Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here!
Today, I’ll wrap up my farmer’s market haul challenge with a frittata, some roast chicken and chicken soup. I didn’t manage to use up a couple of items from the haul–namely the artichokes and the fresh fava beans. I think after last year’s questionable success with favas, I may be experiencing some sort of PTSD (see previous fava posts here and here). But–the fava pods are still in good shape in my crisper drawer and my plan is to use them in a pasta dish this week. The artichokes are still fine, also–and I like artichokes–I just need to remember to pull them out and use them.
But more on how I finished up the farmer’s market haul challenge in a minute.
First, an update on the fish I featured last week: California halibut, or “Calibut.” I went back to my fish place and had a chat with my fish guy, Cody. He told me some things I already knew about Calibut, but also confirmed that the flesh of the Calibut is less firm than that of the standard halibut. This was my suspicion, but I was unable to confirm that in the research I did on my own.
I got another pound of it (center-cut, about an inch thick), and used it that evening for dinner. Again, it was super fresh, no scent whatsoever. I brined it and then coated it in this marinade:
Lemongrass, Garlic and Ginger Marinade:
This marinade is delicious! Its main ingredients are lemongrass, ginger, garlic and soy sauce and I think it would be good on fish, chicken, beef, or even tofu. I’ve never worked with lemongrass; I found it added a bright, yet mild citrusy note to this marinade, and when paired with the ginger and the garlic, it was bright, earthy and punchy all at the same time–simply delicious! Many of the marinades I found using lemongrass and ginger also added sugar. While a little brown sugar might have acted nicely in concert with the soy sauce, I am always mindful of added sugar where it doesn’t necessarily have any added value. This marinade is one of those places–it was terrific without it!
I wrapped the fish in parchment paper along with a few little spring onions and red bell pepper and a little more marinade drizzled over top of the whole thing and popped it into a 400* oven for about 18 minutes:
The result was super-flavorful and delicious but…a little dry…again. If my fish place has more Calibut this weekend, I’m going to try this recipe again and roast the fish for only 15 minutes to see if comes out less dry. It is a super-lean fish, so I think finding the perfect roasting time is going to be tricky, and will certainly depend on how thick the piece of fish is, which of course will vary. When I get this recipe right, I’ll publish it. Until then, I’ll just stick to reporting on my progress!
Now for the wrap-up of the farmer’s market challenge I started last week:
In my last post, I had used up all but the following:
2 artichokes, 1 bundle of asparagus, about a 1/4 pound of sugar snap peas, 1 zucchini, a red bell pepper, spinach, about a pound of fava beans, 1 fennel bulb, a little green garlic, thyme, rosemary, 1 bundle of carrots, 1 shallot, mint, onions, and about a pint strawberries.
I used 1/2 a bundle of asparagus, the bell pepper and the spinach, plus a little ham, in a frittata:
Then I roasted the chicken, and used some of the herbs and garlic. Alongside the chicken, I used up the greens, the sugar snap peas and the fennel in a big salad, and made a little side of pasta with pesto I had leftover from pizza night.
Then, I made chicken stew the next day:
Chicken stew is very flexible ingredient-wise, and a great way to use up whatever is leftover in your fridge at the end of the week. I used onions, garlic, carrots, whatever was left of the asparagus and the zucchini in the stew, along with a renegade potato and some celery I found lurking in the bottom of the crisper drawer, added some of the roast chicken meat, and viola! chicken stew!
So, like I said earlier, I did end up with the favas and the artichokes, but over seven days of meals, I was able to productively use almost all of the produce I bought–and it was fun!!
For next week, I am going to be featuring beets–an under appreciated vegetable if ever there was one!
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
