Over the past couple of weeks, we have had the pleasure of welcoming Taconic Hills’ 3rd Grade classes on the farm as the second part of their Full Plate Series. Prior to coming to Katchkie Farm, the 3rd Grade had an in-classroom lesson with Chef Instructor Selina where they learned the fundamentals of knife skills and made rainbow veggie wraps. In their second part of the series, all five 3rd grade classes came out to the farm to further the connection between where food is grown and how to prepare/cook within the kitchen. The dishes we selected for the 3rd-grade class highlighted some seasonal vegetables that they were able to harvest themselves straight from the garden. With all 94 students that came to the farm, we made our Kale, Carrot, and Apple Confetti Salad and Fall Harvest Pasta featuring Butternut Squash. While the salad was a hit the pasta was a slam dunk, one 3rd Grader said “I had 5ths today, that’s how good it was.” We also harvested and added tomatoes from our very own garden to the pasta dish and one 3rd grader was surprised by how good they tasted “these tomatoes are better than the ones you get from the store.” To finish off the series Chef Instructor Selina will visit their classrooms one more time at Taconic Hills where we made tacos using a black bean spread and seasonal vegetable toppings. Students used their skills from the farm to identify the parts of a plant and categorize the vegetables for the tacos.
Apple, Carrot, Kale Confetti Salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 bunch kale (preferably dinosaur kale), cut into chiffonade
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
1 large apple, diced
Preparation
- In a small mixing bowl, combine shallot, juice, honey, and vinegar. Whisk thoroughly, and slowly add oil.
- Pour dressing over kale, apples, and carrots. Mix thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Fall Vegetable Pasta with Parmesan and Lemon
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 bunch chard, leaves chiffonade, stems chopped into ½ pieces
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 cup butternut squash, diced
1 16oz can white beans
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large bunch chives, diced
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, zested and juiced
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 lb pasta
Preparation
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to instructions or until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, bring a large skillet to medium-high heat. Once skillet is hot, add olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add butternut squash and cook till tender. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chard stalks and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and chard leaves, cook till leaves wilt.
- Add the pasta and reserved pasta water to the sauté pan. Simmer until the sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Finish with fresh chives, lemon juice, lemon zest and grated parmesan.
