Roast Chicken with Fennel & Spring Onions

This recipe is from Andrea Reusing's book "Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes", which features food from many of Hana's farmer-friends back in North Carolina. This cookbook, as well as Reusing's "Lantern" restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC, is highly recommended. Perhaps in a few weeks you will all be eager to read the anecdote she shares about overcoming her boredom with greens...but for now, this recipe:

Roast Chicken with Fennel & Spring Onions

Serves 4

1 (3.5-4#) chicken

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 t expeller-pressed vegetable oil (or olive oil)

2 fennel bulbs with green fronds

8 spring onions with green tops

6 garlic cloves smashed and peeled

1/2 c dry white wine

1/2 c chicken stock (from neck)

Allow the chicken to come to room temperature, up to an hour.  Preheat oven to 425F. Rinse chicken under cold running water and pat dry.  Remove wing tips and reserve with neck for broth.  Coat chicken with 1 T butter and season it inside and out with generous amount of salt and pepper.  

Coat a large, heavy roasting pan with 1 teaspoon of the oil.  Trim the fennel and spring onion bulbs, reserving the fronds and tops, respectively.  Cut each fennel bulb and the onions in half lengthwise, and then into half-inch wide slices lengthwise.  In a medium bowl, toss the fennel, onion bulbs, and garlic scapes with a quarter teaspoon of salt and the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to coat.  Arrange the vegetables in the roasting pan, put the chicken on top, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.  

In the meantime, make a light chicken broth and prepare the green onion tops and fennel fronds. Simmer the neck and wing tips of the chicken in cold water with some aromatics like a slice or two of carrots and onions, a garlic clove, and a few peppercorns for about 45 minutes.  Slice the green onion tops into thin rings and tear the fennel fronds into small sprigs to make about 3 cups total; set aside. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 375F and give the vegetables a stir so they color evenly. Roast for another 20-25 minutes until the chicken is done -- the skin will be crisp and deep golden brown, the juices will have just a tinge of light pink, and an instant read thermometer placed in the thickest part of the thigh will read 165F. 

Remove the pan from the oven.  Transfer the chicken to a platter, tent it with foil, and let it rest for ten minutes.  In the meantime, if the fennel and onions are not yet golden brown, return them to the oven to roast for another few minutes on their own, until they are well caramelized. 

Put the roasting pan over medium-high heat and add the wine and stock, scraping the bottom of the pan and stirring the vegetables.  Simmer for about 3 minutes, until the sauce has a slightly syrupy consistency.  Add the fennel fronds and green onion tops.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining 3T butter, swirling it in until it dissolves and thickens the sauce. 

Carve the chicken into serving pieces, adding any juices that accumulate on the carving board to the sauce.  With a slotted spoon, spread the vegetables on a warm serving platter.  Arrange the chicken over the vegetables and spoon the sauce on top. 

Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Tomato Sauce

Thanks to co-op member Marilyn Moors for submitting this recipe ! 

Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Tomato Sauce 

from Suzanne Goin’s A.O.C. Cookbook via Sam Sifton in the NY Times;

About one hour prep time; four servings.  I made a double batch for Memorial Day weekend and they were a great hit.  Since the spices are North African and goat is also a North African meat, these might work just as well with ground goat! 

For the meatballs:

•    1 medium onion, finely diced
•    ¼ c heavy cream
•    2 egg yolks, extra large
•    ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
•    1 tsp ground cumin
•    pinch red pepper flakes
•    pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
•    2 lbs. ground lamb
•    salt and black pepper
•    1 cup bread crumbs
•    ¼ cup chopped parsley

For the sauce:

•    1   28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
•    3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
•    1 sprig rosemary
•    red pepper flakes to taste
•    1 medium onion, diced
•    ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
•    ½ tsp ground cumin
•    pinch ground cinnamon
•    pinch cayenne pepper
•    1 bay leaf
•    ½ tsp white sugar
•    ¼ cup orange juice
•    1  3" strip of orange peel, pith removed
•    salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

•    4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
•    2 tbsp thinly sliced mint leaves

1) Preheat broiler. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and cayenne.  Put the lamb in the bowl and season it generously with salt and pepper. Add the bread crumbs and parsley. Combine the mixture well. Shape into balls a little larger than golf balls.

2) Grease a baking pan with olive oil and put the meatballs, evenly spaced, on it. Place beneath the broiler until well browned, turning as necessary, 5-7 minutes. Set meatballs aside. Turn oven to 400º.

3) Make the sauce.  Run the tomatoes quickly through a food processor and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, and add the rosemary and red peppers and shake to combine. Cook for another minute, then add onion, thyme, cumin, cayenne and bay leaf and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, orange juice and peel, along with salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes over medium-low heat to reduce by about one-third. Adjust seasonings.

4) Pour the tomato sauce into a large serving dish (ovenproof). Transfer the meatballs to the sauce, leaving about ½ inch space between them. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through.

5) Top with crumbled feta cheese and scattered mint. Serve alone or with pasta, couscous, or rice.

What to do with Broccoli Rabe

Featured at today's co-op: broccoli rabe. You might also know it as broccoli di rape or rapini. Or you might not know it at all, so listen up! Broccoli rabe is not to be confused with baby broccoli or broccolini which has less leaves and a sweeter taste. Here's a good explanation of the difference between the three, with pictures.

Broccoli rabe can be steamed, boiled, sauteed, or roasted. Perhaps the easiest and most common way to cook it is to boil the rabe in salted water for about 4 minutes. All of it is edible, but you'll want to peel or discard the tougher bits of the stem before cooking, and discard any tough looking leaves. 

NPR's Kitchen Window suggests pairing rabe with salty foods such as sausage, pancetta, anchovies and olives. It also goes well with sweet currants, raisins, and cherry tomatoes, or with tangy vinegars and lemon juice. Try it in a stir-fry over rice with soy sauce or served as a side dish with sesame oil garnished with toasted sesame seeds. 

Try this recipe for breakfast topped with a few of our farm fresh eggs (hint: we've got ground pork to go with it!) You can make it into lunch or dinner by adding some cannelini beans, or using it as topping on a homemade pizza. 

Broccoli Rabe with Ground Pork  

adapted from Food and Wine magazine 

• 1 pound broccoli rabe
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound ground pork 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seed
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley 
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• Salt and pepper 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup grated parm, romano or peccorino cheese

1. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the broccoli rabe until nearly tender, 4 minutes. Drain and cool under cold water. Squeeze and pat dry, then chop.
2. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the pork and cook over moderately high heat, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned. Add 3 more tablespoons of oil, the garlic and spices to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli rabe and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and toss. Serve with grated cheese.

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