Summer brings us new cravings: lighter, easier on your tummy and your time in the kitchen. Smith Meadows Kitchen has always aimed to bring delicious food for busy families to farmers markets. Here are some ideas for summer with our products:
Steamed and Sautéd Ravioli from Smith Meadows Kitchen
Stir Fried Ravioli: Our ravioli have always been quick– just two minutes in boiling water. If you don’t want to boil water, try sauté-ing our ravioli in a little bit of butter. This makes a crispy appetizer or a new way to top a salad of fresh greens and vegetables. If you are combining our ravioli with some early summer veggies you can steam both all at once in a rice cooker. Ravioli take about 8-10 minutes to steam as do many vegetables that are just coming into season right now.
Roast-Beef-Sandwich
Cold Roasted Meats: Many people have no idea what to do with a sirloin tip. Here’s my favorite way to use a large tender roast for the summer. When you are planning to be in the garden on an early summer morning, roast one of our sirloin tip or eye of round roasts in an oven on 350. It only takes a little bit of preparation and planning. Check a good basic cookbook (Joy of Cooking) for exact cooking times. I like my roasts medium rare. One of our 1.5lb eye of round roast should take just under an hour in the oven. The sirloin tips that weigh closer to 2.5 lbs should take an hour and 25 minutes or so. First sear the roast on all sides and edges for a few seconds until you hear a sizzle. Then slather the roast with a garlic, olive oil and herb paste. Place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan that has 1 cup of water, wine or broth in the bottom. Set your timer. While you weed and water the garden the roast can cook. Remove from the oven and let the roast rest for 10 minutes. Sliced thin, this meat can be kept in the fridge for sandwiches for 4-5 days.
Pork and Beef Rillette from Smith Meadows
Tell us what you think…
We brought a new product to market this season called Rillette. We even had you taste some at farmers markets, but we’d love to know more about your reaction. Rillette is well known in France and Canada. The English word for it is potted meat. Basically, it’s a way to make something of cuts normally used in the Fall and Winter in warm weather months. Here is how we described them on our menu.
Beef Rillette- The perfect picnic charcuterie made from slow braised beef that has been marinated in a special blend of pickling spices. Served cold on crusty french bread along with a fresh salad– it is divine! ($10/8oz. tub)
Pork Rillette- The perfect picnic charcuterie made from slow braised pork that has been marinated in a special blend of pickling spices. Served cold on crusty french bread along with a fresh salad– it is divine! ($10/8oz. tub)
As always, I love coming up with new dishes to bring to market. Let me know what you think by commenting on this post. If you try one of our recipes mentioned here, let us know how it turned out.
