I was making a soup that needed leeks, I decided to toss in the green tops and part of the white bottom of leeks to my vegetable stock.

Add a lid and allow the stock to simmer for about 2 hours. Once it is done, turn off the heat and allow it to cool before removing the vegetables and straining out the fennel vegetable stock.

Here are the remains of the vegetables that flavored the water to create the stock:



This is stock to be used in soups or stews:

It can measured out and placed into the freezer for later use.

Making your own vegetable stock can be easy but takes a little time and lots of vegetables. My suggestion to you all is to be creative and add vegetables to the pot that you like.

Have fun cooking!