Veggie of the Moment: Purple Cauliflower

 

       Purple Cauliflower: Saute, steam, roast, soup or salad!

Iron Skillet Brussels Sprouts

 

Iron Skillet + Brussels Sprouts + Heat + Oil 

This minimalist recipe requires only four ingredients and proceeds from beginning to end in a heavy black cast iron skillet, an inexpensive, indestructible and versatile kitchen tool. The thick bottom and sides of the skillet conduct and radiate heat evenly and intensely, making it ideal for oven roasting.

Brussels sprouts need little adornment to taste great, and roasting them brings out their sweet flavor. Select fresh, compact, brightly colored Brussels sprouts which are relatively uniform in size. 

Trim off the stems if they are very thick or gritty, then slice sprouts in half. If sprouts are large, make a small additional cut at the base of each half to facilitate cooking. Leaves which separate during slicing can be sprinkled on top of the cut halves before they go into the oven.

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, stemmed and halved

3- 4 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt to taste

cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium flame and place sprouts cut side down in pan.

Saute for about 3 minutes or until cut sides are lightly browned; stir gently with a fork and add a bit more olive oil if needed.

Place skillet in oven and roast for roughly 10 - 15 minutes until sprouts are tender and browned to your taste.

Remove skillet from oven and allow sprouts to rest for a few minutes to develop their sweetness.

Serve straight from the pan, garnished with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

 

Spigariello? It's not an opera!

With the current proliferation of local farmer's markets across the country comes the opportunity to discover unusual varieties of produce which one would not find in commercial markets. A recent revelation is this lovely Spigariello, an heirloom Italian kale in the brassica family. Its full name as listed in seed catalogues is "Cavolo Broccolo Spigariello Foglia Riccia".

Like Lacinato kale (above), Spigariello is tender and uniquely flavorful, with small dark blue-green leaves. It can be sauteed, steamed, eaten raw in salad and smoothies or added to soups and stews. Both varieties are subtle in taste with no hint of bitterness and are more delicate than the common curly kale which has become popular of late.

There is nothing mysterious or difficult about preparing leafy greens. Lightly sauteing them in olive oil creates a flavorful nutritious dish in minutes. The only tools needed are a knife, a cutting board and a skillet.

How to saute a dark leafy green vegetable in olive oil:

Rinse the greens and shake off or blot excess water. If the leaves have thick central stems, cut them away from the leaves. Chop the stems into small pieces. Then stack the leaves and slice; thin slices will cook more quickly than thick. Remember that the volume of the greens will reduce greatly during cooking, so judge the quantity you begin with accordingly.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet-  just enough to cover the surface of the pan. Add the chopped stems first, since they are denser and need a little more cooking time. After a minute or two, add the leaves and continue to saute over a medium flame, stirring occasionally until just tender; this should take only three or four minutes. Taste the greens. If they are not tender enough, continue cooking another minute or so. Add a bit more olive oil if the greens are sticking to the pan.

Serve sauteed greens immediately in a preheated bowl, sprinkled with a little sea salt to taste and perhaps some freshly ground black pepper. 
 

Cavolo Broccolo Spigariello Foglia Riccia

                                

Black Orca? Calypso? Vaquero? It's a bean.

Black Orca, Calypso, Vaquero, Yin Yang; these are all names for this attractive black and white speckled heirloom bean which is a member of the Phaseolus vulgaris family.  In recent years many varieties of heirloom beans have become widely available and are prized for their beauty, smooth texture and subtle flavor.

Humans have cultivated beans since the advent of agriculture millennia ago. For many cultures they are the primary source of protein and other essential nutrients and are eaten at almost every meal. In subsistence farming communities, beans are cooked daily under very rudimentary conditions, often over an open fire. To create richly flavorful beans, all that is needed is a pot with a lid, a source of heat and a few simple ingredients.

Home Cooked Heirloom Beans:
 
Soaking time: Overnight or 6-8 hours.
Assembly time: Less than five minutes.
Cooking time: About one hour.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried heirloom beans, soaked and rinsed
5 cups fresh water
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste).

Method:

Sort through beans and remove any foreign matter.  Place beans in a heavy bottomed pot and add enough water to cover. While soaking they will absorb some of the liquid so there should at least one inch of water above the level of the beans.  Soak overnight or for 6-8 hours. (You can skip the soaking and plan on extra simmering time.)

Drain beans and add fresh water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat, add bay leaves, garlic cloves and onion. (The garlic and onion can be peeled before or after cooking.) Simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy.  Stir occasionally and make sure beans are not sticking and are mostly covered in liquid; add a little water if necessary. Cooking time is roughly one hour depending on the freshness of the beans.

When beans are tender, turn off heat. Remove bay leaves and garlic cloves. Mash garlic cloves in a bowl with some beans and their broth, mix well and stir back into the pot. Add sea salt, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve warm beans in their savory broth, garnished with freshly cracked black pepper. Any steamed or braised leafy green will compliment this dish.

Grasping the Stinging Nettle

The sting of the nettle (Urtica dioica) is caused by three substances contained in its tiny hollow needles: acetylcholine, histamine and 5 hydroxytryptamine. Contact with the needles can create an unpleasant burning, itchy skin rash in most people. The Latin verb urere means "to burn" from which  the nettle derives its botanical name.

A common wild plant found throughout North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia, the nettle's sting has not deterred humans from gathering it for use as food, tea and medicine for thousands of years. Its fibers have been woven into cloth; today there is renewed interest in uses for this plentiful fiber.

Like many edible wild greens, the nettle plant is highly nutritious, containing valuable antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and an unusual quantity of protein for a leafy green. Brief cooking neutralizes the sting; thus the nettle becomes edible when steamed, sauteed, added to soups or other cooked dishes.


Nettles are now being cultivated by growers in California and I recently discovered some beautifully fresh ones at my local farmer's market. I prepared them using a simple technique which takes no more than five minutes and can be used to cook many varieties of  leafy greens.

Cooking the Nettle:
 
Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a cast iron skillet, and using tongs or chopsticks to handle the nettles, pile them into the pan over a medium flame. Although an entire produce bag of nettles may look like a lot, they will quickly reduce in size as they heat.  Keep adding more nettles until they all fit into the skillet, pressing them down gently with the tongs.

With a kitchen shears roughly cut the longer stems into manageable segments. Stir the nettles and sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of rice wine and a few tablespoons of water; the resulting steam will quickly complete the cooking process. By now the nettles will be tender and much reduced in volume. Immediately transfer them to a warm serving dish. Garnish with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

       
                                                                    

"Grasping the nettle" means to confront a problem head on. Linguists posit that this expression is derived from the notion that one is less likely to get stung by the nettle if it is grasped firmly in the hand rather than handled timidly; this flattens the tiny needles making it less likely that they will puncture the skin and inject their irritants.

Hoshi Shiitake: A Little Mushroom Magic

Edible mushrooms have been a vital source of nutrition for Homo sapiens for thousands of years.  Millenia before humans began farming they foraged for wild mushrooms as they wandered forests and grasslands. Under the proper conditions mushrooms grow quickly in great abundance; to this day they are sought for their exceptional flavor, nutrients and health promoting qualities.

Hoshi Shiitake (literally "dry wood mushroom")  are among my most treasured kitchen staples, especially during cool weather when my thoughts turn toward warmer fare. A few shiitakes can add almost magically delicious depth and complexity (umami) to simple vegetable dishes.

Although produce markets offer many varieties of fresh mushrooms, I much prefer the dried ones, which are far more flavorful and can be conveniently stored for months without any loss of quality or nutrients. I don't think of dried shiitakes as a lesser substitute for fresh; they are simply in a category of their own with unique culinary characteristics.

Many groceries sell packaged dried shiitakes. Look for those which have thick, plump caps and which display the characteristic markings seen in the photo above. A one pound package of shiitakes will make many meals; most recipes require only a handful at most. (Sliced dried mushrooms should be avoided, as their quality is inferior).

Dried shiitakes must be re-hydrated before cooking; this requires a bit of planning but is simple to do. Rinse the mushrooms in cool water to remove any extraneous material, then place in a glass or ceramic  bowl with enough fresh water to cover. I rarely soak them for more than one hour but some sources recommend up to eight hours for best flavor and texture. They can be stored overnight in the fridge while soaking. 

Once the mushrooms have softened, remove from water. Squeeze one at a time with your hands to remove remaining liquid. Don't discard the soaking water; it is highly flavorful and can used as stock. Place the mushrooms on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice to the desired thickness. If the stems are very tough, set them aside for use in long simmered dishes.

Hoshi shiitake have a multitude of uses. In Japanese cooking they appear in miso soup and rustic vegetable stews, and are added to rice dishes. I have used them in the mushroom barley soup made by my mother and grandmother - although they prepared it with the highly prized aromatic dried Russian mushrooms which were always kept on hand. Recently I have added thinly sliced shiitakes to black beluga lentils and also to home made tomato sauce, with excellent results.


Remove dried shiitakes from their original package, place in a clean glass jar and store in a cool dark place. They will keep for many months, always on hand for a little culinary mushroom magic.

Basic Black: Beluga Lentils

These beautiful tiny black lentils, which are named for the Beluga caviar they resemble, are deeply flavorful and high in protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Lentils require no pre-soaking and since Belugas are so small, they cook thoroughly in thirty minutes or less. A batch prepared ahead of time can be stored for several days in the fridge,  ready to become a satisfying meal in minutes. 

Basic Black Beluga Ingredients:

3 cups black beluga lentils
6 + cups fresh water
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Method:

 Place lentils and water in a heavy pot with a well fitting lid. Bring to a boil, then lower flame so that lentils are gently simmering. Add garlic, cloves and bay leaves. Cover and allow to simmer for about thirty minutes. If you have a flame tamer, place it between the burner and the pot to distribute heat evenly and prevent scorching.

Stir lentils occasionally and add a little water if needed. Lentils are done when tender.  Remove garlic cloves and place in a bowl. Mash the cloves with a fork; the garlic skins will separate easily. Stir the mashed garlic back into the pot. Add sea salt to taste. While lentils are still hot, place them in clean glass jars and cover tightly. Lentils handled this way will keep well in the fridge for up to one week.

Serving suggestions:

1. Steam or saute any dark leafy greens which you have on hand; serve with hot lentils.
2. Chiffonade a stack of leafy greens. Place the ribbons in a layer on top of lentils as they heat in a covered pot. When greens have wilted, remove and serve with lentils.
3. Puree lentils in blender, thinning with some water or plain unsweetened nut milk. Heat and serve.
4. Toss a few tablespoons of chilled lentils into your favorite raw salad.

Garnishes:

Try any one or a combination of these garnishes: Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, chopped red, orange or yellow sweet pepper, dried red pepper flakes, freshly ground black peppercorns, chopped cilantro, parsley or basil leaves. When sweet corn is is season, remove kernels (cooked or raw) from cob and add to lentils.

Black Belugas, ready to heat and eat.

Got Chard? Chiffonade!

Although kale dominates the leafy green spotlight these days, chard deserves equal attention for its delicate flavor, plentiful nutrients and versatility.  Red, yellow and white stemmed chard are now in season; all make excellent eating. Simplicity of preparation is key to bringing out chard's unique qualities.

A sharp knife and a little dexterity are all that are required to create a chiffonade. (The word is French for "rags"). This technique is useful for preparing many leafy greens such as cabbage, collards, bok choy, arugula, mustard greens and of course, kale. Thinly sliced greens cook quickly and are pleasing to the eye and palate.

Chiffonade of Chard With Leek:

1 bunch fresh chard, cut into chiffonade
2- 3 tablespoons leek, white and green part, cut into chiffonade
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash chard leaves and shake off excess moisture. Don't discard the chard stems! Cut the stems away from the leaf, trim any rough ends and dice.  They will add texture and color to the dish.

Stack chard leaves and roll into a cylinder. Place the rolled up leaves on a cutting board. While holding the cylinder securely with one hand, carefully slice crosswise as thinly as possible. The finer the chiffonade ribbons are cut the more quickly the chard will cook.

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet. Add the chard stems and leek and saute, stirring gently for a minute or two until leek is fragrant. Add chard leaves and continue to saute on medium heat until chard is just tender. This should take another two or three minutes, depending on how finely sliced the leaves are. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste, toss and remove from heat. A medium bunch of chard will yield roughly two servings.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve chard warm or at room temperature.  If desired, garnish with freshly ground black pepper, or a handful of toasted almonds, pine nuts or sunflower seeds.

The chiffonade may be prepared ahead of time; it will keep well for a few days in the fridge.  It's a great addition to home cooked lentils or black beans.  For a complete meal in a bowl, heat the legumes and top each individual serving with a few tablespoons of chiffonade.

Cooking with Pressure: Fast, Healthy, Flavorful

Most younger Americans have probably never seen a pressure cooker, let alone used one. Pressure cookers had their heyday in the 1940's following their introduction at the 1939 New York World's Fair, but they were soon supplanted by the huge wave of convenience foods which swept the country in the 1950's, when most of those old cookers were relegated to basements and attics and forgotten.

But pressure cookers retained a place of honor in kitchens throughout much of Europe, South America, North Africa and India, where they are valued for making flavorful healthy meals which are also remarkably fuel and time efficient. The most beautifully designed sleek, safe and durable pressure cookers like the Italian one in the photo are made by European manufacturers; these contemporary stainless steel models last for a lifetime and are a pleasure to use.

Today the pressure cooker is again gaining recognition in the U.S. among cooks who appreciate the intense, concentrated and pure flavors created by relatively brief cooking under pressure. Dense vegetables like beets, winter squash, carrots and potatoes cook in roughly one third the time required by conventional cooking methods, as do legumes, brown rice, barley and other whole grains. Savory vegetable stews, soups and sauces which normally require slow cooking can be prepared in minutes using a single pot from start to finish.

I acquired my first Italian pressure cooker in 1982 and have used it year round since then. In warm weather I prepare garbanzo beans or white beans to use in fresh green salads with ripe tomatoes and herbs. In autumn when apples and pears are plentiful, I make apple- pear sauce with cinnamon and ginger; in winter, black beans and spicy red bean chile are often on the menu. Winter and summer, this dependable kitchen tool keeps the pressure in the pot where it belongs, and out of the kitchen.

Garden State Salad Dressing (Oh New Jersey!)

As a native of the Garden State (home of the best tomatoes in the western world) one of the first things I learned to make in the kitchen was salad dressing. Making your own is one of the easiest kitchen tasks imaginable; home made is fresher tasting, more flavorful and far healthier than anything from a bottle.

When I began mixing up my first salad dressings, no one had ever heard of balsamic vinegar, raspberry- infused vinegars or extra virgin olive oil; red wine vinegar and olive oil were what we knew and always kept on hand. You may use apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or rice vinegar if you prefer. Dried herbs work well in this recipe, as long as they haven't been on your shelf for too long. If you have fresh oregano or marjoram, crush the leaves a bit before adding them to the dressing.

Oil and vinegar recipes usually call for a ratio of 3 parts oil to one part vinegar; in this recipe the proportions are reversed because I just don't like that much oil on my salad. You may adjust the oil - vinegar ratio to your preference. After making this recipe a few times, you'll learn to portion out the oil and vinegar without a measuring spoon. Here's all that's needed to make a delicious simple oil and vinegar dressing:

a glass jar which holds about 1+1/2 cups, with tight fitting lid
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 or 3 pinches dried oregano or marjoram
1 or 2 pinches sea salt

Place all ingredients in jar, close tightly and shake vigorously. Dip a piece of whatever leafy green is handy into the dressing; taste and adjust seasoning. If the dressing is too sharp, add a tablespoon of water.

Serve on your favorite leafy green salad, sliced ripe tomatoes, or on steamed vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, green beans, or Yukon Gold potatoes. Dressing will keep in the fridge for several days; shake well before serving.

In Praise of Yukon Gold

It's not my intention to dismiss the potatoes of my childhood as less than memorable; baked, roasted, mashed, or stewed, they were delicious. Those potatoes arrived home in ten pound mesh bags, brown, lumpy and dusty, all the way from distant Idaho, a place which in my mind's eye was a vast monochromatic wilderness populated solely by an infinite expanse of potato pyramids. When they arrived in New Jersey, the Idaho potatoes occupied a special drawer in the kitchen; not quite a potato bin, but a cool dark earthy-smelling nest shared only with the onions.

Years later in the highlands of Guatemala, I discovered another type of potato. These were small and thin skinned, still dotted with fresh dark earth, piled in little hills on a blanket in the market place next to other little mounds of tomatoes and chile peppers. Proudly watched over by the woman who had grown them, dug them out of the ground, and carried them to market early that morning before dawn, they were the freshest potatoes I'd ever eaten. They cooked quickly into a golden yellow, buttery tasting mouthful which needed nothing but a sprinkling of salt; they were unlike anything I had ever tasted from the potato bin of my youth.

Still later, in Northern California, I came upon the Yukon Gold Potato, a variety developed in the 1960's by the Department of Agriculture at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Yukon Golds have the same delicate skin, yellow flesh, and subtle buttery flavor of the little Guatemalan potatoes, and are now widely cultivated on small organic farms. They have become a staple in my kitchen and are the basis of many simple satisfying meals.

When shopping for Yukon Golds at the market, I look for those which are small, smooth and unblemished, avoiding any which are tinged with green. They store well for weeks in a cool dry place in a paper bag. But Yukon Gold potatoes are so versatile, delicious, and easy to prepare that they seldom linger for long in my potato bin. (Please see following post for basic cooking instructions).

Three Essential Aromatic Vegetables Which Should Always Be In Your Refrigerator

Three aromatic vegetables, carrots, celery, and leeks (or onions) are essential ingredients for flavorful vegetable soups, stews, salads, stir fries, and legume recipes. Having these ingredients on hand simplifies meal planning and preparation. They keep well in the fridge and require no special handling. I also like to have garlic cloves, fresh ginger root, and a head of purple cabbage in the vegetable drawer. With these few basic ingredients always in the fridge, it's easy to create a wide variety of simple healthy vegetable dishes with minimal planning. Complicated soup stocks are completely unnecessary when you know how to cook with these aromatic vegetables. See next post for a stir fry recipe based on these three vegetables.

How to Take Care of Your Vegetables

The selection, preparation, and storage of fresh produce are skills which are challenging for those who have grown up in the age of convenience foods. Before the advent of mass produced, processed foods, most people were dependent on local suppliers of fresh produce or grew their own. Fresh fruits and vegetables were bought or harvested daily, and preserved for later use in the off- season. Before the age of refrigeration, perishable produce was used quickly, and trips to the local market were a part of daily life for most home cooks.

So, how to care for those vegetables languishing in the recesses of your refrigerator? Some leafy greens are more perishable than others. The thinner the leaves, the more quickly they may begin to break down. Fragile leafy greens won't retain their freshness for long. But proper handling and storage will lengthen the shelf life of most produce. Select greens which are very fresh, undamaged and not dripping wet. Many markets spray vegetable displays to keep them looking fresh; wet leaves crammed into a tightly closed plastic bag will rapidly become compost.

To store a head of leafy greens, first remove any damaged leaves. Then wrap a paper towel loosely around the base. Place in a dry plastic bag, and store in the fridge with the bag slightly open. Some greens are sold with rubber bands or paper/wire ties around the base of the stems. Remove these before storing the vegetables; they damage the stems and hasten decomposition. If you buy packages of baby greens like spinach or arugula, remove any damaged leaves. Many markets offer bulk mixed salad greens; buy these only if they look very fresh. Take care not to crush the greens by storing other items on top of them.

Check the vegetable drawer daily and plan meals based on the vegetables which need to be used. Wilted greens are still nutritious and can be used in soups or stir fried. With a bit of practice, managing your fresh produce will require little effort.