[Week 4] Ottolenghi's Swiss Chard Fritters, Skillet Broccoli Pasta + 6 Recipes to Make This Week

Fennel, Greens, Garlic Scapes Part 3, Cabbage & More

Hello Farm Share Friends:

Yesterday afternoon I took stock of the remains of last week's farm share and found a heap of turnip and beet greens, a head of kale, one tired bundle of parsley, a few scallions, and a cucumber.

And so I made a favorite Yotam Ottolenghi recipe that quickly transformed that pound of greens into a meal: Swiss Chard Fritters.

Like the fried greens meatless balls I mentioned last week, the beauty of this recipe is that you can use any green or combination of greens: beet, turnip, carrot, onion, kale, Swiss chard, mustard, etc.

And the process is simple: boil the greens in well-salted water for 5 minutes; then drain them and purée them with herbs, nutmeg, garlic, a few eggs, and a little bit of flour. Out of the processor, fold in some feta. Stash the batter in the fridge until you are ready to fry them up.

Friends! I had forgotten how tasty these little green patties are! I didn’t have cilantro, so I omitted it and used parsley alone. In place of garlic, I used a few spoonfuls of garlic scape purée, and I served them with Greek yogurt “ranch” dip (to use up the last of the scallions), bread, and a simple green salad, all of which made for a lovely meal. Know that a squeeze of lemon alone will do just fine, too!

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Garlic Scapes, Part Three

My friend Courtney, an excellent cook and gardener from Thailand, grows over 100 heads of garlic every summer. This time of year, as a result, she has lots of garlic scapes on hand, and one of her favorite things to make with them is garlic scape pesto. She recently gave me a tub of her pesto (pictured above), and when she handed it to me, she warned: After you eat it, you can kiss your husband, but not your boyfriend!

She is a riot. And she is right: the flavor of this pesto is much more pungent than basil pesto or other herb pestos because the scapes are acting as both the herb and the allium. I love its strong flavor and ate it immediately with a fried egg — it was heaven. If you still have a ton of scapes on hand, a garlic scape pesto is something to consider.

Finally, last week, after noting I like to make a garlic scape purée and keep it in the fridge, someone commented looking for some more guidance on how to make it. It’s simple:

• Roughly chop the scapes.

• Transfer them to a food processor and purée them until smooth, stopping the processor to scrape it down 2 to 3 times before transferring the purée to a storage vessel.

• You do not need to use any olive oil in the purée. Incredibly the purée does not discolor the way puréed garlic cloves do after a day in the fridge.

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Week 3 Vegetables

• Fennel → Fennel Recipes

• Cucumbers → Cucumber Recipes

• Swiss Chard → Swiss Chard Recipes

• Red Onions → Onion Recipes

• Cabbage → Cabbage Recipes

• Turnips → Use as you would Radishes

• summer squash → Zucchini & Summer Squash Recipes​​

• scallions → Scallion Recipes​

• kale → Kale Recipes​​

• basil → Herb Recipes​​

• arugla & head lettuce → Salads

• broccoli → Broccoli Recipes

Find recipes for all the vegetables here → Farm Share Vegetables

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6 Recipes

As this week’s share is very similar to the first three, definitely check out the recipes in the week 1, week 2, and week 3 posts for more ideas. I will likely make this pasta again this week — it’s a family favorite.

Shaved Fennel, Asparagus, and Avocado Salad

Skillet Broccoli Pasta

This recipe comes from New York Times food columnist Ali Slagle’s new book I Dream of Dinner. I love Ali’s recipes and was immediately drawn to the pasta chapter of her book. I started with this one, and it did not disappoint. This recipe is not on the blog, but you can find it in this Google Doc.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cabbage Pancakes)

Summer Squash Gratin

Chicken Souvlaki: You can use lots of your farm share basil as well as the garlic scapes in this marinade.

Tzatziki (Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce): I always serve tzatziki with chicken souvlaki, but it’s great with all sorts of grilled or roasted vegetables. I also love it with the above mentioned Swiss Chard Fritters or these zucchini fritters.

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Fellow Farm Sharers: Please share in the comments links to recipes you are loving for your early season farm share vegetables! Tips, questions, and suggestions are always welcome, too. Enjoy your vegetables! 🥦🥬🥒🌶🌽🥕 See you next week :)