Category Archives: Appetizer

Large Roasted Beets

Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish, ,

Just back from the Farmers Market and Dominic, one of the Gazy Brothers Farm sons, suggests I try one of the larger beets that was from the “Pick Your Own Garden” but had made its way to the market.

Yay! Something challenging for me to cook. I never cooked a softball or baseball sized beet before and I had two, but don’t just trust me look at the photo taken next to eggs!

So how do I cook? I consulted a New York Times Cooking: Really Big Beets recipe that suggested roasting at 400 degrees after scrubbing, peeling, coating with olive oil, salt and pepper. I wrapped each beer in aluminum foil and roasted on a sheet pan for 80 minutes. The recipe suggests 45 to 90 minutes, so I checked at 45 and 80 it was done when a knife or fork could be easily inserted.

How to’s: peel with knife

Coat with oil, salt pepper

Wrap beets and cook on baking sheet

Test wellness with knife or fork

Eat and enjoy! One suggestion is Greek Beets from Greek Boston. I like sliced with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, onions. Another option is mix in sour cream or yogurt instead of oil. Yum.

Or maybe serve whole – it’s very size is impressive – and have fix-ins on the side.

See size of final product next to large peaches!

Bad Weather Kebabs ala Oven

Appetizer, Side Dish,

Sometimes the weather doesn’t allow a BBQ so what do you do with your fresh Gazy Brothers Farm veggies? Oven baked veggie kabobs are great! I had mine on skewers but placed them in a pan to oven bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Marinate or salt and pepper? Olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt is a delicious marinade for 25 minutes, and why not add fresh herbs.

Today’s kebabs were simple with salt and pepper only.

(If baking with wooden skewers presoak skewers for 15 minutes, then add veggies and cook immediately so skewers don’t burn before veggies are done.).

PREP: cut peppers, onion, zucchini, squash, mushrooms all evenly sized pieces. Place in dish.

After baking 10 minutes, ready to eat or is it? Looking good but why not more char.

Adding 5 minutes to baking time. Viola! Time to eat.

Summer fresh! Tomato walnut basil pesto with garlic or garlic scapes

Appetizer, Condiment, Side Dish

Summer flavors blend to make perfect sauces. You can play with any combination. We combined tomato, nuts, extra virgin oil with basil, garlic and cheese! Perfect on pasta or spiraled veggies. Cold or heat. Tastes great as leftovers too or as a dip with crudités.

Switch up the herbs and nuts, have fun with the fresh flavors!

Perfect Garlic Scape Pesto

Appetizer, Condiment, Main Dish
Garlic Scape Pesto

Perfect garlic scape pesto uses the bud of the garlic plant before it flowers. Easy to make and fresh tasting with no added herbs because the garlic scape is the greens!

1 cup garlic scapes, sliced crosswise (about 10 to 12 scapes)

¼ cup toasted pine nuts (or any nut)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and black pepper

lemon juice to taste

Purée in food processor and enjoy on pasta or chips, spiralized veggies

Chopped Summer Salad (Tomato, Cucumber, Radish, Basil, Pink Beans)

Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, , , , ,

Nothing says fresh flavor better than a quick summer chopped salad using farm-fresh ingredients picked that morning.

We were heading to an afternoon BBQ and wanted to bring something easy but delicious … and so this salad was born.

Variations of this could include adding some feta cheese, or using cilantro/lime combo instead of basil/lemon combo for more of a salsa feel. Anyway you chop it you will be so happy you did. If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, refrigerate and enjoy over several days with the flavors intensifying in a very pleasing way.

Ingredients (party-sized to fit half a watermelon shell, adjust as needed – this is a very forgiving recipe):

4-5 large Ripe Tomato
5-6 Pickling Cucumbers
10 Small Radishes
Basil bunch
Can of Pink Beans (or kidney beans, chickpeas)
Olive oil (quarter-cup or more to taste)
White balsamic vinegar (quarter-cup or more to taste)
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste (we used 1/4 teaspoon of both as a starting point)
Watermelon shell (for easy serving at a party)

Step 1:
Wash veggies well including the basil (which you can blot or spin dry).

Step 2:
Chop, chop, chop … tomatoes, cucumbers into chunky bite sized pieces. Trim and slice thin pieces of radish.  Combine in a big bowl using care to not lose the tomato liquid from chopping (so much flavor there).

Step 3:
Remove basil leaves from stems then using a scissors to cut the basil into strips and add to veggies in the bowl.

Step 4:
Rinse canned beans to reduce starch, drain and add to chopped veggies. Mix well to distribute.

Step 5:
Make the dressing by mixing oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  We started with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and adjusted after 10 minutes to taste adding more as needed.  If you need more vinegar or oil add it but as this salad sits more juice is released from the tomatoes.

Step 6:
Transfer veggie salad to hollowed watermelon half (and if you are adventurous you can even add some of the watermelon to the salad)

Panzanella with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing

Appetizer, Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish, , ,

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When I think of summer I think of tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh Gazy Brothers Farm veggies.   Panzanella is a great way to use leftover veggies and bread.  It’s also a wonderful salad to bring to picnics and outdoor events.

For this particular recipe I started with a basic panzanella recipe from Ina Garten.  Instead of a simple oil and vinegar dressing  I made a sun-dried tomato  vinaigrette .  I really love the flavor and intensity that sun-dried tomato brings to any basic vinaigrette recipe.   Sun-dried tomato vinaigrettes can be used thru the summer as a way to add a depth of flavor into any summer salad; like this panzanella.

Panzanella Ingredients:                                                                                                 010755235d3c80e24995c66dc19c79f908ac68f84e

1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

 

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:

01a613086b73990d0e39ad4521e15e7c92670ba2293-4 heaping tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle bread cubes with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place on sheet pan and toast in 325 degree oven until golden brown. It usually takes 10-20 minutes.  Make sure to keep your eye on it doesn’t burn.01b7077b9f2532dcbe13d0a4a578dee59b6876a931

Make the vinaigrette by adding sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, and garlic in food processor blender.  Pulse to combine.  Add cherry tomatoes and olive oil – blend till smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

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In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, and basil.

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Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette.  Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

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Mock Crab Cakes

Appetizer, Condiment, Main Dish, Side Dish, Uncategorized

Type of dish: Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish

2 cups zucchini, grated
1 onion, finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs, divided
1 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
vegetable oil for frying

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. The texture can be adjusted — if it’s too dry, add another egg; if too wet, add more bread crumbs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Form mixture into patties and fry over medium heat until golden brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Makes 4 big or 6 medium cakes. Serve with tartar sauce.

Type of dish: Condiment

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup dill relish
1/4 cup onions, finely diced

Mix together all of the ingredients.

Recipe courtesy of Gazy Brothers Farm

Spinach and Potato Frittata

Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish, Uncategorized

Type of dish: Breakfast, Main Dish, Side Dish

2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 small potatoes, sliced
1 cup torn fresh spinach (or other green)
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup feta cheese

Season sliced potatoes liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, until tender but firm. Mix in spinach (or other green), green onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until greens are wilted.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with feta. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm.

Recipe courtesy of Gazy Brothers Farm

Beet Chips with Curried Sour Cream

Appetizer, Side Dish, Uncategorized

Type of dish: Appetizer, Side Dish

4 medium beets with sets trimmed to 1 inch
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

For sour cream:
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon Madras curry powder
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Make chips:
Peel beets with a vegetable peeler, then slice paper-thin with slicer, using stems as handles.

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add beets, then remove pan from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Drain beets in a colander, discarding liquid, then let stand in colander 15 minutes more.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 225°F.

Line a shallow baking pan with nonstick liner, then arrange beet slices snugly in 1 layer (it’s not necessary to use any partial or broken slices) and season with salt and pepper. Bake beets until dry, about 1 hour. Immediately transfer chips to a rack to cool (chips will crisp as they cool).

Make curried cream while beets bake:
Cook onion in oil in a small skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in curry powder and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir onion into sour cream in a bowl along with chives, salt, and pepper. Serve curried cream with beet chips.

Recipe courtesy of Gazy Brothers Farm