Harvest time rewards
Harvest celebration every autumn has been a special time for me to gather not only the bounty of the year’s crop but also to gather the group of my women friends of many years. We come together for good food to share our current joys or sorrows in the fabric of our shared pasts and part with a sense of continued connection.
My friend Ingrid arrived with her annual harvest box brimming with vegetables from her husband’s ‘truck garden’ full of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash, cabbage, herbs, leeks and an incredible braid of other representatives of the Allium, genus of the onion family, that included large red and yellow onions and a giant shallot. The large onions called for a batch of caramelized onions to go with a variety of meats. My other cooking activities were destined to focus on the perfect medium to showcase vegetables, the Italian gift to harvest tables, Minestrone.
Harvest Minestrone
Sauté 1 large, chopped onion in 2 tbsp. olive oil in a 4 qt. pot for 4 minutes, stir in 3-4 chopped garlic cloves for another minute. Add: 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, ½ tsp. red pepper flakes, 2 diced large carrots, 1 diced medium potato, 1 (15.5 oz.) undrained can of diced roasted tomatoes, 4 cups low salt chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian soup) and a 2–3-inch piece of Parmigiano Ragano cheese rind. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add to the pot ¾ cups green beans cut in 1-inch pieces, ½ cup broken thin spaghetti noodles, 1 can drained chickpeas and cook for 10 minutes. Then add ¾ cups zucchini cut in ½ inch pieces and corn cut from 1-2 ears of corn and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to tase and serve hot with crusty bread, grated Parmesan and pesto, if handy. Soup reheats well and can be frozen.
Our Harvest Luncheon featured Moussaka, that wonderful Greek dish of baked eggplant and lamb subtly flavored with wine, cheese and spices. The following colorful white bean and roast pepper salad transitioned us into autumn fare.
White bean and roasted pepper salad
Dried beans make superior textured bean salads, but you can use 2 drained and rinsed (15.5 oz) cans for this recipe with a softer textured result.
Soak 1 ½ cups of small white beans in excess of cold water overnight. Drain and cook covered with 2 inches of water, 1 bay leaf, 5 cloves, 1 tbsp. onion flakes, ½ tsp. garlic powder and ½ tsp. kosher salt for 1 hour. Beans should be firm tender, if not ready, cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and pick out the cloves from drained beans. Add the hot cooked beans to the prepared dressing and toss.
While the beans are cooking prepare the dressing in a bowl by combining 1 tsp. Dijon mustard with 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. kosher salt and ½ tsp. black pepper. Beat in ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. Fold in ½ cup thinly sliced red onion in the dressing and allow to marinate for 20 minutes before the beans are done.
Toss the beans and dressing with ½ cup chopped Italian parsley. Drain 10 oz. jar of fire roasted red pepper strips, fold them thoroughly into the beans and mound the mixture in a shallow bowl. Tear 4-5 oz. fresh mozzarella pieces and scatter them around and on top of the beans. Allow to chill for a couple of hours in the refrigerator and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.
Harvest time is time for sharing and reflections on the journey that has led us there.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
