Veggie-centric Dishes for Summer

Mixed-root fritters with chard and quick pickles.

We farmers tend to go through phases with cooking. Sometimes we are just too darn tired. Other times, the veggies call to us, each of them a muse for our cooking creativity. The veggies have been calling to me lately and I've been making a lot of veggie-centric dishes.

Quick Pickles: This technique takes the fear out of making pickles! Sometimes known as "refrigerator pickles," just add a splash of vinegar and water (50/50 is usually good) and salt/sugar/spices of your preference and let sit in the fridge! Pickles are ready when you are, but they will be more potent after a few hours of sitting. Use within a month or so, refrigerated. Quick pickles aren't just for cucumbers! Try quick-pickled carrots, beets, cucumbers and more. Soaking onions for just a few minutes in vinegar or lime juice takes out the bite and makes them into a great crunchy raw topping!

Mixed-root fritters with chard and quick pickles: I used kohlrabi, carrot, and beet (1/2 of a Bellair serving of each) with a little flour and egg for the fritters and then top with Caromont feta and/or goat cheese, sautéed chard, and quick pickles I made with alisa craig onions and cucumbers. I used the juice I squeezed from the grated root veg to dye the pickles pink.

Summer sofrito: This is kind of a dish, kind of an ingredient. It's common in Spanish and Latin American cooking and varies regionally. It consists of aromatics (one or more: onion, garlic, celery, fennel) and herbs and sometimes pepper, tomato or tomato paste sauteed gently until the flavors meld. Then that mixture is used everywhere: the base to a pot of beans or a soup, a layer in a savory pie (see below), or endless other options.

Summer Veggie Pie: I layered summer squash slices, some tomatoes (I pre-roasted it to remove water), feta, and my sofrito in a par-baked wheat-spelt pie crust. Bellair Pizza sauce is a great layer option while we wait for tomato season to start. Yum!

Summer Veggie Pie