Bay Ridge CSA

News from the farm – part 5

More news from the fields, and a quick radicchio recipe to go with this week’s share, courtesy of Benjamin Shute at Hearty Roots Community Farm.

Organic farming ain’t all fresh watermelon and chirping birds – we’re in the midst of a pretty rough week. With the continued drought (less than an inch of rain in six weeks), and now temperatures in the high 90′s every day this week, working at Hearty Roots is not easy under these conditions. We have altered our schedule for the week to work in the early mornings (starting at 5am) and then take a long break after lunch before doing some more work in the evening, when the temperatures are more bearable.

We’re doing a ton of irrigating, barely keeping up with the plants’ water needs as our sandy soil dries up super fast under these hot dry conditions. Unfortunately, we have a lot of seedlings in the greenhouse to transplant right now, our fall crops. Seedlings absolutely hate to be transplanted under hot dry conditions; their roots are too small to deal with the lack of water. Late last week we transplanted some lettuce, kale, chard and leeks, and watered them heavily. By Monday afternoon, they all were wilted and about ready to die, as we ran around dragging irrigation pipes into place to give them some emergency water.

Good news is that the more established crops are growing well with all of the sunshine and irrigation water, and are disease-free thanks to the dry weather, which limits fungal diseases on plant leaves. And our supply of irrigation water is holding out well, and the forecast calls for some cooler temperatures and maybe even some rain on the way.

Featured vegetable: Radicchio

About Radicchio
It is actually Italian Chicory. Some (the popular) varieties includes radicchio di Verona which looks like a small head of red lettuce and radicchio di Treviso that looks a bit like a red version of Belgium Endive. This vegetable is very popular in Italy and has gained in popularity in the United States in the last few years. It can be eaten raw with just a bit of olive oil and salt, or mixed into a variety of salads. You may also see it on menus grilled or roasted or combined into other dishes such as risotto.

Balsamic-Marinated Radicchio with Fresh Ricotta

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 garlic cloves or garlic scapes, smashed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
1 head radicchio, quartered lengthwise
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 pound fresh ricotta

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Whisk together vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 cup oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Put radicchio in a 4-sided sheet pan and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat, turning occasionally, until slightly wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add hot radicchio to balsamic marinade and gently toss to coat. Cover bowl (to keep heat in) and marinate, tossing once or twice, at least 1 hour.

Transfer radicchio to a serving dish, pouring some of marinade over top. Scatter basil over radicchio. Drizzle ricotta with oil in a small bowl and serve with radicchio.

Tags: irrigation, radicchio