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: Bunches for the yellow bags, and bagged spinach for the purple and green bags!
Mesclun: Lettuce! Spinach! Claytonia! Arugula! Last of our shoots! What a beautiful blend.
Broccoli raab or Red Mustard: Related to kale, cabbage, and collard greens, mustard greens are the peppery leafy greens of the mustard plant. Ruby Streaks Mustard has a delicate texture and mild, sweet yet mildly pungent mustard flavor. It is tender enough to liven up salads, and stout enough to stand on its own in steamed or stir-fried dishes. Though its name might suggest otherwise, broccoli raab is not actually a broccoli. It belongs to the brassica family, along with mustard greens, turnips, and cousin broccoli. Like mustard greens it has a strong peppery bite, milder when the plant is young, stronger as it gets older. And like broccoli it grows florets but they remain small tucked between the large leaves, with taller flower stalks protruding from the plant. All of these parts of broccoli raab are edible, either raw or cooked. It is very high in calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Store broccoli raab and kale in your refrigerator crisper unwashed, either wrapped in a wet towel or in a plastic bag. It will keep two or three days. For longer storage, blanch and freeze.
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.
Chard: Chard is a dark leafy green with ruffled leaves and stems that may be brightly colored crimson red, orange, yellow. It's actually related to the beet, whose greens can be used like hard. Try chard on its own or in quiches and omelettes. Young and tender leaves and stems can be tossed into salads. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator; it will last several days. To prepare it, wash it well and tear or chop the leaves. If the stems are very thick, strip the leaves from them before proceeding so you can cook the stems a couple minutes longer. Steam, braise, and saute chard. Cook the stems longer than the leaves by starting them a minute or two earlier. Try chard in recipes that call for beet or turnip greens or spinach.
Recipes
Cabbage with Fried Egg and Toast
This is not just a good breakfast, it makes a delightful lunch and dinner. Makes you believe that cabbage can be this good.
1/2 head cabbage, sliced into large ribbons
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 egg
1 slice good bread
sea salt and pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
Toast the slice of bread. Heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onions until soft and translucent. Add the cabbage and cook until just softened (just until the color becomes vibrant as the cabbage heats). Pile the cabbage and onions onto the slice of bread, add a little more oil to the empty pan, and fry the egg. Place the egg on top of the cabbage, and season with sea salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Pickled Cabbage
Here's a quick and easy way to make "pickled" cabbage. This would be great on top of a burger, or just eaten as a side dish.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 head cabbage, shredded (about 3 cups)
1 cup thinly sliced onion
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, coarsely crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet
1 teaspoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Heat vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, sliced onion, crushed coriander seeds, and celery seeds; sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until wilted and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in white wine vinegar and sugar. Sauté until all liquid is absorbed, about 30 seconds.
Quick Sauteed Greens
Memorize this "recipe" as a versatile way to prepare your cooking greens! This is a fast and tasty way to enjoy your dark leafy greens. The cooking time varies depending on the type of greens and how young or tender they are. Most are done in 5 - 6 minutes. Easy to adjust based on how many greens you have.
about 8 cups of chopped chard, kale, collards, broccoli raab, braise mix, etc.
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
a pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
Cut the stems of chard crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces and coarsely chop the leaves. Remove the tough stems of kale or collars and discard; then coarsely chop the leaves. Cut bunches of broccoli raab crosswise, separating out the lower stems to cook first.
In a large skillet on medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and red pepper and saute briefly. Add the stems of chard or broccoli raab and saute for a minute or two. Add as many chopped leaves as you can comfortably stir in the skillet. As the leaves wilt, add more. Saute until greens are limp and tender but still bight green. Season with S&P. Serve immediately.
Variation: Add a splash of vinegar just before serving. Adding acid to greens is both a Southern style and a great way to ensure your liver absorbs the iron in the greens.
Broccoli Raab & Potato Pasta
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
2 lbs. Nicola potatoes, cubed
1 bunch broccoli raab, trimmed
4 cups cooked fusilli pasta
1/2 cup Reggiano cheese, grated
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. You will be using this water for three steps of the preparation. Place the broccoli rabe in the water and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the pasta and the potatoes to the same water and cook until the pasta is al dente.
In a large pan heat the olive oil, crushed red pepper and garlic. Add the broth and let reduce by half. Add the potatoes, pasta and rabe to the pan and toss for a minute of so. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and sprinkle the cheese over the top.
Pac Choi Saute
1 bunch pac choi (or tatsoi)
1 bulb kohlrabi, sliced and cut into medium julienne (optional)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
1 bunch mustard or bitter greens, rough chop
2 tbsp. ginger
2 tbsp. tamari
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup water
2 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. oil, any neutral oil works
Wash the pac choi shake excess water off.
Separate the stalks and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
Heat wok or large sauté pan and add oil. When oil is ready, add ginger and toss for 30 seconds, until the ginger is aromatic. Add the pac choi, adding the stalks first, carrots and kohlrabi. Add the mustard and the pac choi leaves.
Stir in the tamari, honey, and salt and on high heat for 1 minute.
Add the water, cover the pan and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir the sesame oil in.
Chicken or shrimp can be added to this to make it a complete meal. In a separate pan, sauté the protein and cook all the way through. Add it to the pan when you add the water to the vegetable mix.
Spinach, Mustard Green and Potato Soup
This is a flexible recipe so use it as a base. You could use leeks here instead of onions, you could sub in other greens. Although the recipe calls for using just water, you can make it richer by using veg broth or using some chicken broth.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add potatoes; sauté 3 minutes. Add 8 cups water and crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large pot over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mustard greens and all but 1 cup spinach leaves; sauté until wilted, about 3 minutes.
Add sautéed greens to potato mixture. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate.) Return soup to pot. Bring to simmer, thinning with more water, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut remaining 1 cup spinach leaves into 1/3-inch-wide slices. Ladle soup into bowls. Add dollop of sour cream to each bowl. Garnish soup with sliced spinach leaves and serve.
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