Check out these amazing recipes coordinated with the ingredients in this week's Organic Fruit & Vegetable basket.
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MEAL 1
Entrée ( Main Course)
Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Soy Chicken and Broccoli
Prep Time10 mins Cook Time 30s Total Time 40mins Servings: 6
Ingredients
▢2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes
▢3 cups broccoli florets
▢1/2 cup honey
▢1/2 cup ketchup
▢1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
▢2 tablespoons pomegranate juice (or use orange juice)
▢2 cloves garlic, chopped
▢1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
▢chili flakes
▢jasmine rice, for serving
▢sliced green onions and pomegranate (optional)
Instructions--- 2 Methods
OVEN
1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Rub a baking sheet with oil.
2. Arrange the chicken and broccoli in the prepared baking dish.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the honey, ketchup, tamari, pomegranate juice, garlic, ginger, and a good pinch of chili flakes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbling.
5. Turn the oven to broil and broil 3-5 minutes, until the chicken caramelizes on top. WATCH CLOSELY, the broiler works fast. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and sauce over bowls of rice topped with green onions and pomegranate, if desired.
Instant Pot
1. Arrange the chicken and broccoli inside the instant pot bowl.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the honey, ketchup, tamari, pomegranate juice, garlic, ginger, and a good pinch of chili flakes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes.
3. Once done cooking, release the steam. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and sauce over bowls of rice topped with green onions and pomegranate, if desired.
Side #1
Caramelized Carrots and Melted Escarole
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch escarole, chopped and washed, leaving some water remaining on the leaves
1 bunch carrots, cut into ¼ inch cubes
1 tablespoon sugar, or less
½ tablespoon butter
Olive oil as needed
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Water as needed
METHOD:
Heat a 2 quart chef’s pan or 10 inch sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, sprinkle enough sugar on the pan bottom to just cover it. Cook until the sugar melts and is turning golden. Wait just until it starts to smell caramelized, then add the butter, thyme, and a little oil. Pick up the pan and swirl it to melt the pan and allow the pan to cool a little. Add the carrots and toss to coat with the caramel, then add enough water to cover the carrots by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer and cook the carrots until just tender all the way through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the carrots to a bowl and keep warm. Simmer the cooking liquid until reduced to ½ cup. Set pan aside.
As the carrots cook, heat a 10-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Lightly film the pan with oil. When hot, add the carrots, tossing to coat with oil. Sauté to heat through and add color to the cubes, crisping them a little. Add the escarole to the pan and season with salt and pepper. (If there is too much escarole to fit the pan without it falling out, add half, then when it wilts down, add the rest.) Toss to mix the carrots with the escarole and to get the escarole to the pan bottom. Cook until wilted, then add the remaining carrot cooking liquid, drizzling it all over. Toss the pan contents to coat with the liquid and cook until it reduces to a syrup.
Serve hot.
Side #2
Easy Bell Pepper and Cucumber Salad (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Prep Time15 mins Marinating time 10 mins Total Time 25 mins 4 servings
Ingredients
▢5-6 mini cucumbers thinly sliced into rounds
▢5-6 mini sweet bell peppers thinly sliced into rounds
▢2 springs green onions sliced thin
▢1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning
▢1 teaspoon chili crisps
Ginger Sesame Dressing
▢3 tablespoon sesame oil
▢2 tablespoon rice vinegar
▢1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
▢1 tablespoon maple syrup
▢1 inch knob fresh ginger grated
▢½ teaspoon salt
▢½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Slice the Veggies: Use a mandolin slicer or sharp knife to slice cucumbers and bell peppers into thin strips, and green onions thinly.
5-6 mini cucumbers,5-6 mini sweet bell peppers,2 springs green onions
Make the Dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, grated ginger, and half the green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced cucumbers, peppers, and green onions. Then pour the dressing and the chili crisps over the veggies. Let the cucumber pepper salad marinate for 10 minutes.
Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle everything bagel seasoning before serving.
Dessert
Homemade Apple Hand Pies Recipe for Halloween
The times quoted to make these assume you use frozen store-bought pie crust.
If you make your own homemade crust, allow for an additional 40 minutes for making, chilling and rolling out the pie crust dough.
Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 35 mins Chill before creating faces 20 mins Total Time1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Homemade Apple Pie Filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ½ cups peeled and diced apples (3 apples) Honey Crisp, Braeburn and Fuji work well
2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar or 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt or pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (optional coarse sugar topping)
Egg Wash
1 large egg
1 tablespoon whole milk or half & half
Instructions
Apple Hand Pies:
Melt the butter in a small skillet pan over medium heat, and add all of the Apple Pie Filling ingredients except the turbinado sugar.
Gently simmer for 10 minutes until the apple chunks soften. Cool to room temperature
Pro-tip: The apple filling should be at room temperature before filling the hand pies. This keeps the butter in the pie crust from beginning to melt before baking.
Preheat the oven to 375˚F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the Homemade Pie Crust (see the below section), or thaw 2 frozen pie crusts if using ready-made pie crusts purchased at your market. When thawed, roll them out, following the package directions.
Cut the dough into pumpkin shapes using a cookie cutter.
Spoon 1 - 2 tablespoons of the Apple Pie Filling into the center of a cut out pumpkin, or however much fits while leaving the edges completely bare. Drape another cut out pumpkin over it. Gentle press the edges to seal using your fingers, and crimp with a fork. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin shapes.
Pro-tip: Doing one pumpkin first will tell you if you need more or less filling, based on the size of your pumpkins.
Pro-tip: It's important to leave the edges bare when filling the hand pies. Otherwise they won't stayed sealed as they bake.
Chill for 20 minutes if you plan to cut out faces in the dough. Otherwise, go to the next step without chilling the dough.
Arrange the apple hand pies on the prepared baking sheet.
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients in a small bowl, and baste the hand pies with it.
If cutting out faces, use a paring knife to create your jack-o-lanterns. Chilling the dough prevents the dough from stretching when you cut into it.
Sprinkle a little turbinado sugar over the tops of each pumpkin (optional).
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until a golden brown.
Homemade Pie Crust:
13.5 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt, or ¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled, cut into small pieces
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ice water (or as needed to get the dough to come together)
Weigh (or measure) the flour, and pulse it and the salt a few times. Then add the butter all at once.
Pulse 10 times, remove the lid, and check the size of the butter pieces by dipping a fork into the flour. They should be around size of a pea. If there are large chunks still in the flour, pulse another couple times.
Whisk together the sour cream and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl, and add to the flour mixture all at once. Pulse a few times.
The sour cream adds moisture to the dough. So, before adding any ice water, pinch some of the flour mixture between your fingers. When it's ready, it will hold together without falling apart. If it crumbles easily add a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
When the dough is ready, gather it into 2 balls, flatten into round discs using only your fingers, and wrap in wax paper.
Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out.
Roll out the dough, working with 1 disc at a time, and cut into pumpkin shapes using a cookie cutter.
If you consider yourself a novice in rolling out dough, follow the directions in this post. It shows the easiest way I've ever found to roll out dough, and I consider myself something of an expert at working with pie dough
Meal #2
Entrée (Main Course)
Healthy Halloween stuffed peppers
Prep:25 mins Cook:35 mins Serves 4
Ingredients
4 small peppers (a mix of orange, red and yellow looks nice)
25g pine nuts
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1 small aubergine, (eggplant) chopped into small pieces
200g pouch pre-cooked mixed grains (we used bulghur wheat and quinoa)
2 tbsp sundried tomato paste
zest of 1 lemon
bunch basil, chopped
Method
STEP 1
Cut the tops off the peppers (keeping the tops to one side) and remove the seeds and any white flesh from inside. Use a small sharp knife to carve spooky Halloween faces into the sides. Chop any offcuts into small pieces and set aside.
STEP 2
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for a few mins until golden, and set aside. Heat the oil in the pan, and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook the onion in the oil for 8-10 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic, pepper offcuts and aubergine and cook for another 10 mins, until the veggies are soft. Add a splash of water if the pan looks dry. Season.
STEP 3
Squeeze the pouch of grains to break them up, then tip into the pan with the tomato paste. Stir for a minute or two to warm through, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest, basil and pine nuts.
STEP 4
Fill each pepper with the grain mixture. Replace the lids, using cocktail sticks to secure them in place, and put the peppers in a deep roasting tin with the carved faces facing upwards. Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins, uncovered for the final 10. The peppers should be soft and the filling piping hot.
Side #1
Roasted Carrots with Za’atar, Pomegranate Seeds and Molasses
Prep Time10 minutes Cook Time10 minutes Servings 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds carrots rainbow preferred
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons za’atar spice blend see note above
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses see note above
2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Turn the broiler on in your oven. Remove the greens if they are still attached to the carrots. Scrub the carrots clean under water, but don’t bother peeling them. Split the carrots in half lengthwise (or quarter if necessary) so all the carrots are equal thickness. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet.
Drizzle the carrots with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the za’atar spice blend, salt and pepper.
Toss carrots with your hands until they are all coated evenly with the carrots and spices.
Place the carrots under the broiler and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, carefully turning the carrots halfway through the cooking to make sure the carrots are charred on both sides.
Once the carrots are charred and roasted, move to a serving plate. Drizzle the pomegranate molasses over the carrots and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the carrots before serving.
Side #2
Lemon-Garlic Escarole
Ready In:17mins Serves:4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 head escarole, large (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
directions
Heat butter in a large saute pan and add escarole, a handful at a time, while stirring constantly.
Add the garlic and toss. Saute until bright green & just tender.
Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the lemon juice and serve.
Dessert
Apple Cucumber Smoothie with Protein and Variations
Prep Time5minutes minsServings1
Ingredients
1 cup milk higher in protein such as cow's, soy, or pea milk
1 apple
1 small cucumber or ½ of a large cucumber
½ avocado
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup ice
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey, or 1 to 2 pitted and chopped dates
Optional: 1 to 2 teaspoons grated ginger root or ⅛ teaspoon ginger powder, ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Core and chop the apple and place it in the blender.
Roughly chop the cucumber and place it in the blender.
Add the remaining ingredients to the blender as well as any optional ingredients you'd like to add and blend until smooth.
Meal # 3
Entrée (Main Course)
Escarole, Tomato, and Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
1 pound tubular pasta like paccheri or rigatoni
2 sprigs Rosemary
1/3 cup olive oil
20 oz. turkey sausage (or any kind you prefer)
2 shallots, finely diced (1/3 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 heads (about 8 cups) escarole, torn into pieces
1/2 cup parmesan plus more for serving
Directions:
Bring pot of salted water to boil for pasta. You will need some of the pasta water for the sauce so be sure to reserve.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium high heat. Fry rosemary, turning until crisp about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
Add sausage to the same pot and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon or fork and stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through about 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate. While sausage cooks, start boiling pasta, setting timer for 3 minutes less than the packages cooking time.
Be sure there is still enough oil in pot, if not add more to equal about 1 T. Add shallots to pot and let cook for 2-3 minutes to soften, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and let cook for a minute before adding wine. Scrap up the bottom bits in the pan and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
With a slotted spoon or spider, transfer pasta to pot with tomatoes, then add escarole and 1 cup pasta liquid. Cook, tossing until escarole is wilted, pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened, about 4 minutes. Add another 1/4 cup pasta cooking liquid then gradually add 1/2 cup cheese, tossing until melted into a glossy sauce. Thin with more pasta water if desired, season with pepper and more salt if needed (you probably won’t if your pasta water is salted.) Add sausage back into pasta and stir to combine.
Divide pasta in bowls, and crumble rosemary on top and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.
Side #1
Cucumber and Carrot Salad (Asian inspired)
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, julienned
2 large carrots, julienned
1 tablespoon grape seed oil (see notes for oil-free)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or 1 tablespoon white (wine) vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
½ tablespoon (toasted) sesame seeds
½ tablespoon black sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ginger powder
ground white pepper, to taste
Instructions
Wash and remove the skin of the carrots and remove the ends. Wash the cucumbers and remove the ends.
With a julienne peeler, slice the carrots and cucumbers into long ribbons. Combine the cucumber and carrot ribbons in a medium bowl and set aside.
Dressing
In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, combine the grape seed oil, vinegar, sesame oil, maple syrup, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and white pepper. Whisk to combine. Adjust the salt and pepper taste if needed.
Pour the dressing over the cucumber and carrot ribbons. Stir gently to combine, so all the ribbons are coated in the dressing. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the salad.
Let sit for at least 10 minutes in the fridge so the flavors can develop.
Side #2
Aubergine ( eggplant) & pomegranate flatbreads
Prep:20 mins Cook:30 mins Serves 8
Ingredients
3 aubergines
2tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
zest 1 lemon, juice ½ lemon
2tbsp tahini paste
3 large or 5 small Middle Eastern flatbreads
100g pomegranate seeds
2tbsp toasted pine nuts
few mint leaves, to serve
Method
STEP 1
Halve 1 of the aubergines, from stalk to bottom, then cut into long, thin slices. Brush with 1 tbsp of the oil, then barbecue or griddle in batches until soft and charred. Set aside. Meanwhile, put the remaining 2 aubergines directly on the barbecue, or under a hot grill, and cook, turning regularly, until the skin is blistered and blackened and the flesh is really soft. Leave to cool.
STEP 2
Halve the whole aubergines, scoop out the flesh into a food processor and discard the blackened skins. Add the garlic, lemon zest and juice, tahini and seasoning, then whizz until smooth. Chill in the fridge and remove 30 mins before serving.
STEP 3
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the flatbread with the remaining oil, place on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins until crisp.
STEP 4
Spread the flatbreads with the aubergine purée, then top with the griddled aubergine slices, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and mint leaves. Cut into slices before serving.
Dessert
Easy Italian Apple Cake (Torta Di Mele)
Prep: 15 mins Cook: 1 hr Total: 1 hr 15 mins Servings: 6
Ingredients
▢1 cup self-rising flour, (Alternatively, use all-purpose flour and add 2 teaspoons baking powder.)
▢½ cup sugar
▢1 lemon, rind and juice
▢3 large eggs, lightly beaten
▢4.5 ounces butter, melted (½ cup or a stick – alternatively, use ½ cup oil)
▢4 apples, (Or 2.5 to 4 apples depending on size, peeled & sliced thinly) * Notes below
▢1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
▢¾ cup pine nuts, ½ cup in batter, ¼ cup on top – optional
▢Icing sugar for sprinkling at the end
▢cream, ice cream or custard (optional)
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 355 F
Line an 8 inch round cake pan with baking paper and lightly grease with butter or spray with oil.
Zest and juice the lemon and set the zest aside. Put the chopped apples in a small bowl and pour the lemon juice over them.
Combine the flour, sugar and lemon zest together in a large bowl, then add the eggs, melted butter, cinnamon & pine nuts (if using) and 2/3 of the apples. Stir until just combined.
Tip the batter into the cake pan and smooth on top, then arrange the rest of the sliced apples on the top in a circle pattern. Sprinkle over extra cinnamon (optional) and the rest of the pine nuts (if using).
Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer pushed into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check after 45 minutes, then every 5 minutes after that.
Cool, then sprinkle with a bit of icing sugar before serving. Serve slightly warm or cold alone or with ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Number of apples to use: I vary the number of apples I use to make this cake. If they’re small apples, I’ll use 4. If they’re big e.g. Granny Smith apples, I usually use just two and a half apples. If they’re medium apples, about 3 is right! Just eye-ball it. You can’t really go too wrong!
If the cake starts to brown too much in the oven: If the apples start to brown a little too much, just cover the cake over with some aluminium foil for the last part of cooking.
Cooking time: Based on reader feedback, if your oven runs a bit hot, your cake may be ready before 1 hour. The first time you make it, check after 45 minutes, then every 5 minutes after that!
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