Buckets of rain and buckets of leafy green things—that’s the kind of April we’re having so far. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that when the green stuff is abundant, it can feel intimidating, especially when those vegetables fall into the “specialty” category. To quote Kelly, they taste “divine,” but we only get a short seasonal window to work with them every year. And some weeks, those plants are loaded. This is one of those weeks. Yes, things like Flowering Raab and Purple Sprouting Broccoli are a delicacy, and yes, you can comb through your cookbooks and search the web far and wide to dig up specific recipes for preparing specific green vegetables in very specific ways if that suits you. In spite of how much I love to cook and research, the long work days of Spring rarely allow me to tap into that level of nuance, so Mark and I have learned to keep it simple and enjoy these gorgeous gourmet greens without overthinking it. Since we’ve got so many leafy green and purple things on the harvest list this week, I figured this might be a helpful week to reprise a few ideas and helpful hints from our farm by way of our family’s kitchen. Here’s what happens with greens most frequently in our house these days:
1) They get treated like they're Spinach, even when they're not. Most easy weeknight recipes seem to be written for Spinach, but nine times out of ten, you can use Kale, Mustard, Rapini, Chard or whatever dark leafy green you have lolling around your crisper drawer in its place. I've included one of my favorite recipes for “Rapinikorizo” at the bottom of the newsletter, which is tasty and illustrates my approach succinctly.
2) They get chopped up and incorporated into our favorite quick comfort foods. We just add them in with whatever noodle is there during the last couple of minutes of boiling. Deb Perelman's recipe for Pizza Beans also falls into this easy crowd pleasing category. Sure, it calls for Kale, but use what you've got. Purple Sprouting Broccoli is also fantastic. We’ve also been known to stir those cooked greens in with boxed Mac and Cheese. Zero judgement. 100 percent satisfaction.
3) They're an afterthought. Here's the familiar scenario--one of us thought the other one was in charge of dinner, and now we're growling. So, we quickly sauté some greens, pour over some eggs and get to scrambling.
4) They get slow cooked. We don’t call them braising greens for nothing. With the long work days creeping in, this is exactly the kind of hands-off cooking and nourishment we need around here. I’m healing from a dental procedure, so I’m enjoying my green vegetables on the softer side for a while. Steaming them down has also been a godsend, especially topped with a dressing that I like (I’m currently obsessed with variations of Carla Lalli Music’s Nutritional Yeast Vinagrette).
So, here’s your permission to not overthink your fancy greens. We’ve already done that part for you in growing them!
Many Thanks,
Katie
IN THIS WEEK’S FARMSHARES:
Purple Sprouting Broccoli and/or Flowering Raab Mix
Spinach
Yellow Onions
Tokyo Turnips or Purple Daikon
Potatoes
Apples and/or Pears
SEASONAL RECIPES & HELPFUL HINTS
RAPINIKORIZO (aka,Farmer Katie's take on Greek Spinach Rice (Spanakorizo) using the tastiest greens things of moment)
·1 red onion finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic (or 1 bunch green garlic or 2 garlic scapes), chopped
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 pound fresh leafy greens (rapini, spinach, kale, mustard or whatever you meant to use up last week!)
1 cup Water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon
In a large pot or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft (about 2-3 min). Add the scapes and rice, stirring to toast over medium-low heat for another 3 minutes or so. Add the greens, cover and cook until they lose most of their volume. Add the water, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked (about 25-30 minutes). Add more water as needed. After the rice is nice and tender, stir in the juice of one lemon and serve. You can serve this as is or with feta, beans or even cooked browned sausage stirred in at the end.
ROASTED BROCCOLINI & LEMON WITH PARMESAN - Alison Roman
APPLE PIE OVERNIGHT OATS - Minimalist Baker
PASTA WITH LONGER-COOKED BROCCOLI - Smitten Kitchen
BROCCOLI & CHEDDAR QUESADILLAS - Simply Recipes
PAN-SEARED TURNIPS WITH GINGER MISO GLAZE - Feasting at Home
VEGAN CURRIED QUINOA WITH BROCCOLI & KALE- Yasmin Fahr
KALE SALAD WITH PEARS & CRUMBLED GOAT CHEESE - Brooklyn Supper
BROCCOLI APPLE SALAD WITH ALMOND DRESSING- 101 Cookbooks
ROASTED POTATOES, RADISHES & FENNEL WITH LEMON BROWN BUTTER- The Kitchn
SHREDDED CHICKEN & BROCCOLI WITH DAIKON RICE- Inspiralized
OYSTER MUSHROOM STIR FRY WITH BROCCOLI - Vegan Punks