Skip to main content

Must-Try Recipes for the : Neighborhood Potluck Picnic

Photo credit: Prairie Wind Family Farms

“We love to gather with friends, family or our fellow farmers to enjoy a potluck picnic. We usually like to bring one salad and one dessert that are easy to pull together, with plenty of room for variation with seasonal vegetables and fruit. Here are a few of my favorites to bring to share, as they hold up well to heat and taste delicious cold or at room temperature,” says Jen Miller, of Prairie Wind Family Farm, in Grayslake.

Garlicky Wheat Berry Salad

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

1½ cups hard wheat berries

¾ cup chopped walnuts, roasted

1½ cup seasonal crunchy vegetables
     (cucumber, radishes, carrots, broccoli), chopped

½ cup currants

1 clove garlic, minced (or 3 garlic scapes)

½ cup finely chopped parsley leaves

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, combine the wheat berries and enough water to come 2 inches over the wheat berries.

Bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for 1 hour or until tender. Drain and let cool.

Toast the walnuts in a medium-dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine garlic, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Add wheat berries, vegetables, currants and walnuts.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Apricot Galette

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

5-6 fresh apricots (preferably firm)

Half a 17¼-oz package frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet)

¼ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup honey

Optional: add a handful of raspberries or blueberries for color

Preheat oven to 425° F. Pit apricots and cut into ⅛-inch-thick wedges.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheet and cut out a 9-inch round.

Transfer round to a buttered, large shallow, baking pan and prick pastry all over with a fork.

Spoon almond mixture evenly over pastry, leaving a ¼-inch border. Decoratively arrange apricot wedges, overlapping them, and top with almonds and honey.

Bake galette in middle of oven until edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Transfer galette to a rack to cool.

 

Recipes courtesy of Jen Miller, of Prairie Wind Family Farm, which grows a wide variety of certified organic vegetables and pasture-raised hens for eggs, and provides fresh fruit to CSA members, delivered to north and western suburban locations, and area farmers’ markets. For more information, a schedule of farm events and to sign up for this year’s harvest, visit PrairieWindFamilyFarm.com., visit ilfma.org.