Category Archives: cooked greens

Broccoli Spigarello: A Great Green All Around

This is SO GOOD! Upon seeing broccoli spigarello listed on Farmer Dave’s Wakefield Farmers Market pre-order page last week, I thought “What is THAT?” Well, now I know and it is my new favorite green. Tasty raw in a mixed greens salad, and perfect for soups, casseroles, and whatever needs more green in it, it shines when sautéed in olive oil, first with some salt, and then with garlic and hot pepper flakes added at the end of cooking before serving with a sprinkle of balsamic or apple cider (or your favorite) vinegar. You need to try this!

You can watch my cooking demo video HERE. And see the WFM Playlist for all this years demos.

This recipe and commentary, below, is verbatim from:
https://www.latimes.com/recipe/spigarello-sauteed-italian-style

Spigarello sautéed Italian style

To prepare spigarello, first pull the leaves from the stems, much as you would strip the needles off a stem of rosemary. Then cook the leaves as you would other leafy greens such as chard, kale or … broccoli rabe.

Blanched and sauteed with olive oil and garlic in the Italian style, spigarello’s leaves, which are slightly firmer than mustard greens yet more delicate than kale, get nice and crisp around the edges.

2 bunches of spigarello
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon good balsamic or apple cider vinegar

Wash the spigarello thoroughly. Pull the leaves off the stems, grabbing the leaves from the top of the stem and pulling toward the bottom to remove (in the same way you’d strip rosemary needles). Discard the stems. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spigarello, return to a boil and blanch for 3 to 5 minutes, until the greens wilt slightly and bend easily in the pan. Drain in a colander.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spigarello, season with salt and sauté until slightly crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes, turn off the heat and let stand for about 1 minute, stirring often. (If the pan is too thin to hold much heat, cook over low heat for 1 minute after adding the garlic and pepper flakes.) Sprinkle with vinegar and toss lightly. Serve warm.

Summer Squash Delight with 30 Leaves of Basil

Click Here to see the cooking demo video.

This is so good that my husband raved about it and even had the leftovers for lunch the next day, and he is not big on vegetable-based leftovers. Inspired by all the produce from our farmers, especially the plethora of summer squashes available from now through the early fall, I decided to create a quick, fun, and tasty recipe to help us all use it up! This can be prepared as a vegan dish, although my husband grilled some sausage that I sliced and stirred in at the end. I also opted to add a healthy sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. But in all honesty, it was fabulous with just the veggies so totally qualifies as a delicious vegan dish, as well.

Disclaimer: I forgot to add the vinegar that I was going to use to substitute for the lemon juice often used in similar recipes. Call it optional. This dish will taste great with or without.

Here is what I used. But take note: you can use any greens, any squash, heck, any veggie or veggies that saute well, and, if you don’t like basil, try another fresh herb or dried herb that you fancy. Just use a lot so you get the full affect from whatever herb you choose. Also,the amounts listed are just what I used – feel free to vary.

4-6 ounces whole wheat rigatoni* or pasta of choice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil and more as needed
1/8 cup minced garlic scape or 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup or so chopped onion
2-3 oz trimmed oyster mushrooms or your choice
1/2 pound thin-sliced and quartered summer squash
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water (if needed)
3 ounces chopped greens (I used tatsoi and spinach)
1 medium tomato, chopped, about a cup
30 largish to large leaves of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
a modest drizzle of lemon juice or vinegar (optional)
1/3 pound sausage, cooked/grilled and sliced thin (optional)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to garnish (optional)

Get sausages going on the grill or stove or in oven, if using.

Heat and salt water for pasta and have pasta ready to go in the pot.

Heat olive oil in a 12 inch frying pan and sauté garlic scape and onion for a few minutes until getting soft.

Add mushrooms and cook down until some moisture releases.

Add summer squash slices and cook over medium low for 3-5 minutes, then add salt to season and draw out moisture, cook for a few more minutes, and, if need to get more soft, add water to further “steam” the squash if you want it more soft, then cook until water is gone.

Cook pasta as directed or to desired texture.

Add another tablespoon or two of olive oil if needed before adding greens, cook them down, then add tomatoes and basil.

Cook for a few minutes to meld the flavors, then season to taste with salt and pepper, going light on the salt if you will be adding sausage, then if desired, drizzle lemon juice or vinegar to add brightness. NOTE: I forgot to do this and never noticed, but I can imagine it would be a nice addition.

Serve as is over the pasta as a vegetable dish, or add slices of cooked sausage, cook a bit to meld flavors and finish seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over pasta and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

*NOTE: If using whole wheat rigatoni from Deano’s Pasta as I did, I recommend cooking it a few minutes longer than the recommended time since it won’t be finished off in a sauce. I do also recommend Deano’s whole wheat rigatoni. It is delicious!

Fun with Kale. Really! Secret Sauté Ingredient and a Quick “Massage”

ingredients in the saute — All the ingredients except the soy sauce!

I actually converted a few “I hate kale” folks and had a toddler coming back for 3rds! I based my sauté recipe on The Sauteed Kale Recipe that Converts Kale-Haters, which has butter or ghee as the cooking oil, along with shallots, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard as the secret ingredients for success.

Since I stay vegan for our demos and with no shallots available at the time, I had to make a few adjustments. Here is the recipe I used at the market. In contrast to the recipe I put on the bulletin board during the demo, I used a medium-largish onion, doubled the amounts of soy sauce and mustard, and cooked the onions slow and low for about 25 minutes so they just started to caramelize. I knew that doing this with the onions would give a bit of a creamy texture and sweetness that, while not a substitute for what butter can bring, brought a special something beyond just a quick cook of the onions in the olive oil.

2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium to large onion
1-2 large garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp. Old School Kitchen’s Maple Bourbon Mustard *
1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped **
water as needed
salt and black pepper, to taste
* Use whatever mustard you like
**Don’t dry the kale; the water droplets will help it steam as cooking.

Remove leaves from stems and chop the kale into small pieces.

onions in pan — I used a whole onion. Why not?

Heat the oil or fat over medium heat in a saute pan with high sides or a dutch oven.

Add the onion, lower heat, and cook slow and low for at least 20 minutes to bring out sweetness – longer if you have time to caramelize them a bit more. Bring the heat up and add the garlic, cooking briefly until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the chopped kale and stir to coat in the oil. Add the tamari or soy sauce and mustard, and stir again.

Sauté, stirring frequently, until the kale is tender, about 8-10 minutes or to how you like it. If the kale starts to stick to the pan, add a couple tablespoons of water. This will help soften the kale, and the water will cook off.

Season with salt and pepper before serving and enjoy…But wait, what was that about a massage?

To season and soften kale without cooking, simply remove the leaves from the stems and chop the leaves, add a bit of olive oil, salt (I used and would recommend kosher salt if you have it) and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then rub or “massage” with your fingers for a few minutes or more. You can use it alone as a salad green (ooo, I can taste this with walnuts and apples!) or in a salad mix, add to a stir fry, or use the rubbed leaves to make kale chips!

Lemongrass! What to do with it? For one, a Swiss Chard Sauté

picture of ingredients — The ingredients

This past week, I wanted to highlight lemongrass, a tropical grass that is also grown here in Massachusetts by our Flats Mentor Farm farmers.

The easiest way to enjoy lemongrass is to make a tea of the bulb, stalk, and/or leaves, with the latter being the choice for our Saturday morning beverage. It could not be easier: cut the dark green tops off the stalks, put them in a pot of water, bring to a boil, and then simmer or just turn off the heat (as I did) and let it steep! Delicious hot or warm, it also makes a refreshing iced tea.

Our main dish used lemongrass to add its essence to sautéed Swiss chard, to which I also added sweet yellow peppers. I put 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a big frying pan, added 2 tablespoons of sliced, then crushed, then finely minced lemongrass bulb, which is the bottom few inches minus the end of the bulb, which you chop off.

This was done at a low temperature – just a bit of movement in the oil, for about 20 minutes. I then added sliced sweet yellow pepper, using a whole one along with leaves from a bunch (10-12 stalks) of Swiss chard. I chopped both the chard and peppers small so they would fit into the demo cups, but you can size as desired.

Once the lemongrass had infused in the olive oil, I turned the heat up to medium high and added the pepper slices and cooked for a few minutes, then added the chard and let it cook down and long enough get soft and deep in flavor, about 10 minutes or more, turning the heat down if it looked like things might get brown.

A touch of salt finished it off, although you could certainly add seasonings to taste, as well as tofu, chicken, or another protein for a complete meal. Note: the infused oil is not lemony as is the tea, but it adds a “something extra” to the flavor base. According to many recipes sites, that “something” is what you might feel is missing if you make Thai food without using lemongrass.

The bulb and stem, and, even the leaves can be used to season, soups, stews, and curries. Just note that the stalk and leaves must be removed after cooking, as well as the bulb if not minced. Too tough to chew! If not mincing the bulb, slice and crush before using.

You can use 1 Tbsp minced lemongrass bulb for 1 tsp lemon zest, and, I discovered that lemongrass vodka is a thing, one that I intend to try. Click HERE for one way of making it.

Can’t use what you buy all at once? No fear! It freezes well. Just cut off the leaves (make tea!) and wrap the bottom 6-8 inches for later use.

To end, here is a link to a handy chart showing how to prep lemongrass:
How to Prepare Lemongrass

Amaranth, the Green that is Red. A quick and easy sauté side

We finally had a cool enough market day to use some heat in the cooking demo! I went with amaranth, a plant better known for its grains but that has really tasty greens as well. Although, the “greens” that our farmers at Flats Mentor Farm grow are more red. In fact, they look like they are a kind of coleus plant rather than an edible veggie.

While it can be used like any green, it really shines when sautéed due to its slightly sturdy texture and touch of umami in its flavor.

Here is what to use and how to do it:

Rinse, dry, and the prep amaranth by removing the leaves from the stems and tearing the leaves into largish pieces. Chop or mince (your choice) a few cloves of garlic, heat olive oil in a sauté pan and give the garlic a 15- 30 second start before adding the amaranth leaves. Then just cook, taking care to not have the heat so high that the garlic burns before the greens are done. It will take 5-7 minutes before the greens shrink and soften. Add salt and pepper if or as desired and remove from heat when done to your preferred texture and taste.

This shot was taken the same evening as the demo when I made the dish at home.

That’s it! And along with getting your amaranth from Flats Mentor Farm, be sure to pick up some fresh garlic from them or another of our farmers.

By the way, two boys (unrelated) just about to turn four years old LOVED this, and a five year old girl deemed it “delicious.” And our regular taster Eva Rose loved it, too. And so did my husband. So, I’d say its worth a try.

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