Risotto and Roasted Roots, FTW!

Wow, I feel like I've been cooking like a maniac and yet somehow it was the day before our new CSA delivery and we still hadn't finished all of our vegetables. From last weeks CSA, we still had carrots, radishes, chard, dandelion greens miner's lettuce, and scallions, and from our last farmer's market trip we had wild arugula and celeriac. Last night Gretchen roasted the carrots and parsnips and I made a risotto with sundried tomatoes, chard, dandelion greens, and garlic jack cheese and a salad of carrot greens, arugula, and miner's lettuce. The carrots were roasted with ginger and garlic and the parsnips were dressed with honey, malt vinegar, and mustard. They were amazing! Wow. The risotto came out excellent too. Risotto is so easy, I don't know why I don't make it all the time. I think I will from now on. The salad was OK, it turns out carrot greens are tastier cooked I think. Here's some recipes:

Risotto with Sundried Tomatoes and Greens

(serves 6)

2 cups arborio rice

5 cups vegetable or chicken broth (we use "Better than Chicken")

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes in olive oil

1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 cups mixed chopped chard and dandelion greens

1/2 to 1 cup white wine

3 tbsp butter, 1tbsp walnut oil or olive oil

1 cup grated garlic jack cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter and sautee red onions for a couple of minutes. Add arborio rice and sautee another couple of minutes, then add greens, mix around, and sautee another minute.

Pour in about half a cup of white wine. When it seems to have mostly cooked off, start adding broth. Add about a half a cup or a cup at a time and stir fairly constantly. When the liquid is mostly absorbed, add more. You can keep the heat at medium. When you have about a cup of broth left to add, add the sundried tomatoes and tomato sauce.

When the rice has a soft, creamy texture, mix in grated jack cheese and parmesan, another tablespoon of butter, and a drizzle of walnut or olive oil. Add lots of black pepper and stir to make sure every part of the risotto is seasoned.

Roasted Carrots with Ginger

1. Clean the carrots, and remove the tops. Put them on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for awhile, maybe 20 minutes? Until they are slightly browned, and soft.

2. Meanwhile, mix together 1/4 cup chopped scallions, 2 tbls. chopped ginger, 1/2 a chopped jalapeño, 1 tbls. chopped garlic, and 2-3 tbls oil.

3. After the carrots are finished, pour the scallion-ginger mixture over the carrots, and toss to coat. Put them back in the oven for a couple minutes to slightly cook the ginger and garlic.

Roasted Parsnips

1. Same as step 1 for the carrots, but with parsnips. Be a bit more careful in the roasting, since the parsnip tips have a tendency to burn.

2. Mix together malt vinegar (2 tblsish), honey (1 tblsish), and mustard (1-2 tsp). I used tangerine habañero mustard, but any kind would do.

3. Same as step 3 for the carrots, but with parsnips and this mixture instead.

Enjoy!