Storage Tips and Recipes
Every week we'll send you snapshots of veggies in your share. You can always find more recipes and storage info on our blog and website.
Spinach: Large leaf spinach bunches for our Standard shares. According to Pete, bunched spinach is an "old Vermonter" tradition. We cut our roots off, though, to allow for regrowth when traditionally the roots would be left on. Large leaf spinach is more mature and great for cooking.
Mesclun: Lots of good fresh greens! We pre-wash it but recommend giving your baby greens a nice rinse before eating.
Romaine Lettuce: This lettuce makes a great salad or adds some crunch to a sandwich. Store it in the fridge in a large plastic tub with a piece of paper towel to absorb excess moisture and condensation. If you store wet lettuce in a produce bag, it will likely only last a couple days.
Basil: This marvelous herb is a member of the mint family. It is a staple in Mediterranean cooking as well as Thai, Vietnamese, and Laotian. The herb is highly aromatic, or put another way, the oils in basil are highly volatile. Thus, it is best to add the herb near the end of the cooking process, so it will retain its maximum essence and flavor. Basil should be kept in a plastic bag or kept stems down in a glass of water with plastic over the leaves for about a week with regular water changing. Keep your basil out of the extreme cold as it could damage the fragile leaves. *Your basil will be packed into your mesclun!*
Green Garlic: Green garlic is garlic that is still fresh, and not cured. Keep this in your fridge and use as you regularly would use garlic.
Pac Choi or Tatsoi: Part of the cabbage family, both these Asian greens pack in nutrition with high scores for vitamins A and C and calcium. Mild enough to be chopped up for a salad, particularly if you give it a quick wilt in a hot pan, they're also great in stir-fries and sautes and in Asian soups (and other soups too). As leaves become more mature they are more often served cooked. Store loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
Sorrel: Sorrel is a green leaf vegetable native to Europe. It is also called common sorrel or spinach dock. In appearance sorrel greatly resembles spinach and in taste sorrel can range from comparable to the kiwifruit (or lemons or a combo) to a more acidic tasting older leaf (due to the presence of oxalic acid which increases as the leaves gets older). Young sorrel may be harvested to use in salads, soups or stews. Young sorrel leaves are also excellent when lightly cooked, similar to the taste of cooked chard or spinach. Older sorrel is best for soups and stews where it adds tang and flavor to the dish.
Recipes
Stir-Fried Pac Choi with Ginger and Garlic
Here's a quick and easy way to get greens on the dinner table.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 bunch fresh pac choi
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Salt and ground black pepper
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add pac choi and soy sauce cook 3 to 5 minutes, until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
Rainbow Chard with Pine Nuts, Parmesan, and Basil
Rainbow chard (about 1 large bunch)
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. pine nuts
Kosher salt
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (8 to 10 large)
Pull or cut the stems from the chard leaves. Cut or rip the leaves into 2- to 3-inch pieces and wash and dry them well. Rinse the stems and slice them crosswise 1/4 inch thick.
In a 12-inch nonstick stir-fry pan or skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pine nuts to a plate, leaving behind as much oil as possible.
Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the chard stems and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrunken and beginning to brown lightly, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the chard leaves and 1/4 tsp. salt. Toss with tongs until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. (If using a skillet, you may need to add the chard in batches, letting the first batch wilt before adding more.) Remove the pan from the heat, add the cold butter pieces and stir just until the butter has melted.
Using tongs, immediately transfer about half of the leaves and stems to a serving plate and arrange. Sprinkle on half of the Parmigiano, basil, and pine nuts. Layer on the remaining leaves, stems, and pan juices, and garnish with the remaining cheese, basil, and pine nuts. Serve immediately.
Easy Braised Creasy Greens
This beloved southern dish is packed with the nutrients inherent in your upland cress, including vitamin C! Serve with cornbread or corn muffins.
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil or meat drippings (bacon, sausage, steak etc)
1 bunch fresh cress, about 4 cups, washed, de-spined and coarsely chopped. You can also sub kale, collards, mustard or turnip greens, or a mixture of winter greens.
1 clove garlic, chopped and/or 1 Tbs ginger, julienned
1/2 onion, diced
1/8 cup water or vegetable or chicken broth or stock
Sea salt and coarse grind pepper
Optional seasonings: add a shake of Sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, tamari, Braggs Liquid Aminos, Chinese 5 spice, or cayenne pepper
Optional toppings: toasted sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds
Heat oil or drippings in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic/ginger and onion, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted and still have a green color, just a few minutes.
Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.
Add seasonings and toppings as desired and serve.
Sorrel & Potato Soup
The recipe below is adapted from a classic French sorrel soup recipe. It is also good cold, particularly with some plain yogurt swirled in. Serves 3 or 4.
1 bunch fresh sorrel
4 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2/3 pound potatoes, cubed
1 large egg
1/4 cup crème fraiche or heavy cream (or more to taste)
Wash the sorrel and de-rib the leaves if necessary. Put it in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sorrel has melted into a purée and nearly all of its liquid has evaporated. Add the water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook over low heat until the potatoes are cooked through — about fifteen minutes. If you prefer a creamy rather than a chunky soup, put the soup into a blender or food processor and then return to the saucepan. Combine the eggs and crème fraiche in a warmed serving bowl. Mix until well blended. Add a ladle of the potato and sorrel mixture and blend well. Pour in remaining potato and sorrel mixture and serve immediately.
Arugula Salad with Lemon-Parmesan Dressing
Here's a solidly reviewed recipe for you. This salad makes a great side dish on its own, but is even better as a pizza topping! Brush the dough with olive oil, sprinkle it with sea salt and shredded mozzarella, then bake. When the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with the salad. The simple dressing could also be used to dress pasta with wilted arugula and whatever else you fancy in your dish.
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
4 cups (packed) baby arugula
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Cover; chill up to 3 days.
Combine arugula and tomatoes in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat.
Mark Bittman's Grilled Chicken With Chipotle Sauce
2 tablespoons lard or neutral oil, like corn or canola, plus more for brushing chicken
1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
2 dried chipotle chilies, or to taste
2 cups cored and chopped tomatoes
8 chicken thighs, legs or drumsticks
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
Lime wedges, for garnish.
Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill; fire should be moderately hot, part of grill should be cooler than the rest and rack should be 4 to 6 inches from heat source.
Put lard or oil in a medium saucepan or skillet and turn heat to medium. When hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add chilies, tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily but not violently. Cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until chilies are soft and tomatoes break up. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. When chipotle sauce is ready, cool for a few minutes, then remove stems from chipotles, put mixture in a blender and purée. (The sauce may be made up to a couple of days in advance.)
Meanwhile, rub chicken with cut side of garlic cloves, brush on oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place chicken skin side up on coolest area of grill. When fat has rendered a bit, turn chicken over. After 20 minutes or so, move chicken to hottest part of grill. When chicken is just about done, brush it with chipotle sauce on both sides, and cook just another minute or 2. Serve, garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.
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