I was out of town this past week at my son’s baseball tournament in Florida. We had a blast between watching all the ball games and riding the roller coasters at the amusement parks. Our team won Bronze – congratulations CT Fury!!
Since we were away, I missed the CSA Box pick-up day, so by the time I retrieved my CSA Box, a few of the leaves on the Beet Greens and Broccoli Raab had turned a bit yellow and wilted. The broccoli looked a bit yellow too, but it was still firm. Overall, the vegetables were still very fresh and intact.
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| Cucumbers, Broccoli, White Salad Turnips, Beets, Purplette Onions, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Broccoli Rabe, Baby Arugula, Lacinato Kale and Romaine Lettuce were in my CSA Box this week. |
According to the weekly CSA newsletter, “the biggest chunk of the farm is planted, and while trying to keep that weeded and watered, we have been trying to get the fall crops of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and beets in the ground. The weather has been for the most part quite pleasant, and crops continue to grow nicely, but about 10 days behind last year’s pace.”
After a week away without farm fresh vegetables, I was anxious to dig right into the CSA Box (my kids actually acknowledged they were tired of the amusement park food, and needed to eat some fruits and vegetables after they got home, which I was more than happy to oblige!). I washed and cleaned all the vegetables, and stored them in my refrigerator. That way, I could quickly throw together a dish using these gorgeous fresh vegetables over the next several days.
So what did I make with all the fresh vegetables from my CSA Box this week? I made an Arugula, Peach and Nasturtiums Salad with Toasted Almonds and Orange Vinaigrette, Roasted Broccoli with Garlic Scape Pesto, Simple Sauteed Kale, Korean Lettuce Wraps, Summer Squash Banchan, and Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad. In addition, I also threw together a quick no-cook pasta sauce, made with Swiss Chard Garlic Scape Pesto, fresh tomatoes, fresh minced garlic, kalamata olives, extra virgin olive oil, arugula, and fresh ground pepper. Tossed with hot gluten-free pasta and a bit of pasta cooking liquid, this pasta dish was absolutely scrumptious!
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| Arugula, Peach and Nasturtiums Salad with Toasted Almonds and Orange Vinaigrette |
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| Gluten-Free Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Garlic, Swiss Chard Garlic Scape Pesto, and Arugula |
A new dish I tried was Gluten-Free Pasta with Roasted Beets, Beet Greens and Pine Nuts as I wanted to be able to use the entire beet, including the greens before they went bad.
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| Fresh Beets and Beet Greens Are Both Used In This Pasta Dish. |
I found a lovely Bon Appetit recipe for Farfalle with Golden Beets, Beet Greens and Pine Nuts that sounded perfect. Although my beets were red, I didn’t mind a bit of red staining on the pasta (I actually think it makes the pasta quite pretty). I also decided to roast the beets instead of just boiling them, to add deeper flavor and bring out the sweetness in these beets. For the gluten-free pasta, I chose Le Veneziane Farfalle, which is made in Italy. I recently discovered this gluten-free pasta (made with corn), and the quality is exceptional. Unlike brown rice pasta, Le Veneziane pastas are not gummy and I could not tell they were gluten-free.
How To Roast Beets:
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| Roasted Red Beets from my CSA Box |
Roasted Beets
Ingredients
- 1 bunch beets with green tops attached
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut greens off of beets and reserve for later. Wash and trim beets, leaving a bit of the ends attached.
Place beets in a shallow pie pan with 1/4" inch of water.
Cover pan with aluminum foil.
Bake 40-60 minutes, until a knife pieces the beets easily. Roasting time depends on the size of the beets. I had small and medium size beets, and ended up baking them for 60 minutes.
Remove beets from oven and let cool.
Skin will peel off beets easily, either using a paring knife to gently scrape the skin off, or using your fingers.
Gluten-Free Pasta with Roasted Beets, Beet Greens and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 bunch beet greens
- 1 tablespoon raspberry balsamic vinegar
- 8 ounces pasta gluten-free, if desired
- nutritional yeast or goat cheese optional
- sea salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- fresh chives for garnish
Instructions
Roast beets as directed above, reserving beet greens. Cut roasted beets into wedges.
Wash beet greens well, and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Cook pasta until al dente, according to directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onions and saute on low to medium-low until soft and golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
Add garlic and and stir 2 more minutes.
Stir in beet greens along with raspberry balsamic vinegar. Cook for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Toss cooked pasta with onion/beet greens, and roasted beets. Add pasta cooking liquid to moisten if desired.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.
Serve with nutritional yeast or goat cheese, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Bon Appetit. I used red beets instead of yellow in the original recipe, and decided to roast them for a deeper, sweeter flavor profile. The caramelized onions are a must (although I adjusted the cooking time as it was too long in the original recipe). I also added a splash of raspberry balsamic vinegar to add a little bit of tang. A sprinkle of nutritional yeast on top (vegan version) or goat cheese would be nice.
Jeanette, this pasta looks great. Love roasted beets and the salad is beautiful with those flowers.
I think I've tried them. I pretty much love all greens so I know I would love them. I love beets but am always intimidated by cooking them. I am going to start breaking out of my comfort zone and cooking with them more!
This looks delicious! (I'm so jealous of your box of veggies!!)
Jeanette, this salad and gluten free pasta looks divine, and its even more healthy with roasted beets with those beautiful flowers..
i love how the pasta is in shapes of butterflies! and i just love beets! i don't really eat them other than juice them, but i will try roasting them :). beautiful as usual!
I do need to sign up for your CSA box… I am yet to see beets!
Looks like very fresh, summery pasta! Your kids are eating very good 🙂
Say no more when a recipe includes beets. They are one of my favorite veggies. This pasta looks so delicious as well as reading about the other yummies you made. Yummy!
That's a beautiful salad. I love the peppery flavor of Nasturtiums. I like the roasted beet pasta idea too.
The nasturtium and peach salad is calling to me. Our produce is far behind last summer, so all I can do is read and drool until the crops start coming in.
Oh my gosh. What absolutely totally gorgeous photos. Truly. And that salad and this pasta look amazing as well! I can eat oodles and oodles of beets all by myself. I actually love the golden ones even more. Will totally be trying this recipe, since I usually have all of these ingredients on hand!
Wow, Jeanette – what a gorgeous post! and I have to say you get the greatest CSA boxes… so fresh and diverse but it's how you spin these lovelies into breathtaking creations that impresses! I love the combination of beet and pine nuts in your pasta and the peach in the salad set ablaze with the florals… ah, just stunning!!
Thanks all for your feedback – I had never tried beet greens and really liked them in this pasta dish. They soaked up the juices and the raspberry balsamic vinegar went nicely with it all. My son had the leftovers the next day for lunch!
omg this looks amazing! Can’t wait to make this one
Oh how interesting, I’ve never had roasted beet greens before.
This was my first time cooking beet greens and I have to say I really enjoyed them – in fact, I have been trying all sorts of vegetable tops (radish tops, sweet potato leaves, brussels sprout leaves, cauliflower leaves) this season and throwing less away.
you really had a wonderful selection in your csa box of goodies! I love roasted beets, inn fact that’s the only way I’ll eat them! Your selection of dishes looks outstanding, and I’m loving that pasta!
Thank you Chef Dennis! I really have enjoyed my CSA Boxes this season – it has been so fun getting a different selection of fresh vegetables each week, and I have been eating vegetables that I might not otherwise pickup from the farmer’s market or grocery store.