Season: Fall 2021
Size: Full Share
Week 5 of 12
October 30th, 2021
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
CSA Family,
When the weather starts to get a bit chilly, I immediately start craving soup. I hope you find the recipe below to be both delicious and nourishing!
SPICY RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MUSTARD GREENS AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons olive oil
-
1 medium yellow onion, minced
-
4 cloves garlic, minced
-
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
-
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
-
1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and finely ground
-
1 dried red chile, broken in half
-
2 cups Indian red lentils, rinsed
-
1 bay leaf
-
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth (if canned, use equal parts broth and water)
-
1 quart water
-
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
-
2 cups peeled butternut or kabocha squash, in ½-inch dice
-
⅓ pound mustard greens, ribs removed and cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide ribbons
Procedure
Despite their name, red lentils are coral, and they turn yellow when cooked. Here, they are simmered with fragrant Indian spices until they collapse into puree. Nuggets of pumpkin-colored squash and forest green ribbons of mustard greens are stirred in to complete the soup. Look for the lentils in Indian markets. Brown lentils are not a good substitute, as they don’t break down as readily as the red lentils do.
Heat the oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and chile and sauté until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaf, broth, and water and bring to a simmer, skimming any surface foam. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.
Season the lentils with salt and pepper. Stir in the squash. Cover and simmer until the squash is almost tender but still slightly firm, about 8 minutes. Stir in the mustard greens, re-cover, and remove the soup from the heat. Let stand until the mustard greens soften and the squash is fully cooked, 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf and chile. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide the soup among warmed bowls. Serve immediately.
Travis recipe by surlatable.com
WHAT’S IN THE SHARE
Tomato (Whitehurst Farms)
These tomatoes are a combination of sweet, tart, and tangy and are the perfect addition to salads for the color and the bursts of flavor! Use them in sandwiches, pasta sauces, and just as a snack with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper!
Bay Leaves
Bay leaves are a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. They are also a must in any soup, stew, or roast.
Okra
Okra has a very unique taste and texture-the taste has been described as somewhere in between eggplant, green beans, and asparagus and the texture as crunchy exterior with a softer inside due to its large soft seeds. We love eating our okra raw or roasting to bring out its tenderness. You can also try pickling your okra, it’s delicious!
Sweet Potato (Gundermann Acres)
When cooked, sweet potatoes have a soft, starchy, sweet interior. They are great roasted, steamed, or mashed like any potato. You can use them for both sweet and savory purposes!
Lettuce (Verde Greens)
This lettuce is especially delicate and crisp. It gives salads a clean crunch and it’s broad leaves could also act as a receptacle for lettuce wraps.
Butternut Squash (Gundermann Acres)
Enjoy!
Green Wave Mustard
A tender, spicy green mustard. Can be eaten raw, sauteed, steamed, or used in soups!
Misome
An asian green and mustard/spinach hybrid that does not pack the punch of a typical mustard and airs very much on the spinach side in terms of texture and taste! We love using misome in the same way that you would use spinach, in salads, sauteed, in stir fries. It is very versatile and delicious!
Radish
A vibrant bulb (varies in color depending on type) with a pleasantly crunchy texture and very pungent, peppery flavor. Radishes are a great addition to salads or as a snack to enjoy by themselves or with dips. They are also enjoyed sauteed, braised, or roasted, neutralizing a lot of the bite and increasing their sweetness. Try pickling them, as well!
Dwarf Bok Choi
These adorable heads of bok choi are such a fun asian green. We use them in the same way we would use regular-sized bok choi–so perfect for stir-fries and also delicious raw in salads!