Maple-Grapefruit Glaze for Edamame, Beets, and More

More grapefruit from the farmshare.  More creativity required.  Mollie Katzen‘s grapefruit glaze from The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without  is a flavor-packed citrus revelation that can be used to brighten a host of not-quite-there-yet winter and spring vegetables.  I modify the recipe somewhat, using arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and additional maple syrup to sweeten the bitter grapefruit. Cornstarch produces a shinier coating like you see on the beets below.  For food that looks like food and not plastic in the glare of the papparazzi, use arrowroot.

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: Enough to cover 3 cups of cooked edamame, 3 pounds beets, or similar amount

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 grapefruit, fresh-squeezed
1 T unseasoned rice vinegar
3-4 T maple syrup, to taste
2 t arrowroot powder, dissolved in 1T cold water

1. Whisk together grapefruit juice, rice vinegar, and maple syrup.
2. Heat mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat until just boiling, whisking frequently.
3. Turn heat down and add dissolved arrowroot powder.  Whisk frequently until mixture thickens and becomes glossy, 3-5 minutes. At this point the glaze can be refrigerated and reheated and re-whisked before serving.
4. Drizzle over vegetables of choice and serve immediately. 

Roasted Cod with Caramelized Grapefruit and Fennel

I’m a grapefruit convert.  I have seen the light — the Florida sunlight, even in the dark of a Boston Winter.  My farmshare has shown me the way.  I didn’t even like grapefruit until recently, although you wouldn’t know it from this blog.  But the farmshare kept bringing it, which forced me to get creative.  I love the fresh citrus flavor that grapefruit brings when its bitterness is tempered. 

While in San Francisco at the end of February, I had an amazing sea bass with grapefruit-fennel slaw at The Firefly, and I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since.  This comes close, and was on the table in less than 20 minutes. 

This would work with other fish, with onions instead of fennel, with other herbs, and with oranges, which wouldn’t need so much sugar.  I’m also experimenting with natural sweeteners, but honey doesn’t seem to do the trick.  Cod comes in fresh from Gloucester to our local Whole Foods, making it flaky and delicious — a far cry from that tasteless substance in your average fish and chips.

I love the challenges that come in the box of organic produce each week.   Who knows what next week will bring?

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2 (easily multiplied)

Ingredients:
2 6 oz cod fillets
1 bulb fennel
2 grapefruits
1/3 c sugar
1 t coriander
1T EVOO (Extra-Virgin Olive Oil)
salt and pepper to taste
bed of greens, such as baby spinach, arugula, or watercress (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   
2. Slice the fennel into 1″ pieces, removing the tough core.  Reserve and chop the fronds.
3. By now the oven should be heated.  Place cod in a baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the EVOO over medium-low heat.  Add the fennel and a pinch of salt.  Cook slowly, until fennel begins to caramelize. 
5. While you’re waiting for the fennel to caramelize, section the grapefruits, removing seeds and pith, and place into a bowl.  If you’re not sure how to do this, check out this video.  Toss the grapefruit sections with the sugar.
6. When fennel has begun to caramelize (it will turn translucent, brown a bit, and taste sweet), add the sugared grapefruit to the pan.  Cook for 3 minutes until grapefruit begins to caramelize.  Be careful not to burn.  Add coriander, toss, and turn off the heat. 
7.  Remove the cod from the oven.  Place each filet on a bed of greens (if desired).
8.  Top with the grapefruit-fennel mixture, garnish with fennel fronds, and serve.

Farmshare Day 3: Avocado, Grapefruit, and Spinach Salad with Maple-Sherry Vinaigrette

100% Farmshare.  100% Delicious.  And a recipe that’s 100% foolproof.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2, as an entree salad

For the Salad:
1 avocado, diced
1 grapefruit, sectioned, with pith removed, and juices from discarded sections reserved.  Good directions on how to do this can be found here.
1 handful baby spinach, rinsed and spun dry

For the Vinaigrette:
Juice from grapefruit sections
1-2T maple syrup
1-2 T EVOO
1 T sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Arrange salad ingredients in a bowl.
2. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.  Pour over salad.  Depending on how much grapefruit juice you have, you might not need all of the dressing.
3. Top with some freshly ground black pepper and serve.