News – Page 35 – Just Farmed

Orzo and Snap Pea Salad

Coarse salt and Ground Pepper
1/2 pound orzo
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
2 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo 5 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and squash. Cook until orzo is al dente and vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well; return to pot. Add lemon juice, olive oil, and Parmesan. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Recipes

Italian Sauteed Escarole

Ingredients

2 1-pound bunches of escarole
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1.5 ounces raisins (small box of dark or golden ones)
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Place your raisins in a small bowl of water to plump. Fill a tall, 8-quart pot about ⅔ full with salted water, enough to cover the escarole when you add it later. Put the pot on the stove over high heat to boil. Fill your sink about halfway with cold water.
Cut off the root end of the escarole. With the bunch horizontally in front of you, hold the leaves closed and slice the escarole into three equal sections (or two, if the bunch is small). Place the escarole leaves in the water-filled sink and swirl them around to remove the dirt.
When the water on the stove is boiling, add the cleaned escarole to the pot. When the water returns to boiling, let the escarole cook for one more minute.
Drain the escarole in a colander in the sink and rinse with cold water to cool it off. While the escarole is draining, peel and slice the garlic. Drain the raisins.
When the escarole is cooled, use tongs to place the greens in a lint-free kitchen towel. Wrap the towel around the escarole and squeeze out the liquid. You also could use paper towels, but be careful if the greens are still really warm.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet. Add the garlic, and when it becomes fragrant, add the escarole to the pan, tossing to mix. Add the salt and pepper. Sauté the greens for about three minutes, then add the raisins and pine nuts, stirring to combine. Sauté for another three minutes, or to your liking. Taste again for seasonings.
Either serve immediately or let the escarole come to room temperature first. Refrigerate the leftovers for up to five days. Leftovers should be served at room temperature or just slightly heated in the microwave.

Recipes

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

Strawberries

1 lb strawberries , hulled (ie tops removed)

WET:

1 cup sugar , caster/superfine best but granulated ok too
1/2 cup oil , canola or vegetable oil
2 eggs , large
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice (1 large lemon)
1 cup plain yogurt , unsweetened (Greek or just plain)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)

DRY:

2 1/4 cups flour , plain/all purpose
4 tsp baking powder (or 1 1/4 tsp baking soda)
Pinch of salt

SERVING:

Whipped cream
Extra strawberries
Icing sugar/ powdered sugar , for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 390°F
Grease and line a 9″ cake pan with baking paper/parchment paper. (Any type of cake pan is fine)

Strawberries:

For inside of cake: Dice some strawberries into 1″ pieces to make 1 cup (about 1/3 of the strawberries)
Topping: Cut the remaining strawberries in half.

Cake:

Place Wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk well for 1 minute.
Add Dry ingredients then whisk well until lump free.
Pour half into cake pan, smooth surface. Scatter over diced strawberries.
Top with remaining batter. Smooth surface, then top with halved strawberries, cut face down.
Bake 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. (Note 1) If you need to cook longer, cover with foil if it starts getting too golden.
Stand 15 minutes in the cake pan before turning out onto cooling rack.
Cool 15 minutes+ before serving warm or at room temp. Dust with icing sugar, and serve with cream or if serving warm, ice cream!

Notes

1. Bake time – I know 390°F sounds high for a cake, but for this one it needs a higher temp. If your oven runs weak so it takes longer to bake, it can really affect the bake time of this cake due to the juiciness of the strawberries! At 350°F it took me 30 minutes longer, and a bit more moist inside (but still a terrific soft tender crumb).

2. Different measures in different countries – tablespoon and cup sizes differ slightly from country to country. In most recipes, the difference is not enough to affect the outcome of the recipe, but for baking recipes, you do need to be careful.

This cake recipe is forgiving enough such that the difference in cups won’t matter – I’ve made it mixing up US and Australian cups (the greatest size variance) and the outcome was exactly the same.

3. Cake batter recipe is from my Lemon Yogurt Cake and Blueberry Cake. Strawberry Cake version inspired by various recipes I’ve seen around in including ones from Smitten Kitchen, Martha Stewart and Natasha’s Kitchen.

4. Storage – keeps well for 5 days, the crumb stays nice and moist thanks to the yogurt and oil. If it’s hot and humid where you are, keep it in the fridge and bring to room temp before serving. If it’s cold where you are, it doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge. Also freezes 100% perfectly.

Latest News

Orzo and Snap Pea Salad

Italian Sauteed Escarole

Ingredients

Instructions

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

Strawberries

WET:

DRY:

SERVING:

Instructions

Strawberries:

Cake:

Notes

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