Superfood Soup & Turkey Paninis

I normally don’t post on the weekends, but with the snow in the Lehigh Valley today, I thought a soup recipe might be necessary. I’ll be headed out shortly to chaperone some cookie booth sales all day, but for those of you who are happily snowed in (or if you live elsewhere without snow and just want something delicious and healthy to warm you up today), give this soup a try! Also, if you can get there, the SteelStacks winter market will have many of these ingredients from 12-4 today. The veggies in this soup are all known “super foods” so it’s also jam packed with healthy nutrients and amazing flavor. Of course, one of the best things about soup is that you can’t really mess it up, so if you can’t get to the grocery store and are missing some ingredients, substitute as you see fit!

I’ve also included a ridiculously simple recipe for smoked turkey paninis that pair really well with this soup. So, curl up under a blanket, put on a good movie, and cozy up with this soup and sandwich duo. (It’s also a relatively quick meal to make on a weeknight!)

Superfood Soup

Ingredients:

kale, leftover sweet potato, garlic, onion, leftover brussel sprouts, smoked turkey broth, olive oil

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 onion (Jett’s Produce)
• 2 cloves garlic (Apple Ridge Farm)
• 1 c. steamed Brussel sprouts (I used leftovers from a dinner out)
• 3 c. turkey stock (I used homemade smoked turkey stock for a little extra flavor) (chicken or vegetable broth will work, too)
• 1 bunch kale (Jett’s Produce)
• 1 large sweet potato, cooked (I used a leftover baked one)

Directions:

1. Chop onions and mince garlic, then sauté in olive oil in large dutch oven.
2. Roughly chop Brussels sprouts and add to onion mixture.
   

   Veggies Sautéing

3. Separate thick stems from kale, chop, and add to veggies in pan, saving leaves for later.
4. Sauté veggies over medium-high heat until sprouts are just turning golden and onions are translucent.
5. Add stock or broth to pan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Chop sweet potato and kale leaves and add to soup. Simmer 5 minutes.
7. Serve hot with paninis!

Turkey Paninis with Kale & Mozzerella

Ingredients:
To make 2 paninis.

seeded sourdough bread, mozzerella cheese, kale, smoked turkey breast

• good, crusty bread (we used seeded sourdough from Apple Ridge Farm)
• fresh mozzarella (Klein Farms)
• 4 kale leaves (use the thick stems in the soup)(Jett’s Produce)
• 4 slices turkey breast (I used leftover smoked turkey)

Directions:

1. Cut bread into four 1/2″ slices.
2. Arrange kale leaves on 2 slices of bread.
3. Arrange turkey on top of kale.
4. Slice mozzarella and place on top of turkey.
5. Add top piece of bread and grill on preheated panini press or tabletop grill for 3-5 minutes, or until bread is toasted and cheese is melted.
6. Serve with soup!

The perfect combination for a snowy day.

 

Butternut Mushroom & Ricotta Tart—It’s What’s for Dinner!

Last week, I stopped by Keepsake Farm with a friend to pick up some eggs and cheese. I was pleasantly surprised when the guy covering the counter asked, “So what are you going to make this time? I love looking at your blog to see what you did with what you bought.” Someone recognized me who reads this blog!

Once I got over the giddiness of my first random recognition, I realized I had to make something truly excellent with the ricotta cheese I picked up that day. We recently discovered that Giorgio Mushrooms are grown within an hour of the Lehigh Valley and we picked up a pint of them on a whim. This isn’t the kind of farm we’ve been supporting for the past year, but we did research their practices and decided we’d purchase a container of them until our first order of very local Mother Earth mushrooms from Pure Sprouts arrive this weekend. Of course, three days after we purchased them, I saw that Jett’s Natural Produce had mushrooms for the first time all year! I guess they just weren’t in season before? (Never thought I’d actually feel a dilemma about where to get mushrooms. It felt weird to scan a package of produce.)

Anyway, we were glad to have the tasty fungi in our kitchen. (Funny thing, the fact that mushrooms are fungi freaked me out so much that I refused to eat them until last year. Now I love them!) Combined with a big ol’ butternut squash, some leafy kale, creamy ricotta and super simple crust, this tart (actually, a pie because I don’t have a tart pan) is something special enough to serve company.

Butternut, Mushroom & Ricotta Tart

Ingredients:

Ingredients

• 1 c. flour
• 5 T. butter, cold
• 3 T. cold water
• 1 red onion (Jett’s Natural Produce)
• 1.5 c. butternut squash (I diced & roasted a whole one so we’d have it for later) (from Jett’s Natural Produce)
• 4 cloves garlic (Apple Ridge Farm)
• 1 c. crimini mushrooms (Giorgio)
• olive oil for drizzling
• 4-6 kale leaves (Jett’s Natural Produce)
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese (Keepsake Farm)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Dice butternut squash, smash garlic, cut onions into wedges and quarter mushrooms.
3. Toss squash, garlic, onions and mushrooms in baking dish with olive oil.
4. Bake 30 minutes, or until squash is fork tender.
5. Meanwhile, cut slices of butter into flour in medium bowl using pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly.
6. Add water 1 T. at a time until dough binds together.
7. Press dough into bottom (and a little up the sides) of greased pie plate or tart pan.
8. Chop kale, removing thick stems.
9. Spread 3/4 of the ricotta onto crust.
10. Spread kale over ricotta.
11. When veggies are done roasting, reduce oven to 350° and evenly distribute them on top of kale.
12. Drop remaining ricotta on top by the tablespoonful.
13. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
    

    Rustic looking tart/pie fit for company! Meaty mushrooms, sweet squash, savory kale and creamy cheese make for the perfect balance.

Midweek Menu: Zuppa Toscana

When we used to be more likely to frequent chain restaurants, one of my husband’s favorites was always the Olive Garden (I am fairly certain he still craves their alfredo). My staple when we had a meal there was Zuppa Toscana soup. I liked that it was creamy, but not too heavy, and zesty. The balance of sausage, kale, potatoes and spicy red pepper worked for me, and I’ve always wanted to try making it at home, but I had kind of forgotten about it. Then, last week at the farmer’s market, I stumbled across some Toscana Kale, and the name reminded me of the soup! So, I headed home to try making a batch of this restaurant favorite. The results were successful (and less salty!), except for the absence of those processed, frozen, yet addictive, breadsticks.

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

Perfectly in season ingredients!

• 1/2 lb. spicy Italian sausage, bulk or casing removed (I had sweet from Valley View Farms, so I added red pepper flakes when I cooked the sausage)
• 1 onion (Jett’s Natural Produce)
• 3 cloves garlic (Apple Ridge Farm)
• 1/3 c. white wine
• 2 medium potatoes (Heritage Farms CSA)
• 1 bunch kale (to make 2 c. chopped, from Jett’s Natural Produce)
• 2 c. chicken stock (homemade from Valley View Farms chicken bones)
• 2 c. water
• 1 c. milk (Keepsake Farm)

Directions:

1. Crumble sausage and cook in dutch oven, then remove with slotted spoon to set aside.
2. Meanwhile, dice onion and mince garlic.
3. Add onion and garlic to sausage drippings and cook and stir over medium heat until onions are translucent.
4. Meanwhile, dice potatoes and chop kale.
5. Add wine to pan, scraping up browned bits from bottom.
6. Add potatoes, kale, broth and water to dutch oven.
7. Bring pot to boil, then cover, reduce heat and let simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
8. Return sausage to dutch oven.
   

   Just after adding sausage back to soup.

9. Add milk and stir.
10. Serve hot with fresh ground black pepper and crusty bread.

Zuppa!

What’s For Dinner?

Can you figure out what I made for a weekend dinner based on these local ingredients? Check back for the recipe on Friday and see if you were right!

butter, flour, kale, butternut squash, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ricotta cheese, olive oil