No offensive to the turkey but Thanksgiving is all about the sides. Tart cranberry sauce, warm bread from the oven, stuffed squash; turkey day isn’t complete without the sides. Celebrate the holiday and Long Island’s bounty of local food with these side dishes created by local farmers, food producers and chefs.
Photo: Good Water Farms
Buddha Bowl
Get your servings of vegetables with this side dish. It’s Brendan Davison of Good Water Farms, take on the traditional Buddha Bowl, a bowl of simple pure vegetables with grains and seasoning. The best part is you can customize the recipe to the vegetables you love.
Buddha Bowl from Good Water Farms
Yield: 2 big servings (enough for just a meal)
Ingredients
2 cups of quinoa or brown rice
Root Vegetables: 2 squash, 2 sweet potato, 2 carrots
Microgreens: 3 cups of Bok Choi, Daikon Radish or Red Shiso
1 to 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil or 1 to 2 tablespoons of Tamari Sauce
Sea Salt to taste
Directions:
Use the quinoa or brown rice as a base. Slice and/or grate the root vegetables and place on top of the quinoa or brown rice. Then top with microgreens. Dress with olive oil and sea salt or tamari sauce.
Photo: marekuliaszCranberry Sauce
The tart taste of cranberries is the perfect complement to Thanksgiving turkey. This homemade cranberry sauce recipe from Quail Hill Farms is easy to follow worth the added extra.
Cranberry Sauce from Quail Hill Farms
Yield 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
1 bag fresh cranberries
Juice from 1 orange
1 apple
1 pear
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar or agave
Directions
Put 1-bag fresh cranberries in a pot. Add the juice 1 orange (cut into quarters) and the zest of two of the quarters. Add 1 apple and 1 pear (both peeled and diced), 2 tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground clove, a pinch of salt, and sugar or agave. Add water to barely cover. Bring to a boil and then simmer until it all comes together.
Photo: Carissa’s Breads
Maple Oat Walnut Bread
Local wheat + local oats= a happy miller and baker, according to Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s Breads and the creator of this maple oat walnut bread. In her shop the chewy hint of maple bread includes local wheat and a variety of oats she selected from farmer Pete of Mexcox Bay Dairy Farm. Make the bread at home with this recipe
Maple Oat Walnut Bread from Carissa’s Breads
Ingredients
Bread
5 Cups All Purpose or Bread Flour
1 Cup Oats
1 Tablespoon Dry Yeast
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 3/4 Cups Warm Water
1/3 Cup Dark Amber Maple Syrup
3 Tablespoons Walnut Oil
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
Directions:
Combine 3/4 cup oats with 5 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt & 1 tablespoon yeast.
In a separate bowl mix 1/3 cup syrup, 3 tablespoons walnut oil and 1 3/4 cups warm water.
Stir syrup mixture into flour mixture and continue stirring until just blended. Add walnuts and continue mixing until a soft dough is formed.
Transfer dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly for one minute. Place in a large bowl coated with oil, cover and rest at room temperature one hour.
Punch dough down, then divide in half. Form each half into a loaf shape and place into standard sized, oiled loaf pan. Let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash* and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup oats.
Bake in a 350 F oven until the tops become a golden brown color, about 40 minutes. Allow loaves to cool on wire racks completely.
Can be baked up to 1 day in advance. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
*Egg Wash
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon Water
1 Teaspoon Maple Syrup
1 Pinch Kosher Salt
Mix all ingredients until well combined & salt is dissolved.
Pumpkin Butter
For the pumpkin lovers there will be nothing better then this pumpkin butter from Laura O’Brien of Josephine’s Feast. Put this sweet pumpkin butter on basically anything you want to have a pumpkin taste. Makes a great gift too.
Pumpkin Butter Sweetened with Brown Sugar from Josephine’s Feast
Ingredients
One Thanksgiving pumpkin
2 T butter
Brown Sugar
1/2 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c Lemon Juice
2 t Pumpkin Pie Spices
1 T vanilla
Pectin if needed
Directions
Turn your oven onto 350 degrees. Depending on the size of your pumpkin – slice it in half or in quarters.
Scoop out the seeds – these can be saved, washed, and roasted. We roast ours with Soy Sauce.
Place the pumpkins cut side up in a roasting pan. Add a dollop of butter and sprinkle a scant T of brown sugar over the surface.
Roast in the 350 oven for appox 45 minutes. It really depends on the size of the pumpkin. It is done when a fork easily pierces the pumpkin.
Let the pumpkin rest and cool.
Scoop and weigh out the pumpkin with a kitchen scale.
Use a food mill to puree the pumpkin. If you do not have one a food processor may be used.
A good size pumpkin will yield about 6 to 8 pounds of pumpkin meat. For each pound of pumpkin meat measure out one cup of brown sugar.
In a preserving pan or pot add the pumpkin meat, the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 2t apple pie spices.
Cook on a low heat until the Pumpkin butter coats the back of a spoon. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours cooking on a low flame to prevent scorching. If you prefer a thicker butter you can add 2 pouches of liquid pectin.
The Cornell Cooperative Extension does not advise home canning pumpkin, as the water bath preserving process does not reach the needed temperature for sterilization. Freezing in proper containers with square corners is a much better way to extend your season.
You can still fill canning jars and refrigerated the Pumpkin Butter to give as gifts during the holiday season. But this must be used within 3 weeks.
Photo: South Fork & SpoonStuffed Acorn Squash
Enjoy a taste of the Hamptons with this incredible, vegan, stuffed acorn squash recipe. South Fork & Spoon food concierge service and ANGO farm-to-fork catering teamed up to create the recipe using grapeseed oil, wild rice, kale and more.
Stuffed Acorn Squash from South Fork & Spoon + Ango
Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 Acorn Squash, ideally 1-2 lbs each, halved lengthwise and seeds removed
5 teaspoons or more to taste, Salt
2 teaspoons, Ground Black Pepper
2 cups wild rice
3 oz Grapeseed oil
1 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (stems removed)
4 cups cleaned and rough chopped kale
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons chiffonade ( cut like ribbons) mint leaves
Equipment
Medium sized pot
Fine meshed strainer
Baking sheet
Pepper mill
Sauté pan
Spatula
Large Bowl
Directions
Pre heat the oven to 475
In fine meshed strainer, place rice and run under cold water until clean.
In medium sized pot, add rice + 2 t of salt + 4 cups of cold water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat until rice is simmering. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the water and is cooked. (Note: rice can be cooked up to two days in advance)
On baking sheet, place squash flesh side up and rub with 1 oz grapeseed oil + 2 t of salt + fresh ground pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Use a fork to test for tenderness.
In a separate sauté pan heat 1 oz grapeseed oil on medium-high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms + garlic + 1Ž2 t of salt and sauté until mushrooms are cooked but not browned. Remove from heat and place in large bowl.
In the same sauté pan used for the mushrooms, heat 1 oz of grapeseed oil on medium-high heat. Add kale + 1Ž2 t of salt and cook quickly using tongs or a spatula. Keep the kale moving so it doesn’t brown. Once wilted, remove and place in bowl with shiitake mushrooms.
In bowl, add cooked wild rice + sesame seeds and mix together.
Taste rice mixture and season accordingly
Fill the cooked squash halves with the rice mixture. Garnish with mint
Which Thanksgiving side dish is your family favorite?
