Lemon-Ricottone Pasta with Spinach
This light and luscious pasta would be fabulous served alongside a seared pork chop this week.
Ingredients:
½ pound pasta such as linguine or fettuccine
1 cup Bellsong ricottone cheese
8 ounces loose leaf spinach, washed
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1 lemon, zest and juice
3 lemon wedges, to serve
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 garlic clove, grated or pressed
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, make the ricotta sauce.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ricottone, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Season with ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good pinch of pepper. Stir until well combined, taste and make sure you’re happy with the seasoning.
3. In the last minute of the pasta’s cooking time, reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then add spinach to the pot. Stir well and push the leaves down to submerge them in water.
4. After 1 minute, drain and return pasta and spinach to the same pot. Add the ricottone sauce and part of the reserved cooking water. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce, add more cooking water as needed, you want a smooth and creamy texture. Serve immediately and garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges if desired.
Holiday Gatherings Recipes
It’s almost turkey time! As families, friends and loved ones come together at the table, this week’s box is filled with farm-fresh provisions to make all your holiday entertaining a breeze—everything from our signature turkey brining kit to a wealth of produce that includes winter squash, leeks, Huckleberry gold and sweet potatoes, plus other holiday helpers like freshly-baked sourdough bread and Stollen loaf, eggs from our heritage breed hens, freshly-milled organic flour, fragrant herbs, organic greens, and apple-pear cider. Happy Thanksgiving!
Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:
How-To: Brine Your Thanksgiving Turkey
Soaking a turkey overnight in a solution of salt and water ensures a moist, juicy interior; beautiful aromatics infuse it with flavor.
Spinach Salad with Apples, Blue Cheese & Pecans
This fresh salad combines gorgeous spinach and crisp apple slices and is finished with a light Champagne apple cider vinaigrette.
Potatoes à la Robuchon
Of all the haute cuisine in legendary chef Joël Robuchon’s repertoire, he was best known for these super-silky potatoes.
Parmesan-Crusted Winter Squash
This versatile recipe works with any number of squash—Autumn Frost, Butternut, Acorn or this week’s mini Delicata.
Italian Parsley-Caper Vinaigrette
This adaptation of the pungent vinaigrette from Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables is magical drizzled over roasted fall vegetables!
Frizzled Leeks
These crispy leeks are a wonderful garnish for salads, soups or roasted vegetables.
Poached Duck Egg Salad with Frizzled Leeks
The lovely runny egg yolk becomes the vinaigrette for this beautiful salad.
Ingredients:
3-4 cups baby lettuce greens
2 duck eggs
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Frizzled leeks (see recipe)
Method:
1. To poach the eggs, half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add a hefty pinch of salt. Meanwhile, crack each egg into it’s own small bowl and add a teaspoon of vinegar to each. Stir the boiling water vigorously with a balloon whisk until you have a whirlpool then immediately (and softly!) slip the egg into the pot. Turn the heat down low, and cook for 3 minutes. Gently lift eggs out of the pot and drain on paper towels.
2. Divide the spinach greens onto two plates, then add a poached egg to each. Season the salads with salt and pepper, then drizzle lightly with olive oil and lemon juice. Top with a generous helping of frizzled leeks. Serves 2, but can easily be doubled or tripled for more portions.
Vegetable Frittata
Packed with colorful peppers and summer squash, this easy frittata boasts incredibly fresh flavor.
Ingredients:
8 eggs
8-10 yellow fingerling potatoes, washed and thinly-sliced
6-8 baby summer squash, or 1 zucchini, washed and thinly-sliced
2 Jimmy Nardello peppers, washed, seeded and chopped
1 sweet French pepper, washed, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet and sauté for about 6 to 8 minutes, until tender but firm. Remove from the skillet. Add another tablespoon of oil, then add the peppers, summer squash or zucchini, onions and garlic. Sauté for an additional 2 to 4 minutes or until the peppers and onions are softened, and garlic is fragrant. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Remove from the skillet.
3. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs and thyme with a pinch of salt and pepper. Return the potatoes to the skillet, arranging in an even layer. Top with vegetable mixture and then pour eggs evenly over the vegetables. Drizzle olive oil around the edge of the pan to ensure easy removal.
4. Transfer to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the eggs have completely s
