Opening a CSA box feels similar to the joy of opening a gift, I am never sure what each week's box will hold or what I'll end up making for dinner with it. It is a surprise crafted with love and care.

CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture, is an investment in a farm at the beginning of the growing season that pays off throughout the year. CSAs directly connect farmers and consumers. Traditionally, a CSA is between a farmer and a customer and produce mainly comes from that one farm. I have been getting my CSA from Mountain Food Products, who works with many farmers across Western North Carolina. Their CSA is unique in that they source each box with produce from all around the area and provide a diverse mix of products.

I recently learned from Leah Penniman's incredibly insightful book, Farming While Black, that one of the inventors of CSA was a Tuskagee professor, Dr. Booker T. Whatley. He called it Clientele Membership Club and advocated for diverse pick-your-own operations that produced an assortment of year-round crops. His system allowed consumer members to access produce at 40% supermarket pricing.

Since the pandemic many farmers have seen an increase in people showing an interest in CSA farms. People are concerned about their food source and want to know that they're going to be able to have fresh local food, CSA is such a great way to ensure that.

This meal I am sharing with you today was made almost entirely out of what came in my CSA box in addition to a few staples I always have on hand, such as garlic, olive oil, lemon, vinegar.

What was in my CSA box:

Green Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Cubanelle Peppers, Japanese eggplant (the long skinny bright purple ones), purple potatoes, cilantro, purple spring onion, among other ingredients.

When I know my produce is this fresh, locally grown, in season, and sometimes unique as in most grocery stores don't carry it, I like my cooking to really highlight the produce's flavor rather than over cook it or over season it. I want the vegetables to unapologetically speak for themselves. This recipe really consists of three recipes. Something that is pretty consistent with my style is being able to pair dishes that go well together but can also stand alone. Think tapas.

I will intertwine some of the directions so you can plan and time the meal like I did.

The first recipe that came to my mind while looking at all of these ingredients was romesco. Romesco is typically a nutty red pepper sauce that hails from the Catalonia region of Spain. It's kind of like the combination of a pesto and tomato sauce and pairs well with roasted vegetables. However I didn't have any red peppers just a mixture of green ones, so that's exactly how I improvised. This kind of creative freedom is one of my favorite parts of cooking, it's where great fusion can emerge from traditional recipes.

For the Green Romesco:

1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Cubanelle Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Red Spring Onion or a Shallot
1/2 cup Sliced Almonds (mine were blanched)
2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 of Herbs (Cilantro, Mint, Parsley - you can mix them)

Note: If you don't have these exact ingredients, improvise and experiment with other ingredients. It is always better to use what you have on hand first.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F

Place peppers and garlic cloves in a cast iron pan and drizzle with the olive oil.

Roast for 25 minutes until blistered and softened, halfway through roasting you can roll over the peppers for more even browning. During the last 8 minutes of roasting, scatter the almonds on the cast iron pan letting them lightly brown.

Let cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor (which is my most commonly used kitchen appliance and I've had the same one that I bought myself for my birthday during high school). Add in the herbs, vinegar, and lemon juice.

Using the same pan, I melted butter on the stove over medium heat and sliced the blue potatoes in rounds placing them in the warm butter and slowly letting each side brown. This was a quick and easy vegetable to place on top of the sauce and allowed me to explore using purple and green colored ingredients to make a nutrient dense and aesthetic meal. Another option could be roasted carrots or cauliflower.

While the oven is hot and the peppers are roasting (previous step) you can begin making the next dish:

Roasted Japanese Eggplant:

1 Japanese Eggplant
1/2 Purple Spring Onion, minced - with the green scallion part sliced (can be substitued with shallots and green onions)
1/2 tbsp Ginger, grated
1 Tbs Bonito Flakes
2 tbsp Sesame Seeds, lightly toasted and then ground in mortar and pestle (I used a black and white sesame seed mix with ginger powder from whole foods)
Splash of Soy Sauce and Rice Wine Vinegar

Directions:

Roast Eggplant at 400F turning over every 3-4 minutes for a total of 12 minutes. Place in bowl and top with all of the chopped ingredients and a splash of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

Shishito peppers have a bright peppery taste with a light crunch. They brown and blister beautifully and they pair well with soy sauce or even a creamy option like a tahini sauce. I made these last because they are pretty quick to cook up.

Soy and Lime Shishito Peppers

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat on the stove, coat the pan with olive oil. Once hot, place the peppers on with a splash of soy sauce, lime juice, and lime zest. Toss them around to create more distributed browning and blistering. You can eyeball when you think they are done based on your preference for a lighter and brighter taste or a more cooked and browned taste.