Thanksgiving Simple

Turkey might take center stage at Thanksgiving—but at our farm, it’s all about the sides.

Here are five takes on classic side dishes from a whole foods perspective. May your Thanksgiving season be both sane and healthy, in equal measure!

Brussels Sprouts with Garlic + Cumin

Brussels sprouts contribute calcium and magnesium in support of nervous and digestive system functions. The cumin seasoning we recommend here supports healthy digestion, while helping to keep your blood sugar level this holiday season.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds Brussels sprouts

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon pasture-raised bacon fat, or olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the Brussels sprouts in half and place them in a wide skillet with a half cup of boiling water. Cover over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, popping in to stir them only if it seems necessary.

Remove the lid and leave the heat at medium-high.

Mince the garlic and stir it in along with the cumin and bacon fat. Promise yourself you’re not going to stir them too much. At this stage, too much eagerness with a spoon will cause your Brussels sprouts to get all rumpled, and the cut faces won’t have a chance to caramelize.

They’re done in another three minutes or so, when the heads give to the point of a sharp knife.

Serves 8 to 10

Black Radish Gratin

Substitute black radishes for potatoes in this little adaptation of an indulgent holiday casserole, and you increase everyone’s intake of powerful antioxidants during the holiday season, while taking the carb load of the starchiest meal of the year down a peg or two.

INGREDIENTS

2.5 pounds Spanish black radishes (about 2 CSA portions)

1 clove garlic

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour (alternative flours are fine)

6 ounces creme fraiche

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan

2/3 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons fresh herbs

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and butter a 2 quart gratin dish that possesses a tight-fitting lid. Smear the buttered sides of the dish with a crushed clove of garlic.

Rinse the black radishes, but don’t peel them. Trim off the roots and a little off the stem end. Slice the radishes rather thinly, as if you were making scalloped potatoes. The 2-mm slicing blade of a food processor is the quickest way to do this.

Arrange the radish slices in your gratin dish, and send them off to the oven early, with just a splash of hot water in the bottom of the dish. Close the lid tight, and let the radishes have a little head start while you mix up the the creamy part.

While the radishes are baking, melt the butter in a medium bowl. I use a microwave for this. Stir the flour, salt and herbs into the melted butter, then add the creme fraiche and cheese.

Pour the cream mixture over the radishes, making sure it gets all the way through to the bottom. If you have some extra cheese and herbs to scatter across the top, more to the good.

Close the lid tight. If your casserole is bursting full, you might want to tent a piece of foil over it rather than cementing the actual lid to the cheesy surface.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the radishes, which are somewhat firmer in texture than potatoes, are soft through, and the topping is golden.

Serves 8 or more

Herbed Roasted Potatoes

You could mash or you could roast. Can you guess which one is easier?

Colorful potatoes are higher in antioxidants and carotenoids than pale-skinned varieties. Toss them in garlic and parsley and you add antimicrobial benefits while boosting the green profile of your traditional meal.

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds potatoes

2 bunches Italian parsley

4 cloves of garlic

3 teaspoons salt (it’s for the cooking water, not the potatoes)

2 tablespoons olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

While you are chopping the potatoes, boil a large saucepan of salted water. Once it’s boiling, throw in the chopped potatoes. Return the pot to a boil, then drain off the water. Your potatoes are going to be a little al dente.

Toss the potatoes with olive oil. If you’re a bacon fat type of cook, some bacon fat is an excellent idea, too.

Dump the drained potatoes out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If the potatoes are filling up the pan like the sidewalks of 5th Avenue at the Macy’s Parade, use 2 baking sheets instead of one. Crowding the pan results in disappointingly not-crispy roasted potatoes.

After about 20 minutes in, add the chopped garlic.

Serve when the potatoes’ skins are crispy outside and the insides are tender at the point of a sharp knife. Garnish with parsley.

Serves 12 to 14

Heirloom Daikon Crudite

Raw heirloom radishes are not the most show-stopping appetizer we know of. They’re also a natural source of hydration, fiber, and antioxidants. Cold-weather cultures the world over love winter radishes not only for their hardiness, but also for their beauty and important nutritional profiles. Heirloom daikon like these Beni Shigure radishes contain 25% of the RDA for vitamin C, and are also high in flavonoids and the cancer-fighting antioxidant sulforaphane. At our house, we love to eat them raw.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 pound purple daikon (or any winter radish)

a pinch of nice salt (our Green Salt is pictured above)

Hummus, herbed soft cheese, or your dip of choice

Rinse the radishes, but don't bother to peel them. All the vegetables from our farm have never been sprayed with anything toxic. Slice them in half (Prime Meridian, not equator) and then make long, thin cuts. Salt and enjoy.

Your favorite dip just got favoriter, didn't it?

These recipes were originally published in our Cook Like a Farmer column in Clean Eating here.