Shallot, Carrot, and Parmesan Fritters

Shallot, carrot and parmesan fritters are a delightful start to any meal. They are smaller more bite sized, but remind me a lot of apple fritters, with a deliciously different flavor. The extra egg and tablespoon of baking powder make a very light fritter. Shallots and carrots are in good supply at our farmers market booth year around.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 - 1/2 lb shallots, diced
• 1 cup grated carrots, use our candy carrots for a sweeter fritter
• 1 1/2 cup flour, this does not have to be a wheat flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
• coconut oil for frying

Instructions:

• Saute shallots with butter over medium heat until golden and sweet, that should take about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, then cool to room temperature. Combine dry ingredients and wisk in the egg and milk and mix until smooth. Stir in the shallot mixture, cheese and pepper. Adjust flour to a thick consistency.
• Heat oil to 350F. Scoop the batter in tablespoon quantities into the hot oil and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes. Drain to paper towels and keep warm while you cook the remiaing batter. Season and serve.

Optional Dipping Sauces:

• Combine 1/4 cup of raspberry jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil. Mix together.
• Combine 1/4 cup of jalapeno jam with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Mix together.
• Combine 1/4 cup poblano relish, 1/4 cup raspberry jam and Greek yogurt.  Mix together. This was my favorite and what I used when I made fritters.
• The fritters would also be great with a sugar glaze or powdered sugar.

Dryhydrate Everything

We have a row about 300 feet long of very large Jalapenos, that are the source of a bushel of Jalapeno peppers in the dehydrator this evening. We had two bushels at the market this week. We sold one and I am drying the other. It takes about 30 trays in my dehydrator for that many peppers. It will take about 24 hours to dry the peppers to a pliable consistency and 36 hours completely dry. If you are going to smoke them, the pliable consistency is best. If you are going to store them long term completely dry them and put them in the freezer. If  you want to try your hand at drying, stop by our stand.

We have a lot of Jalapenos but the real gems are the Poblanos or Ancho's as they are sometimes called. We have two rows 300 feet long of beautiful dark green peppers. Poblanos are quite a bit larger than Jalapenos and don't fit as well into the dehydrator. But the medium and small ones can fit in the trays. They dry beautifully and smoke even better.

I had a few extra trays so I loaded up a few hundred serranos with the Jalapenos. They are hotter so a little goes along way. They have a unique flavor, which is different than the other two.

Tomorrow night I'm thinking that I will load up some Roma tomatoes. They have much more moisture in them so they take a little longer to dry. You can also smoke the Romas and the will dance in your tomato dishes.

You can dehydrate just about everything:

- Green beans, for winter soup
- Watermelon, like cotton candy
- Herbs, pretty much anything
- Sweet Corn, makes ooh soo sweet corn meal
- Egg Plant, really reconstitutes well for late winter lasagna

You can grow HOT peppers in Minnesota

Hot peppers like hot weather and a long season. Some gardeners assume that you can't grow hot peppers in Minnesota. This is definitely not true.

We like to grow Jalapeno, Poblano, and Anneheim peppers. They are recognizable in our markets and sell pretty well. I also like to dry and smoke these peppers for consumption over the winter.

We use them in our salsa and other cooking.

Peppers are a great way to spice up many bland Minnesota dishes and are very healthy.

We grow our peppers with liberal amounts of compost, organic fertilizer and no sprays or chemical fertilizers, ever!

A Simple Canned Salsa Recipe

I have canned about 250 pints of salsa so far this season. We have lots of tomatoes this time of year so let me share a very simple canned salsa recipe.

Ingredients:

15 pounds Roma tomatoes. Washed.
3 pounds Sweet onions (Walla Walla or Spanish) Peel off outer scales.
12 Jalapeno Peppers (cut the stems off and keep the seeds)
1 tablespoon of bottled lemon or lime juice (per pint)

Instructions:

Boil water in a water bath canner. Remove lids from 12 pint jars and put them in hot tap water. Put jars in boiling water for 15 minutes or more to sterilize. While jars are sterilizing. Core tomatoes and chop into 1/4 inch chunks with a food processor. Add to stock pot and cook on medium heat until boiling. Cut onions into quarters and pulse in the food processor into 1/4 inch chunks. Add to stock pot. Pulse jalapeno peppers into 1/8 inch chunks with seeds. Add to stock pot. Stir thoroughly and bring mix to a boil.

Take hot jars out of boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice to pint jars. Use canning funnel to ladle hot salsa into the cars leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch head room at the top of the jar. Put lid and rings on the cars and place jars in the boiling water. Add additional water until the jars are covered by 1/2 to 1 inch boiling water. Bring canning vessel back to a boil. Boil for at least 15 minutes after boiling starts. I sometimes let it cook a little longer, this is OK to do with salsa as you are not trying to keep it crisp like you would be doing with pickles.

Remove jars after 15 minute and let cool to room temperate. Jars will keep up to a year. Label carefully.

I figure 1 jalapeno per jar is medium. 2-4 is hot. 6-8 is very hot.

I don't like to add cilantro or tomatillos to cooked salsa (love both with fresh salsa).

Garlic is a welcome addition. Green peppers is also OK. Anything that is not acidic needs to be added with caution. I add extra lime juice if using other ingredients. Corn can also be added.

Varying the tomatoes is one of the best ways to change the flavor. We use heirlooms, Romas and cherry tomatoes. I have also occasionally roasted the tomatoes.

I have found that simple is better.

We bring this salsa to market from late summer, through winter to the spring.

Squash Blossom Quesadillas

Squash blossoms are used in many different kinds of Mexican dishes. They are a natural for quesadillas. The make a double appearance in this recipe, first by including several raw squash blossoms and second by using some of the squash blossom salsa that is described in an earlier post. Both are very complimentary.

Ingredients:

8 squash blossoms
4 oz grated Mexican cheese blend, pepper jack or cheddar
4 medium tortillas
squash blossom salsa (see earlier post)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F. On a cookie sheet make quesadilla one but adding two blossoms, 2 oz cheese and a table spoon of squash blossom salsa to the soft tortilla. Fold over. Create four quessadills total. Put in the oven for 5 minutes or until tortillas is crunchy.

Kick it up:

1. Use Habernaro cheese 
2. Add an additional Jalapeno to the squash blossom salsa.
3. Add some shredded beef or chicken to the quesadilla.
4. Add some fresh sweet corn to the salsa or quessadilla

Squash Blossom Salsa

A wonderful combination of flavors and textures from unusual ingredients. We have a good supply of squash blossoms now at the farmers market.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced sweet onion
1 cup finely diced zucchini or patty pan squash
1 Roma tomato
1-inch piece of jalapeno (more to taste)
4 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
4 squash blossoms
juice of half a lime

Directions:

1. Place onion, 1/2 of the squash, the tomato, Jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and squash blossoms in a blender and blend until chunky
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and add remaining diced squash. Saute over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the puree from the blender or food processor and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the salsa is thickened and any excess liquid had evaporated. Salt to taste and set aside to cool. Chill in refrigerator.

Serve with chips, quesadillas or tacos.

Kick It Up:

1. Add some corn.
2. Add more Jalapeno
3. Add more tomato
4. Make a bigger batch with more blossoms and proportionally more other ingredients.