Farm Share Smörgåsbord: Revs 1, Manchester United 4

Yes, this post is two weeks late. No, I do not have an excuse. Other than the fact that while I've NOT been posting, the Revs have, for the most part, NOT been losing. We won't count the rock bottom loss to the Union.

In hindsight: The game vs. Man U was a pain in the ass to get to. I am accustomed to there being no traffic en route to Gillette Stadium In The Middle Of Nowhere. Mostly because the game allegedly drew three times this season's average attendance. In spite of the crappy traffic, I welcome casual and fairweather soccer fans to Gillette, because, hey, if you'll make the trip all the way to Foxborough for a soccer game, you're all right in my book.

We made two dishes for this game, both inspired by the contents of our farm share. And both adapted from one of my go-to cookbooks: Vegetarian Food for Friends by Jane Noraika. I forgot my camera day-of-game, so you're limited to these two sad iPhone photos. But the cookbook has lovely photos of both dishes.

Recipe 1:

Zucchini and Patty Pans

infused with mint and balsamic vinegar

adapted from Jane Noraika, Vegetarian Food for Friends

Ingredients
  1 lb. yellow and green baby patty pan squashes, cut in half (or whatever squashes you have on hand, really)
  1/3 cup olive oil
  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  3/4 cup pine nuts lightly toasted in a dry skillet
  1 handful fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
  3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch slices
  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Put the patty pans on a preheated grill or stove-top grill pan. Cook on each side about 5 minutes or until tender, turning over when starting to brown.
2. When cooked transfer to a long serving dish. Pour over the oil and vinegar and sprinkle with pine nuts, mint, salt and pepper.
3. Cook the sliced zucchini on the grill for just 1-2 minutes per side. Add to the patty pan mixture and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for about 2 hours in the refrigerator, then serve.

*In case you're wondering, this is what patty pan squashes look like:

Recipe 2:
Lemon, Fennel, and Scallions
on grilled dill polenta
adapted from Jane Noraika, Vegetarian Food for Friends

Ingredients
DILL POLENTA
   3 tablespoons unsalted butter
   1 tablespoon olive oil
   1 1/2 cups polenta
   1 1/2 oz. fresh parmesan cheese, grated
   handful fresh dill, coarsely chopped
   se salt and freshly ground black pepper
MARINATED FENNEL
   2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
   3 tablespoons olive oil
   2 garlic cloves, crushed
   2 bulbs fennel, sliced
   sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
MARINATED SCALLIONS
   8 scallions
   1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
   1 tablespoon olive oil
   sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE
   1 1/2 oz fresh parmesan cheese, grated
   grated zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon
   sea salt

You'll also need
   A jelly roll pan, 12x10 inches, lightly greased
   A cookie cutter or glass, 3 1/2 inches in diameter

Preparation
1. To make polenta, melt the butter and oil in medium saucepan. Add 5 cups water and bring to a boil. Pour in polenta in a steady stream, beating all the time. Continue to cook according to package direction, until the grainy texture has disappeared. Stir in the parmesan, dill, salt and pepper. Spoon into the prepared jelly roll pan, then let cool until firm
2. To marinate the fennel, put the vinegar, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Add the fennel and seta aside to develop the flavors.
3. Out scallions, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a separate bowl and set aside to marinate.
4. Cut out rounds of polenta with the cookie cutter or glass. Cook on a preheated grill for about 4 minutes each side, until browned.
5. Add the fennel to the grill. Cook for 5-10  minutes until browned on both sides and tender. While the fennel is cooking, add the scallions and cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly blackened.
6. Serve the polenta piled high with fennel and scallions and sprinkle them with parmesan, lemon zest, and sea salt. Pour any remaining marinate juices over the top.

I'd like to point out that both of these dishes were pretty easy and crowd-pleasing. And convenient to the contents of our share!