Moroccan spiced beets with whipped goat cheese

The Goods*:

6 medium/small candy striped beets [CSA!]

3 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp honey

1 1/2 tsp harissa

1 small shallot

1 clove garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

Whipped Goat Cheese

6 oz. soft goat cheese

1/4 cup marcona almonds

1/4 cup dried apricot

1/4 cup scallion [CSA!]

Finely mince the scallon and roughly chop the apricot and almonds. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the goat cheese until it is creamy. Add the scallions, apricot, almonds, and salt and pepper and continue to mix until blended.

Boil the beets in a large pot of salted water for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain the beets and when they are cool, peel the skin. Slice the beets into thin, 1/2 cm slices**. Finely mince the shallot and garlic. In a large mixing bowl, add the garlic, shallot, lemon juice, honey, and harissa. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Arrange the beets in a single layer on the plate and drizzle the lemon dressing over them. Crumble the whipped goat cheese over the beets. Garnish with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

*I've recently begun to receive weekly boxes of fresh, local vegetables through my CSA with Sienna Farms. Sienna supplies wonderful Cambridge eatery Oleana with all of their produce. This preparation was adapted from a recipe courtesy of Oleana chef/owner Ana Sortun (apparently CSA membership with Sienna also entitles one to delicious Oleana recipes).

**This would be much easier on a mandolin. Note to self, buy a mandolin.

Wild cod en persillade

The Goods*:

2 lb frozen wild cod fillets

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sesame seeds

2 tbsp fresh oregano

1/4 cup sumac

2 tbsp canola/sunflower oil

2 tbsp country dijon mustard

Brine**

2 kg water

100 g kosher salt

25 g table sugar

Prepare the brine. Add the frozen fish to the brine and let sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. After brining, rinse the now (hopefully) defrosted fillets under cold water.

Place the olive oil in a heavy skillet and set to medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the panko. Cook for a few minutes, until the bread crumbs begin to brown. Add the sesame seeds and cook for about a minute longer. Finely mince the oregano. Add the cooled panko/sesame mixture to a mixing bowl with the minced oregano and sumac. Thoroughly mix.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Cut the cod fillets into 6 total chunks. Set up three bowls, one with water, mustard, and the breading. Dip a kitchen brush in the water, then the mustard so that it spreads easier. Place a layer of mustard on top of one of the fillet pieces, then place this side down into the breading. Shake off the excess. Repeat until all of the cod is breaded on one side. In a heavy skillet, add the canola oil and place on high heat. Just as the oil begins to smoke, lower to medium-low. Brown the cod pieces, breading side down, for one minute. Be sure to spread the pieces out (I had to do this process in two batches) so the are not touching. After browning for one minute, place in the oven and bake at 325 for 8-9 minutes, or until the meat flakes with a fork.

*Recently, our company went on a cod fishing trip. I was one of the fortunate (read: highly inept) individuals unable to bag a single cod. My boss, an avid fisherman, went on the very same cod boat the next week and maxed on his legal limit of cod. Feeling bad, he froze a couple of fillets for me. This recipe is adapted from Keller's Ad Hoc At Home, with thanks to CSA Chef sponsor (more on this later) Ana Sortun.

**I used a brine primarily to thaw the fish. It was brined for ~1.5 hours and not further seasoned.

Potato salad

The Goods*:

1.5 lb bag mixed (yukon gold, red bliss, and purple) small potatoes

1/2 homemade aioli**

1 tbsp country dijon mustard

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1/2 cup fresh dill

1/2 cup daikon

Homemade Aioli

1/2 cup olive oil

1 egg yolk

1 small clove garlic

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp water

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Finely mince the garlic clove. Take care to remove the green stalk in the middle of the clove. Add the garlic, lime juice, salt, and water to a medium size bowl. Allow the garlic to steep in the liquid for five minutes or so. Add the egg yolk. Whisk the yolk together with the water and lime juice. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture while continuously whisking. The mixture should thicken as more oil is added and have a creamy texture when all of the oil has been added.

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and set on high heat to boil. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat and simmer the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until they just become fork tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Place the potatoes back in the saucepan, off the heat, and cover with a dish towel to allow them to steam for 10 minutes or so.

Cut the potatoes into halves or fourths depending on the size. Place the cut potatoes in a large mixing bowl and season generously with ground black pepper and kosher salt. Coarsely grind the mustard seeds in a mortar and chop the dill. Slice the daikon into ~1 cm sections. Add the mustard, mustard seeds, dill, daikon, and aioli to the potatoes. Mix by hand, then chill and serve.

*Wow, its been a while between posts. I actually made this over a week ago, but I'm resolved to jot it down now so it is not lost. I typically do not love potato salad, mostly because I recoil at the thought of mayonnaise. But, with small potatoes and dill on hand, something had to be done. I adapted the recipe from Ina "Use Good Mayonnaise" Garten.

**Yeah, I can like mayonnaise if its called aioli. Seriously, homemade mayonnaise is nothing like that Hellmann's nonsense. Oh and the difference between mayonnaise and aioli, per Ruhlman, is that olive oil as the oil and minced garlic.