When fall finally snaps to and cooler weather forces us into sweaters, it’s easy to throw up our hands and surrender to the seemingly tropical beauty of the supermarket produce aisle. What possible encore would Nature have after native corn and vine-ripened tomatoes?
Actually, her third act is quite a looker. The bounty is nearly as diverse, if perhaps a bit more unfamiliar to many consumers. As the leaves color on the trees, area farm fields are bursting with hearty greens, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, Jerusalem artichokes, pumpkins and much more.
“This is it, this is the bounty,” said Mari Coyne, who works as a farm forager, a post jointly funded and supervised by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Chicago Green City Market.
It’s Coyne’s job to root out farmers willing to feed Chicago’s hunger for local produce. Fall is the time when Chicagoans can really go to town at farmers markets and farm stands.
“You have packed, full displays until the end of October,” she said. “There are tons of foods.”
All you may need, perhaps, is a little imagination. Most everyone knows a recipe for zucchini or green beans. It takes real culinary fortitude to tackle a giant blue Hubbard squash.
Coyne sees the plus side of this equation, viewing the fall as a time ripe for the “exploration of taste.” Ideas for using these vegetables can be found in cookbooks, from Internet sources and from the farmers themselves.
Chef Bruce Sherman of Chicago’s North Pond restaurant sees fall as “a difficult hurdle psychologically,” but he admits he still views fall warmly.
“I love the product availability in summer but fall is my favorite,” Sherman said. “The foliage, the football, the fact it is brisk at night and you have to put on clothing and feel comforted inside with soups and roasts. It’s a great time.”
And a fleeting one that should be appreciated, said Terra Brockman of Congerville, Ill. She is executive director of The Land Connection, an organization devoted to saving farmland, making the acreage suitable for organically grown produce and helping farmers grow more foods for the table.
Look for produce only available in the fall, she said, vegetables like broccoli rabe and the winter squashes, and get re-acquainted with cool-weather crops not seen since spring, such as salad greens and broccoli. Lastly, she suggests that shoppers enjoy the bounty of having the last of the summer crops and the first of the autumn vegetables available at the same time.
“A lot of people think the seasons correspond with school,” Brockman said. “There are a lot of the ‘summer crops’ that will go through the fall until the first hard frost.” (In our region, the average date is around Oct. 22.)
“Fall is, interestingly, another time of abundance, but a lot of people don’t realize it,” she said. “Most [farm] markets go on through October and some into November.”
One fact of fall that seems self-evident is a hunger to return to the kitchen.
“We’re changing the way we cook for the season,” said chef Alexander Cheswick of Chicago’s May Street Market restaurant. “Mother Nature did most of the cooking, so to speak, in the summer. Now it’s our turn.”
Fresh-picked foods left unadorned, even raw, during the warm months are being supplanted by produce needing longer, slower cooking that emphasizes what Cheswick calls the earthier, richer flavors of fall.
Flavor is what fall is all about. Indeed, the very season itself conspires to bring out the best in so many autumn crops.
“Once you start to get a frost, it sweetens up a lot of crops,” said Bob Bower, general manager for Caledonia’s Angelic Organics, one of the nation’s largest community supported agriculture programs.
In a CSA arrangement, consumers buy shares in the future harvest. Though most shareholders at Angelic Organics sign on for a full 20-week season, there are those who like to choose just the final 12 weeks for late-harvest vegetables.
“This is a time when crops come into their full development,” Bower said. “Frost will end the lettuce for us but the mustard greens will sweeten up.”
Increasingly consumers are considering this a fair exchange, although Sherman wryly doubts many would willingly give up corn-on-the cob for kale.
One way the chef deals with the shift in produce and taste is by focusing on the “beautiful” products not available in summer, foods like apples and winter squash. He shifts the vegetables on his menu, seamlessly moving from summer to fall with quality serving as his barometer. Tomatoes and corn, for example, just don’t taste as good as summer wanes, he said.
All of this underscores a truism uttered often by Brockman to advise shoppers: “Use up or put up” the produce each season by freezing or canning.
“As it gets cooler and cooler, we always hear people ask what are they going to do without fresh vegetables,” she said. “I encourage people to think ahead and put something up.”
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Buying and storing fall’s bounty
Here are pointers on buying and storing some autumn produce items, gathered from the University of Illinois Extension Service and from “The New Food Lover’s Companion,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst:
– APPLES: Look for bright colored skin and firm fruit; avoid any with bruises or dark spots. The best way to store apples is in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator.
– CARROTS: Choose carrots less than 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Store carrots with the green tops trimmed. Although the tops are edible, during storage this greenery robs the carrot of moisture and nutritional value. Carrots will keep several weeks in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator in perforated plastic bags.
– CAULIFLOWER: The mature heads should be compact, firm and white. Overmature heads develop a coarse, “ricey” appearance. Refrigerate raw cauliflower, tightly wrapped, 3 to 5 days; after cooking, 1 to 3 days.
– KOHLRABI: Has the mildest and best flavor (resembling mild white turnips) when small. The young leaves may be cooked like other greens. Avoid kohlrabi with soft spots on the bulb or signs of yellowing leaves. Store tightly wrapped up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
– MUSTARD GREENS: Choose young, tender leaves that are not wilted or yellowed. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Store unwashed greens in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. They will keep about 3 days. Wrap in moist paper towels for longer storage, up to 5 days.
– PEARS: If pears are still hard, they can be ripened at room temperature for a few days. To keep pears a longer period of time, store them in the refrigerator.
– PUMPKINS: Select heavy, unblemished pumpkin that is free of cracks and soft spots and has a deep orange color. Pumpkins should not be stored in the refrigerator or in a damp place.
– SWEET POTATOES: Buy small- to medium-size sweet potatoes with smooth, unbruised skin. Store in a dark, dry place a week (they’ll keep up to 3 weeks under perfect conditions).
– WINTER SQUASH: Purchase such varieties as acorn, butternut, Hubbard and spaghetti if they feel heavy and have unblemished, fairly glossy skin. Most whole winter squashes can be stored at room temperature up to 3 months, depending on variety. Refrigerate cut pieces.
USEFUL WEB SITES
The University of Illinois Extension Service provides useful information on selecting, storing and cooking a wide range of fruits and vegetables on its Web sites:
“Watch Your Garden Grow,” www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/index.html
“Harvesting Fruits,” www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fresh/fruit.html
Also, pumpkins and apples each have a Web page of their own: www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/ and www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/apples/
–B.D.
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Tastes of autumn
Pumpkin jam
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 cups
This recipe was developed by chef Andrew Zimmerman of del Toro Cafe. He uses it as a filling for crepes, as a spread on toasted brioche or French toast, or as a topping for oatmeal. Use a sugar or pie pumpkin for this recipe. Although a standard jack-o’-lantern pumpkin will work if other varieties are unavailable, the chef would opt for a butternut squash instead. Canned pumpkin also can be used.
1 small sugar pumpkin, about 2 pounds, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch cubes, or 1 can (28 ounces) pumpkin puree
1/4 cup water
2 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1. Heat the pumpkin, water, cloves and cinnamon stick to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin is tender and as dry as possible, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves; discard. Puree mixture in a food processor. Return to the saucepan over medium heat; stir in the sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts and mixture is translucent, about 12 minutes; set aside to cool. Store in jars or plastic containers. The jam will keep refrigerated two weeks or can be frozen for longer storage.
Nutrition information per tablespoon:
43 calories, 0% of calories from fat, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 11 g carbohydrates, 0.2 g protein, 0.2 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
Spiced organic carrot soup
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Chef Bruce Sherman of Chicago’s North Pond restaurant developed this unique soup flavored with ginger and coriander.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 piece (1/2 inch long) ginger root, chopped
1/2 rib celery, thinly sliced
1 pound organic carrots, thinly sliced
1 head fennel, white bulb only, cored, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon each: salt, frreshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, cubed
1. Heat the oil in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add shallot, garlic, ginger and celery. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, fennel, salt and pepper. Cook until the carrots and fennel begin to soften but do not brown, about 6 minutes.
2. Stir in the coriander; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the carrots and fennel pieces can be easily mashed, about 25 minutes.
3. Puree the vegetable mixture in a blender or food processor. Pulse in pieces of butter, one at a time, until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer into the saucepan; heat over medium heat, about 3 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
239 calories, 59% of calories from fat, 16 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 18 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 1,121 mg sodium, 5 g fiber
Vanilla-scented kohlrabi with creamed greens
Preparation time: 18 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Look for kohlrabi with leaves still on for this recipe from chef Paul Kahan of Chicago’s Blackbird restaurant. Grilled pork chops make a good accompaniment. A mild olive oil can be substituted for grapeseed oil.
3 small kohlrabi, green or purple
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups water
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
3 shallots, sliced
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1. Remove leaves from kohlrabi; reserve. Halve the bulbs; slice into 1/3-inch half-moons. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add kohlrabi slices, 2 cups water, vanilla seeds, sugar, salt and pepper. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the kohlrabi is just tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut off the woody stems of the kohlrabi greens; cut leaves into 1-inch thick ribbons. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add leaves to skillet; cover. Cook until leaves are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in cream. Transfer kohlrabi slices with a slotted spoon to the skillet. Toss well to combine.
Nutrition information per serving:
405 calories, 70% of calories from fat, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 200 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Duck with pear-cardamom puree and caramel almonds
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Chef Andrew Zimmerman of del Toro Cafe prefers to use marcona almonds from Spain in this recipe. These large, flat almonds have a more intense flavor and are sold at specialty stores and some supermarkets. Substitute with blanched almonds.
Caramel almonds:
1 1/4 cups marcona almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Pear-cardamom puree:
3 Bosc or other pears, peeled, cored, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
5 cardamom seeds or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Duck:
4 boneless duck breasts, 6-8 ounces each, skin on
1/8 teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
1. For the almonds, combine the sugar and just enough of the water to moisten it in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture turns golden brown and measures about 275 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. Stir in the almonds, stirring quickly to coat. Pour almonds onto a parchment-lined baking pan; cool. Roughly chop the almonds, remove excess caramel. Set aside.
2. For the puree, heat the pears, butter, water and cardamom seeds to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook until the pears are tender, about 15 minutes. Puree in a blender until smooth; pass through a fine mesh sieve. Keep warm.
3. For the duck, score the skin side of the duck in a crosshatch pattern, taking care not to cut into the flesh; season with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in a cold, dry skillet; cook the duck over medium heat until the skin has started to turn a deep golden brown, about 7 minutes. Turn; cook 3 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack over a plate; set aside.
4. Spoon a fourth of the pear puree onto each plate; slice each duck breast, fanning out over the puree. Scatter some of the caramelized chopped almonds over the duck.
Nutrition information per serving:
871 calories, 48% of calories from fat, 47 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 246 mg cholesterol, 65 g carbohydrates, 52 g protein, 256 mg sodium, 8 g fiber
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ON THE WEB
– For the first two articles in our four-part series, go to chicagotribune.com/seasons.
– For a photo gallery, go to chicagotribune.com/fallveggies
