September!

September - Poem by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lo! a ripe sheaf of many golden days

Gleaned by the year in autumn's harvest ways,

With here and there, blood-tinted as an ember,

Some crimson poppy of a late delight

Atoning in its splendor for the flight

Of summer blooms and joys­

This is September.

Scenes from the farm: cultivating the fall greens, Shay takin easy on the tractor, hoeing in the fall brassicas, a tortellini pepper, and the tomato sorting station (never ending sorting).

The share:

arugula

specialty greens

hakurei turnips

radishes

broccoli raab

onions

carrots

beets

garlic

tomatoes

cherry tomatoes

sweet peppers

hot peppers

eggplant

fingerling potatoes

frisee

escarole

watermelon (we try really really hard to pick them ripe, but it’s not an exact science and we can’t always get it right - we’ll call it watermelon roulette)

One-Pot Baked Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Published December 2017 , Bon Apetit

Ingredients

Kosher salt
12 ounces Fontina and/or aged cheddar cheese
6 garlic cloves
2 large sprigs sage
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage
1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups half-and-half
1 pound ridged medium pasta shells, or large tube pasta, such as lumaconi or rigatoni

Steps

  1. Place racks in center and upper third of oven; preheat to 325°. Heat a large pot of water over high. Add several tablespoons of salt and bring to a boil (this is for your pasta).

  2. Grate 12 oz. Fontina cheese on the large holds of a box grater (you should have about 41⁄2 cups). Smash 6 garlic cloves, peel, and coarsely chop. Pick all sage leaves from stems and set aside about 10. Finely chop remaining leaves (you should have about 1 Tbsp.). Trim tough dried ends from 1 bunch of broccoli rabe, then cut stems into 2" pieces. Leave leafy ends long.

  3. Heat a deep, large, ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Add 1⁄4 cup oil and swirl to coat. Remove 1 lb. sausage from casings and add to skillet. Break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, undisturbed, until sausage is browned, about 4 minutes. Stir a couple of times and continue to cook, undisturbed again, until sausage is fully cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.

  4. Add garlic, chopped sage, and 1⁄2 tsp. red pepper and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes.

  5. Stir in 2 cups half-and-half and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

  6. Gradually add about two-thirds of cheese, bit by bit, stirring constantly and letting cheese melt completely before adding more, until sauce is smooth

    and thick, about 3 minutes; season with salt and remove from heat.

  7. Meanwhile, cook 1 lb. pasta shells in boiling salted water 2 minutes shy of package instructions (8–10 minutes depending on type). During the last 2

    minutes, add all of broccoli rabe to pot with pasta. Drain in a colander and shake several times to remove excess water. Return pasta and broccoli

    rabe to empty pasta pot.

  8. Add cheesy sausage mixture from skillet to pot with pasta. Stir until pasta and broccoli rabe are coated in sauce, then transfer everything back to

    skillet.

  9. Cover skillet tightly with foil and bake on center rack until pasta is tender and sauce is bubbling, 30–40 minutes. Let rest a few minutes while you heat

    broiler.

  10. Remove foil and top with remaining cheese. Toss sage leaves with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl and arrange over pasta. Broil until cheese is

    browned and bubbling in spots, about 5 minutes (depending on strength of broiler).

  11. Let pasta cool a minute or two before serving.

    Recipe by Claire Saffitz

Malaika SpencerComment