The result: the garden at Surf Club looks AMAZING! Tomatoes, squash, corn, beets, carrots, beans, everything is exploding. Ken D took all the chickens, and the coop looks bad ass (coop 4.0). We have four new chicks that just hatched out this past weekend. My garden was installed first week of June and now it's starting to do something, but the rabbits are extremely happy and growing bigger every day.
Now that I've settled into the groove of things and everyone is taken care of and all the gardens are taken care of I started volunteering at the UCSD food co-op. I'll be cooking for them once a week to start with. Today was meal 1 and I made a warm Italian Potato Salad.
When I say warm, I'm not talking only about the temperature but I'm talking about the essence of the dish. (I know its summer, but I had to make something that'd go into a hot water bath and stay hot so I had to think warm. I'm also challenging myself by using only what I can find left over from the previous week in the Food Co-op's fridge and what I can grow.)
Ingredient List: (scale it down if you decide to make it)
Potatoes - Russets and Blue Potatoes (8-10lbs)
Onions - Yellow and Red (3-4lbs)
Sweet Green Peppers (2)
Garbanzo Beans (3 cups dried or 6 cups cooked)
Black Kale (yes its summer but this stuff is still growing strong in my garden) (6 cups chopped)
Fresh Rosemary (about 3-4 tbsp)
Canola Oil (1/4 cup)
1. I cubed up the potatoes and onions and threw them into a large bowl of cold water as I was cubing them. Not only does this prevent the starch in the potatoes from turning black but it also leaches out the slimy starch from the blue potatoes and the spiciness from the onions.
2. Deseed the peppers and remove the white parts from it and dice it up also but don't throw it in the water.
3. Drain the potatoes and onions and toss them with the peppers and rosemary in canola oil.
4. Spread them out in a single layer and oven roast them in a 400-425 degree oven for about 45min to 1 hr. Try not to open the oven for the first 30 minutes, then pull them out of the oven (close the oven to keep in the heat) toss them with a spatula and throw them back in until the peppers and the onions are soft and the potatoes start to crisp a bit. When they are done put them in a bowl, salt and cover with foil.
5. While the potato is cooking. Cut the black kale into 1/2in slices (the short way) and get a heavy pan hot. (A good way to know if your pan is hot enough is to splash a bit of water and watch it sizzle away immediately.) Add a tablespoon of canola or grape seed oil (which both have higher burning temperature) and immediately throw enough kale to cover the surface area of the pan but not enough to create a thick layer. Toss it quickly to cover with oil and press down on the kale with a spatula for about a minute. You should hear the kale sizzle and pop. (You're trying to almost fry the kale in a thin layer of hot oil.) Toss once and press down for another minute. Repeat until all your kale is "blacken". You don't need to keep it covered once you take it off the heat. Don't salt until you're ready to serve otherwise it'll loose its crispness.
6. Garbanzo beans... if using dried make sure you soak it over night and then boil at medium for 1 1/2hr before using. No quick soak method has ever worked for me. I recommend just using canned garbanzo beans. With this recipe rinse the beans before using so the gunky starch is removed.
7. Toss everything together and salt to taste.
But wait? What's the secret ingredient? I added a tablespoon of black truffle infused oil to the salad to give it an amazing, buttery warmth.
Truffle oil is one of those things where a little bit goes a long way. Although the black truffle is highly prized and expensive, the infused oil can be purchased for a moderate price. The French company La Tourangelle makes different gourmet oils in California and offers the oil for a reasonable price. (Henry's had it on sale this week.)
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