A CSA, for those not in the know, stands for community supported agriculture. Wikipedia's definition is as follows:
Community-supported agriculture (in North America sometimes known as community-shared agriculture) (CSA) is an alternative, locally-based socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production. CSA members or subscribers pay at the onset of the growing season for a share of the anticipated harvest; once harvesting begins, they receive weekly shares of vegetables and fruit, in a vegetable box scheme, and also sometimes herbs, cut flowers, honey, eggs, dairy products and meat, as well. Some CSAs provide for contributions of labor in lieu of a portion of subscription costs.
Basically the hubs and I were tired of subpar produce. As you my tens of readers may remember, I suck at eating produce. We figured that signing up for this was a great way to a) get quality produce in season b) support local farms and c) introduce both of us (read: me!) and our kiddo into new and interesting veggies.
Our first share yielded this:
This includes Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes, purple topped turnips, mushrooms, green oak leaf lettuce and a rutabaga.
I decided to tackle the Jerusalem artichokes first. I went to Pinterest where I had pinned a ton of recipes before we got our first share. I didn't like the look of anything I had already pinned and have been on a bacon kick lately so I found the following recipe.
Jerusalem artichoke, potato and bacon soup
Adapted from E is for Eat
**by adapted I mean that I totally followed this recipe as-is and only made changes based on what was or was not in my fridge
Ingredients:
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
1.5 pounds potatoes
4 slices of bacon, crumbled
1.5 pounds potatoes
4 slices of bacon, crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
leaves from 1 sprig of thyme
5-6 cups chicken stock
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
leaves from 1 sprig of thyme
5-6 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup light cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper (to taste)
smoked paprika (for garnish)
Instructions:
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper (to taste)
smoked paprika (for garnish)
Instructions:
Peel and cut the sunchokes and potatoes into equal-sized pieces and put in a bowl of ice water until you are ready to use them. Don't worry if you don't get all of the skin off the sunchokes.
Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Cook bacon until nice and crispy. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
Add onions and garlic and saute until onions become translucent (but not brown), about 5 minutes. Add thyme leaves and sunchokes, and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Cover with broth, enough to cover all of the vegetables, and then a little more.
Cover and cook until potatoes and sunchokes are easily pierced with a knife, about 20-30 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. (Or you can use a blender or food processor working in batches). If it's too thick, add a little more broth. Stir in the cream & lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with paprika and crumbled bacon and serve!
The finished product:
Upon further review, it seems I did not leave my thoughts on this soup with you. I really liked the soup. It was very earthy and not overly creamy but smooth. I thought that finishing it with paprika was the perfect touch. I'd make this again in a heartbeat!
