above: Dandelion Greens (aka Chiccoria)
Left: Curly Mustard
Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Silver Lake pick-up this week:
Japanese cucumbers (eat the skin an' all!)
Turnips (sautee the tops!)
Red and golden beets (saute the tops!)
Curly mustard (eat raw or sauteed)
Green garlic (eat the whole thing - leaves an' all!)
Mint
Cilantro
Dill
Arugula
Red and green adolescent romaine lettuce
Chiccoria (aka dandelion greens - sauteed or raw)
Kohlrabi (pictured right)
Broccoli raab (aka rapini)
Kohlrabi is a wonderful vegetable that's too often ignored. Actually, it's quite delicious, versatile, and easy to prepare. It's related to cabbage, but with a milder and sweeter flavor and much more juice.
You can prepare kohlrabi myriad ways: It can be boiled and mashed into a puree. It can be baked, scouped out and stuffed. Kohlrabi makes a nice gratin thinly sliced, topped with grated cheese and baked. You might even layer in some thinly sliced turnips, too. Raw kohlrabi can be sliced or grated into a fresh green salad, so I hear from CSA shareholder, Jed, who I chatted with at the Silver Lake pick-up this afternoon.
Kohlrabi also makes a fabulous slaw which is especially good with fresh mint. It's super easy to prepare and tastes great.
Minty Kohlrabi Slaw
1 bulb kohlrabi
8 mint leaves
1 T mayonnaise
2 t white balsamic or white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1. Cut the leaves off the kohlrabi bulb and compost or save for another use (the leaves are also edible).
2. Peel the tough exterior off the kohlrabi. Rinse off the bulb and grate the bulb into a bowl using a coarse grater.
3. Wash and dry the mint leaves. Stack them and slice the mint into very thin strips. Add the mint to the bowl with the kohlrabi.
4. Stir in the mayonnaise and vinegar. Add a little more mayo if you'd like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe makes 2 servings, but you can double or triple it.
Enjoy!
Shelley
Yum - looks great!
ReplyDelete... and here's a recipe I made with all the greens last week (plus some from my own garden - it uses so many!).
Swiss Chard (or any other greens) Pie with Olive Oil Dough (I hardly ever bake and the dough was mega easy)
2T olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves
Lots o' greens, diced (I used dandelion, mustard, swiss chard, and maybe some rapini last week)
3/4 t red pepper flakes (optional)
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 c grated parmesan (I used feta instead and it was great)
3T flour
zest of 1 lemon, plus about 1T fresh lemon juice
1 egg
1: GREENS: Cook onion/garlic in oil until they soften, about 2 minutes. Add greens and red pepper flakes, add salt/pepper to taste, add lemon zest and juice. Cook until greens are tender. When done, toss with cheese, flour.
2: DOUGH (recipe below): Roll 2/3 of the dough to a round to fit into a round pie pan. Fill bottom crust with greens mixture. Roll remaining dough into a round to cover top, place on pie, pinch edges together/tuck in to seal. Cut several vents into center of pie. Whisk egg, brush egg over top to make a lovely coating. (and you can freeze it now if you want to save for later)
3: COOK: heat oven to 400, with rack in lowest position. Bake until crust is golden brown - about 1.5 hours if frozen - I did mine from fresh and it took about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp.
Making the dough:
Combine 2.5c flour, 1/3 c olive oil, 1/2 cup cold water 3/4t salt, 1 egg (can omit the egg, but I found it dry until I added it).
Stir with fork, then knead for a minute. Keep in bowl, cover bowl (with plastic wrap or a lid) for 30 minutes, and you're good to go.
There are variations online if you Google "swiss chard pie"
I would advise not serving this with ice cream on top.
Happy kitchening!
and here's my first SIlver Lake Farms CSA experience. Tara - your program is awesome. Thank you so much for doing this.
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