Fall CSA Feast

11 Oct

A great example of how to use up your CSA produce from A Little Green Kitchen!

I’ve had a lot of CSA produce dumped on me lately. The mom I nanny for gave me a huge bag because she just had a new baby (yay!) and has no plans to cook in the near future. My boyfriend also brought some home from work recently. So, I had to find a way to use it up, and fast!

Here was the delicious and very colorful veggie-packed dinner menu I came up with:

Swiss chard and turkey meatball stew thing
Lemony garlic green beans
Honey-ginger-balsamic glazed beets

I was able to use up:

an enormous bunch of swiss chard
1/2 pound green beans
a few stray beets
3 tomatoes
and an onion

Here are the recipes:

Swiss Chard and Turkey Meatball Stew

huge bunch of swiss chard, large stems discarded and cut into strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 small white onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tomatoes
1 can beans (I used kidney because that’s what I had)
turkey meatballs (I used the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s)
soft goat cheese
salt and pepper

  1. In a large skillet, steam your swiss chard in a couple tablespoons water. Once tender, press water out with paper towels.
  2. In the same saucepan heat the oil, add the garlic, onion and red chili flakes. Cook until golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomato, and cook until juices boil. Add the beans and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook until heated. Add the chard and simmer until flavors meld. Season with salt and pepper
  3. Top with goat cheese before serving.

Lemony Garlic Green Beans
from food network

1/2 pound green beans
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large garlic clove
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon zest
salt and pepper

  1. Trim and blanch the green beans.
  2. Heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant.
  3. Add beans and saute until heated through
  4. Add lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.

Honey-Ginger-Balsamic Glazed Beets
from the kitchn

4 small beets
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
drizzle of honey

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Place beets in oven-proof pan with sides. Splash in some water and seal with aluminum foil. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes.
  2. Remove beets from oven and peel once cool enough to handle but still warm. Slice into chunks.
  3. Heat butter in pan and add ginger, cook for a minute or two. Add beets and balsamic. Add a drizzle of honey. Cook a little longer to glaze.

A quick tip for fresh ginger:

When you buy fresh ginger, peel and chop it into slices right away. Then you can freeze whatever you don’t use and pull it out as needed. That’s what I did for this recipe.

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