Matthew's Autumn Flavors Box

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Newsletter & Recipes October 17th - 18th 2012

My Name is Matthew Armistead; I am from Blackburn in the North West of England. I

moved to Los Angeles 4 years ago with my family and work as a chef. I have been a

chef for 17 years and started cooking mainly because I love eating. Preparing food and

sitting around the table spending time with family and friends has always been the

most important and constant part of our daily life, and what bring us together as family,

friends and community. I believe people who use Out of the Box will hold these same

values and that home cooking, supporting local farmers/producers is crucial to

addressing the environmental, health, and social issues that we face in our communities

today.

The recipes I have put together are all dishes I would cook at home and have also been

included on my menus at some time. The recipes aren’t too chefy, but a couple (the

lamb and chicken) take a bit of time to cook. I try to have an afternoon when I cook and

stock the fridge. There is nothing better than coming home and simply reheating a stew

or soup that you have previously made, and are also great for school lunch. You can

feel confident your kids have good food - whether they choose to eat it or not is a

different story.

The theme for the menus is autumn, but as with any menu writing,

the starting point is always what is available. With the weather

getting slightly cool and the days shorter, it’s comforting to

tuck into a stew or a warming soup and the salad leaves go to

the hardier winter leaves such as escarole and radicchio. I

hope you enjoy the recipes, and can all spend time with your

loved ones around the table.

Matthew’s Autumn Flavors Box

Our much-loved Thanksgiving Boxes are now available to pre-order while supplies last. This year, we are working with rock and roll butchers Lindy & Grundy, who are sourcing local, pastured Heritage turkeys for us. Everything you need for the meal, ingredients, mealplan, and stratetgically planned pre-prepped courses (stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish, pies), all delivered to your doorstep. Make your life easy this year, and support your local stewards of the land while you’re at it! ORDER HERE

$8.50 in the store

Recipes

Cinnamon spiced Lamb shanks with cranberry beans Chicken cacciatore Shakshuka with Breakfast steak Roasted carrots and beets, avocado, pumpkin seeds & cilantro Dahl and Pumpkin Soup Pear, Escarole, Point Reyes Blue, celery hearts, & almond salad Simple Apple Crumble Potato, radicchio & sage al forno with pan fried Cobia

Matt Armistead

more on 2

Braised chicken with coriander (Chile)

Ingredients: 3 tbsp vegetable oil 3 to 4-lb chicken - rinsed,patted dry and cut into 8 serving pieces Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 1 cup coarsely chopped onion 4 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 tsp dried oregano 2 tbsp plain flour 1 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup packed finely minced coriander leaves 1 finely sliced chilli (seeds kept in) Method: 1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat 2. Add the chicken and cook until browned all over 3. Season with salt and black pepper 4. Transfer the chicken to a large plate while you saute the onion and garlic 5. Scrape the juices out of the frying pan into a larger cooking pot. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and saute over medium heat for 2 minutes 6. Add the chicken to the pot, along with the oregano and flour and stir 7. Pour the broth and wine into the pot, cover, and simmer over low heat until the chicken is just done 8. Just before serving, stir the coriander into the sauce and sprinkle with chopped chilli Score: GOL

Grilled ginger chicken wings (Cambodia)

Ingredients:

900g chicken wings

2 Out of the Box Collective


October 17th -18th

This week, we ordered potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic – from Weiser Family Farm based in Tehachapi. Alex, whose parents started the farm, has made it his mission to create a bio-diverse farm applying sustainable farming techniques to supply people with unique fruits and vegetables at their peak, rather than picked for commercial usage. Today, Weiser Family Farms grows in the Greater Bakersfield area, Tehachapi and the Lucerne Valley, and is much loved by the LA-area chefs.

This Blue cheese recently won Best Cheese or Dairy Product at the 2011 Fancy Food Show in Washington DC.

Creamy, layers of full flavor. All natural and made with raw milk, Original Blue is Kosher-certified, gluten-free and made with microbial (vegetarian) rennet. Tasting Note: Sweet, fresh milk with a medium-to-strong punch of blue flavor Uses: A great Cheese Course blue, perfect for salads, dressings, dips, in a sauce for steak and grilled vegetables

Farmer Profile: Alex Weiser

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Pot Pies from Pig & Pastry! Yay, this week our Regional Specialty is delicious Pot Pies made by Melissa, the manager of Lindy Grundy! Made with pastured beef or chicken these are beauties and will be made available as add-ons in our online store.

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INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover the pot pie loosely with foil, and put it on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover the pie, and turn the oven up to 425. Bake for 15-20 minutes more, until the top is well browned.



October 17th -18th

Box Contents • Not included in the Couple’s Box • **‘Add-on’ option. Please go to www.outoftheboxcollective.com if you are interested ***

Roots Vegetables Fruit

• Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes (Weiser Farms)

• Garlic (Weiser) • Lucerne Onions (Weiser)* • Mixed Carrots (Weiser) • Mixed Beets (Weiser) • Ginger (Anthony Chan)

•Brown Beech Mushrooms (Milliken) •Early Girl Tomatoes (Tutti Frutti) •Fennel (Garden Of…)* •Celery (Garden Of…) •Mixed Peppers (Shepherd) •Sugar Pie Pumpkin (Lane)

•Avocadoes (Hilltop & Canyon) •Fuji Apples (Fair Hills) •Pears (Frog Hollow)* •Pomegranate (Somers) •Lemon (Hilltop & Canyon) •Valencia Oranges (Somers)

Leafy Greens Extra Fruit ** Meat & Eggs

• Radicchio Traviso (Maggie’s Greens) FISH-ONLY

•Escarole (Florabella)

•Tuscan Kale (Domingos)

• Extra Apples and Oranges • Pineapple Guava (Goodland) • Granny Smith Apples (Fair Hills) • Grapes (Old River) • Giant Persimmons (Avila)

• Chicken Legs (Dey Deys) • Lamb Shanks (Jimenez) • Breakfast Steak (Dey Deys) • Eggs (Dare to Dream/Peacock)*

Herbs Dairy Regional Specialty

• Bouquet Garni (Earthtrine) • Syrian Marjoram* (Earthtrine…) • Cilantro (Earthtrine)

• Pastured Butter (Organic Valley)

• Point Reyes Blue Cheese

Pot pies (Pig & Pastry)

Juice Grain/ Pulse Nuts, Seeds or Dried Fruit

Orange Juice – Somers Ranch Valencia Oranges

• Cranberry Beans (Two Peas in a Pod)

• Walnuts (Avila)

Fair Trade Catch of the Week ** New Customer/ Referral Gift

Cinammon Quills (Spicy Gourmet)

Cobia (Kanaloa Seafood) Radicchio

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October 17th -18th

Cinnamon Spiced Lamb Shanks with Shelling Beans

Ingredients: 2 lamb shanks sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cinnamon quill 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 sprig fresh rosemary 1 tsp dried marjoram or oregano 1 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 large carrot, quartered and finely sliced 3 sticks of celery, quartered and finely sliced 2 medium/large onions, quartered and finely chopped Potatoes 1 tbs balsamic vinegar 170ml / 6fl oz dry white wine 4 anchovy fillets (opt) 2 x14oz tins of plum tomatoes 1 handful of fresh, marjoram or flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Season the lamb with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Smash up the coriander seeds and dried chili and mix with the chopped rosemary and dried marjoram. Roll the lamb in this mixture, pressing it in well. Dust the lamb with the flour.

Heat a thick-bottomed casserole pan, add the oil, brown the meat on all sides and then remove from the pan. Add the cinnamon stick, garlic, carrot, celery, onions and a pinch of salt and sweat them until softened. Add the balsamic vinegar and allow it to reduce to syrup. Pour in the white wine and allow simmering for 2 minutes. Add the anchovies (these really seem to intensify the lamb flavor) and then add the tinned tomatoes, kept whole. Shake the pan and return the lamb to it. Bring to the boil, put on the lid and simmer in the oven at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further 1/2 hour. Skim off any fat and taste for seasoning. Finally stir in a handful of roughly chopped fresh, marjoram or flat-leaf parsley.

Add some potatoes half way through cooking, simply clean them and throw them in whole or halved. Check the liquid level, you may need to add a cup of water.



October 17th -18th Cranberry Beans

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After soaking your beans for a few hours, place in an earthenware container and cover with water. Add anything you choose. Tomato, fresh chill pod, whole garlic, herbs, potato, celery sticks, carrot, olive oil. Think of them as aromatics to help flavor. Cover with foil or lid and bake until the beans are soft – since they are very fresh, it’s hard to guess if they will be done as soon as 30ish mins @ 350°F – but they could take up to 90 minutes, just check on them from time to time and be careful they don’t dry out. When they are cooked, remove the veg, drain and dress with vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper.

The beans would go great with the lamb but would also make a great light meal on their own with the Tuscan kale or sautéed escarole. Blanch the kale and squeeze out most of the water, not all. Roughly chop, fry some sliced garlic in olive oil and add the kale. I like to smash the beans up a bit with the back of a fork.

Eat the warm beans and kale on grilled toast with lashings of good olive oil. Yum

(continued)



October 17th -18th

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs

4 carrots cut in1inch pieces

½ cup olives

½ cup flour

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion chopped ¼ inch dice

2 chili pods dried (optional)

2 bay leaves

¼ lb pancetta or smoked bacon cut into lardons (optional)

8oz brown beech mushrooms

2 tablespoons tomato paste

chicken stock

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups white wine

1 can tomato sauce

chopped parsley

salt & pepper

Directions:

Cacciatore means hunter or “catcher”: traditionally the stew would consist of what was caught -- often rabbit, hares or small birds.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy saute pan, then remove.

Add pancetta/bacon, onion, carrot, and chili cook until soft. Then add mushrooms. Quickly sauté then add tomato paste and sugar into pan, caramelize, add wine, reduce by half.

Add tomato sauce, chicken & chicken stock. Cook @ 350°F until soft and done. Add chopped parsley to finish.

Serve with rice or potatoes and one of the beautiful salads below.

Chicken Cacciatore



October 17th -18th

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Shakshuka with Breakfast Steak

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Ingredients for the chicken:

½ tsp cumin seeds

190ml light olive oil or vegetable oil

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

2 red and 2 yellow peppers, cored and cut into 2cm strips

4 tsp muscovado sugar

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs thyme, picked and chopped

2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

½ tsp saffron strands

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Up to 250ml water

8 eggs

A North African dish, some add preserved lemon, or feta so if you have any leftover from past weeks, put some in, not usually served with steak but a great combo for brunch with the amazing Dare to dream eggs.

In a large saucepan, dry-roast the cumin on high heat for two minutes. Add the oil and sauté the onions for two minutes. Add the peppers, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and two tablespoons of cilantro, and cook on high heat to get a nice colour. Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, adding enough water to keep it the consistency of a pasta sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be potent and flavoursome. You can prepare this mix in advance.

Place four saucepans on medium heat and divide the mixture between them. Break two eggs into each pan, pouring into gaps in the mixture. Sprinkle with salt, cover and cook very gently for 10-12 minutes, until the egg just sets. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with chunky white bread.

Quickly fry or grill the breakfast steak to your temp and serve with the shakshuka.

Independence Day Box July 5th, 2012

Ingredients:

4 Beets any color (red, gold or stripy)

6-8 carrots

1 avocado

3-4 tomatoes

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

½ cup pumpkin seeds (save them from your pumpkin, clean, and toast!)

small bunch cilantro

Roasted Carrots and Beets, Avocado, Pumpkin Seeds & Cilantro

Quantities are only a guide, as with any salad use however much you need for the amount of people eating.

Cover the beets with water and boil until tender (20-30mins depending on the size). You should be able to insert a knife and feel very little resistance. When they are cooked leave them to cool in the water. I find they are easier to peel if you do so.

While the beets are cooking pre heat oven 350°F, peel the carrot and chop into rough 1 inch size pieces, cut into irregular sizes. Dress the carrot in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, roast in a hot oven until tender. Add a splash of water or vinegar to the carrots as they cook. It will help them to cook through without getting to much color. Taste for doneness or however you like. You may like to have a bit of crunch still, I prefer them cooked through.

When the beets are cool enough to handle lift them out of the water. The skins should easily come off with just a gentle squeeze. Cut them into the same size pieces as the carrots and while they are still warm dress them with a splash of sherry vinegar. Leave them to marinate for a few minutes.

4 Now add the carrots and toss the beets and carrots together, season and dress, don’t worry that the beets bleed into the carrot. Finely chop the stems of cilantro and add them, save the picked leaves as garnish.

5 Cut the avocado and tomato into bite size pieces add them to the carrots and beets and gently mix with a few pumpkin seeds, finish with the cilantro leaf.



October 17th -18th

Pear, Escarole, Point Reyes Blue, Celery Hearts, & Almond salad

Ingredients:

Inner leaves of the escarole roughly chopped

1 bulb of fennel, sliced thin as possible (use a mandolin or a peeler)

1 pear or apple

Celery heart and leaves

Point Reyes Blue Cheese

lemon & olive oil dressing

Salt and pepper

Belgian endive, escarole, and radicchio are all chicories. They are related to lettuces, but have sturdier leaves and a more assertive flavor famous for its bitter edge. They are cool weather crops (heat makes them bolt and turn unpleasantly bitter) typically planted in late summer and harvested in late fall and early winter.

Use chicories either in salads or cook them to mellow their flavors. If you have the griddle pan, you could grill the escarole or pear for this salad both would be delicious alternatives, Cut into wedges attached at the root, toss with a little oil salt and pepper and put them onto a hot grill.

The paler inner leaves of the escarole are better suited to salad as they are less bitter. Use the outer darker leaves to sauté with garlic.

This works best if you think of it as a chopped salad. I find it delicious to have all the flavors and textures in one mouthful. The bitterness of the escarole needs to be balanced by the sweet fruit, salty cheese and the cleanness of fennel and lemon.

Build the salad as you go, chop everything bite size so it can all be eaten with just a fork. I squeeze lemon over then add olive oil to make the dressing, taste and adjust as necessary.

Pomegranate would be a great addition to this salad. The easiest and quickest way to get the seeds out, is to cut the pomegranate in half, hold a half in your hand cut side facing down and bash the flesh with a large spoon . You will get every one out in no time.



October 17th -18th

Dahl and Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

Makes 4 good-size bowls

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

A walnut-sized knob of ginger

8 oz split red lentils (omit if you don’t have any in your pantry)

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground chili

9 oz pumpkin (sugar pie)

small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

For the onion topping:

2 medium onions

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 small hot chilies (I used chili flakes, not having any fresh

1. Peel the onion and chop it roughly. Peel and crush the garlic and put it with the onion into a medium-sized, heavy saucepan. Peel the ginger, cut it into thin shreds and stir that in too. Add the lentils and pour in 1 1/2 liters (6 cups) of water. Bring to the boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir in the ground turmeric and chili, season and leave to simmer, covered, for twenty minutes.

2. While the soup is cooking, bring a medium-size pan of water to the boil. Peel the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and fiber, and then cut the flesh into fat chunks. Boil the pumpkin pieces for ten minutes, until they are tender enough to take a skewer without much pressure. Drain them and set aside.

3. To make the onion topping, peel the onions and cut them into thin rings. Cook them in the oil in a shallow pan until they start to color. Cut the chilies in half, scrape out the seeds and slice the flesh finely. Peel and finely slice the garlic and add it with the chilies to the onions. Continue cooking until the onions are a deep golden brown. Set aside.

4. Remove the lid from the lentils and turn up the heat, boiling hard for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and then add the drained pumpkin. Put the soup through the blender until smooth, and then pour it into a bowl. Stir in the roughly chopped coriander and check the seasoning. I find this soup likes a more generous than usual amount of salt.

5. Serve in deep bowls with a spoonful of the spiced onions on top.



October 17th -18th

Simple Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

For the crumble:

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

¼ cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

For the filling:

1 lb fuji apples, peeled, cored and quartered

3 tablespoons white granulated sugar

Juice and zest of ½ a lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel and core the apples, quarter and cut in to chunks.

Put the apples into a pan with the sugar, water lemon and zest. Cook over a low heat for 5 minutes and place in a small ovenproof dish.

Place the flour, oats and nuts in a bowl and mix well. Cut the butter into small cubes and add this to the oats and flour. Mix with your fingertips until it resembles an even crumb texture. Add the sugar and cinnamon, mix through.

Cover the fruit with the crumble mixture. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the crumble is golden and the apple hot. Eat with vanilla ice cream



October 17th -18th

Potato, Radicchio & Sage Al Forno with Pan-Fried Cobia

Ingredients:

1lb Russian banana fingerlings unpeeled

1 radicchio roughly chopped

olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

20g sage leaves

sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350c

Cut the potatoes lengthways into 1/4 inch slices and rinse in cold water to soak off the starch. Dry the potatoes. Place the potatoes into a large bowl and toss with salt and pepper.

Add the garlic, sage, and radicchio, 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, and toss in with the sliced potatoes.

Place on a lined baking tray and cover with foil before cooking in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, and return to the oven to brown for a further 5 minutes.

Season the cobia and pan fry. Serve with the potatoes and radicchio

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Matthew's Autumn Flavors Box