Well, when it rains, it pours. In addition to loads of lovely tomatoes flowing in from our fields, we’re picking our first round of Wild Hare Organic Sweet Corn in the morning! Mark and I stood out in the field at 7am, shucked an ear a piece and gave it a taste test. The kernels were sweet enough to enjoy raw on the cob, right there for breakfast. And the Romano Beans are ready too! As a primer, Romanos are bigger than your standard green bean, but they're still plenty tender and in my opinion, this makes them more versatile. They’re a lot like a green bean or wax bean—they just look like someone ran them over with a steamroller. Just pop off the stem ends and prepare them as you would any other green bean. You can chop them down to your preferable size or leave them whole. If you're not ready to eat your share of them this week, they can be frozen or pickled to enjoy later on. My absolute favorite way to enjoy Romano Beans is stewed/braised with tomatoes and garlic, (like the comfort of a green bean casserole without the casserole). My recipe and method, inspired by an old Fine Cooking recipe is posted below, so scroll on down.
As a friendly reminder, bring your dull knives to Wild Hare this week! Showalter Smithing will be at the farm for a sharpening pickup event on Tuesday, August 19th and Wednesday, August 20th.
Take care,
Katie
PS: Yes, we’ll still have our Bulk Romas available, first come first serve this week. 10 lbs for $33!
IN THE FARMSHARES THIS WEEK:
Tomatoes (Cherries,
Slicers and/or Heirlooms)
Sweet Corn
Romano Beans
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Cabbage or Kohlrabi
Mini Nectarines
RECIPES & SEASONAL TIPS
KATIE GREEN’S BRAISED ROMANO BEANS
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, yellow or sweet, sliced thin
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. romano or green beans (trim the ends and leave them long or cut them into 2” segments–the choice is yours!)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1.5 lbs tomatoes, chopped, grated or sauced (or two 14.5-oz. cans stewed tomatoes)
1 pinch of chili pepper flakes
Kosher salt
2 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Heat the olive oil in a deep sided skillet or pan over medium heat. (You’ll want a pan with a lid). Add onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions soften. Then, add the beans, chili flakes and a good pinch of salt. Sauté for 2 minutes and then add the white wine to deglaze the pan, stirring things up and scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the tomatoes and any of their juices. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low once the pan starts to bubble. Cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes. The beans should stew and soften during this time. Then remove the lid and increase the heat to medium or medium high, leaving the pan uncovered. The goal here is to bring the pan to enough of a simmer to thicken the sauce. It takes about 5 minutes, give or take, depending on the amount of liquid that your tomatoes give off. Once the sauce thickens, remove the pan from the heat and scatter the pieces of butter over the top of the pan, allowing it to melt a little before stirring it into the beans and sauce. Give it a taste, add salt and pepper to your liking. Enjoy!
GRATED TOMATO PASTA - Ham El-Waylly
ROASTED GREEN BEANS w/ GARLIC, LEMON, PINE NUTS & PARMESAN - Once Upon a Chef
ROMANO BEAN SALAD WITH SWEET CORN & FETA - The Bojon Gourmet
MINESTRONE SOUP - Love & Lemons
NECTARINE PIZZA WITH FRESH BASIL & REDUCED BALSAMIC - Alexandra Cooks
THE LEE BROS. BLACKBERRY NECTARINE CRISP - The Woks of Life
BALABOOSTA CHOPPED AVOCADO, CUCUMBER & KOHLRABI SALAD - Michelin Guide
ALISON ROMAN’S CUCUMBERS & KOHLRABI IN CRUNCHY CHILI OIL - Annie Varberg
SHREDDED KOHLRABI QUICK PICKLE - Serious Eats