Fall Feast
by Marissa Hermanson

Leaf Vegetarian’s Steve Dustin, The Kitchen’s Hugo Matheson and Arugula Bar e Ristorante’s Alec Schuler whip up simple recipes for fall entertaining. Head down to the farmers’ market and pick up fresh, local and organic ingredients to prepare these mouth-watering harvest meals.

Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant’s Organic Farm Salad
(Serves four to six)
Notes: You can very easily pickle more radishes and carrots, and they will last a long time refrigerated to make other salads in the weeks to come.
Ingredients:
1/2-lb pea shoots
1/2-lb Mizuna
6 radishes, large
8 purple carrots, baby
3 heirloom tomatoes, large
25 opal basil leaves, purple
1 qt rice wine vinegar
1/2 C garlic chili sauce, Huey Fong
2 C sugar
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Slice carrots and radishes to desired thickness (recommended 1/4 inch for carrots and 1/8 inch for radishes) and place in separate containers. Mix rice wine vinegar, garlic chili sauce, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Once mixture has boiled pour over radishes and carrots. Set aside until cooled. You have now just pickled radishes and carrots. Cut tomatoes into wedges. Toss tomatoes, pickled radishes, pickled carrots, opal basil leaves, olive oil, three tablespoons pickling liquid from the radishes, salt and pepper to taste.

The Kitchen’s Butternut Squash Soup
(Serves six)
Notes: This can be made with any winter squash, which usually start coming in around October. You’ll need about 1.5 pounds of peeled and chopped flesh, so when buying a squash weigh it and imagine that you will lose a small percentage of the weight.
This recipe involves a very basic technique that can be used for almost any hardy vegetable; just change the seasoning as desired. The Kitchen purees the soup, but you can also serve it unblended. Serve piping hot with a glug of olive oil, grated cheese, or just straight up. You really do need some crusty bread with butter.
Ingredients:
2 T unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
pinch of crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
1 medium butternut squash
a few grates of fresh nutmeg
2 C chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 C heavy cream

Directions:
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add onion, garlic, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, a pinch of salt and a couple of turns of the pepper mill. Cover and leave to sweat for about 15 minutes (you want the onions to be almost melted, without coloring). Add squash and nutmeg, cover again, and sweat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This really brings out the flavors of the vegetables and all the sugars.) Increase heat to medium-high and add stock or water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until everything is very soft. Transfer to a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) and puree to a smooth soup. Return to pot and add cream; heat through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

The Kitchen’s Braised Chickpeas with Tomato and Cumin
(Serves 4)
Notes: This is great as a side or supper dish. The Kitchen actually serves it at brunch with eggs. “I have always prefer to start with dried chickpeas, as you then have a control as to where they end up when cooked. We are fortunate to have farmers nearby who grow a variety of chickpeas, which gives a great variety of colors, textures and flavors,” Matheson says. But if you cannot find something a little different, regular chickpeas will work just as well.

Ingredients:
1/2-lb dry chick peas, soaked in water over night
1 onion, halved
I carrot
1 celery stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 T cumin seeds, light crushed
1 large onion, finely diced
1 16-oz can, best quality tomatoes
1 clove of garlic sliced
a pinch of chili flakes
1/4 C olive oil

Directions:
Cook the chickpeas with water in a large pan and cover.  Add the carrot, celery, onion and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer; they should take about one hour to cook. Just test one and they should be easy to bite. When they are ready, turn off the heat. They will store like this in the liquid for a week in the fridge. It is up to you if you want to discard the veggies. It is nice to mash them up in the braise.
Heat up a large sauté pan, then add the oil, cumin, onion, garlic and chili. Sauté until golden brown and melting. Add the strained chickpeas and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and let simmer for about 30 minutes until the tomatoes have reduced down by half. Check for seasoning, and serve, making this a day ahead. This gives it time to relax and the flavors to come together. Stir in some fresh cilantro at the end. It’s a nice light lift to the dish.

Arugula’s Sausage and Goat Cheese Penne
(Serves 4)
Notes: This dish is a favorite among those who frequent Arugula.
Ingredients:
5 links good raw Italian sausage
1 onion, large
6 Roma tomatoes
3 sage leaves, large
3 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch of parsley
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 C goat cheese (loosely packed)
12-oz. penne pasta
1/4 C olive oil

Directions:
Cook penne in abundant salted water to al dente (not quite cooked thru).  Follow instruction on box for time. At the same time sauté sausage (cut into ¾” coins) and onion (cut vertically in half and then sliced thin). Sauté these ingredients at medium heat in half the olive oil until sausage in almost cooked thru.  Add balsamic vinegar.  At this stage you can turn off heat and hold to coordinate timing with the pasta.

Briefly sauté roughly chopped garlic, torn sage leaves and Roma tomatoes (cut into 1/2” cubes) in the same pan as the sausage and onions. Then add pasta and continue to sauté on low for an additional one to two minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining olive oil, chopped parsley and crumbled goat cheese. Toss and serve!