Solstice Feelings

The winter solstice reminds us to take a breather in the midst of a busy holiday season. Enjoy the darkness, sit longer, sleep more, and take advantage of the quick hours of sunshine. In the summer, the light goes so long, we forget that it's a gift we don't always have. I always get frustrated with the quickness of a winter day, it feels so hard to get anything done in the few short hours of daylight - I've never been very good at working once the sun goes down. But maybe it's a good time to revel in the darker hours, let the days go by without trying to hold onto to them as much, trust that the light will return and with it a more productive day. 

Scenes from the farm: snow over garlic, the most amazing salad mix, sunset over Pleasant Valley Rd, Duma and the farm tree (bamboo from the back yard and white pine from the farm).

The Share:

salad mix

tatsoi

spinach

cabbage or napa cabbage

onions

winter squash

Choice of roots: watermelon radish, kohlrabi, daikon, potatoes, hakurei turnips, rutabaga, carrots, beets, parsnips, and sweet potatoes (organically grown from Fernbrook Farm in Bordertown NJ).

Recipe of the Week:

100-Layer Root Vegetable Gratin

Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus cooling time

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes, plus cooling time

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup coarsely grated Gruyèrecheese

1 cup coarsely grated Comté cheese

1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

1½ pounds (4 large) parsnips, thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 tablespoon, plus 2½ teaspoons, kosher salt, divided

1½ pounds (1 large) celery root, thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 pound (3 medium) sweet potatoes, thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 pound (2 medium) white turnips, thinly sliced on a mandoline

1½ pounds (3 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced on a mandoline

3 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup (4 ounces) coarse sourdough bread crumbs

2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons roughly chopped sage, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400º and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the butter. In a small bowl, toss the cheeses together and set aside.

2. In the greased baking dish, layer the parsnips in overlapping layers to cover the dish. Season with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and scatter ½ cup of the cheese mixture over top. Continue this process of layering, seasoning and scattering ½ cup of the cheese mixture with the celery root, sweet potatoes and turnips. Layer the Yukon Gold potatoes last and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Do not top with any cheese.

3. In a small pan, combine the cream with the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, the thyme leaves, garlic and black pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat and pour into the dish over the vegetables. Place a piece of parchment directly over the vegetables and bake until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 45 to 50 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the parsley, sage, olive oil and pepper flakes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and discard the parchment. Scatter the remaining 1 cup of grated cheese over the vegetables, followed by the bread crumb mixture. Return to the oven and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before cutting. Garnish with more parsley and sage, then serve.