Coming into the 21st Century we are learning to better appreciate the wealth of goodness, health and nutrition that these "Wonder" vegetables posses.
They are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals..and when consumed in Season..are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.
Buy your greens as fresh as possible...the stalks on kale and chard should be crisp & crunchy; the heads of cabbages should be tight and firm, and the outer leaves pliable, not dry., broccoli should be dark green without any signs of yellowing with tight flower heads..cauliflower should be tight and the green leaves are edible (did you know cauliflower are naturally green but the growers cover the heads with the leaves to keep the sun out and therby maintain the white vegetables?).
Bring home your vegetables and immediately plunge them into cold fresh water, using a weight if necessary ( a dinner plate with an unopened can should be enough to weight them down), leave them covered for 30 mins.
Rinse and well drain, the either use or allow to air dry in a cool dark room.
Store in the bottom of a refrigerator ( do not cut up until you are ready to cook them as some vitamins/minerals will be lost)
This week I am preparing greens in 3 ways:
1) In a glorious Portuguese soup..Caldo Verde...rich vegetable stock with garlic & smoked paprika, chickpeas, red potatoes & kale..one of the original "meal in a bowl" soups
A sweet potato and Swiss chard soup, this version hails from the Old American South and probably originated from Africa ( and came to America via the slave trade) -it would then have been made then with field greens, okra, peanuts, hot chilies, sweet potatoes).
2) A Kale and sun dried tomato Gratin...blanched tender kale sauteed with onions, own grown sun dried tomatoes, fresh rosemary and basil, fresh tomatoes, layered between grated Cheddar cheese and topped with bread crumbs..to be baked at the client's home..very deep flavorful dish.
3) Swiss Chard and Cheese strudels ...blanched chard (stems and leaves) with potatoes and carrots, grated cheese baked in puff pastry...reminds me so much of the markets in France.
Greens blanched,
do not chop until they have been blanched and drained well, this helps prevent loss of vitamins and minerals (wilted quickly in boiling salted water, for a few minutes, then plunged into cold, fresh water and drained well) added to any dish make that dish far more nutritious and filling and more experimenting with recipes I think is called for.
They are fantastic, wilted and drained then added to olive oil &/or butter and sauteed with garlic or spices, then tossed with fresh cooked pasta..top with grated cheese &/or grated nutmeg.
Add sauteed wilted greens to omelette's, or to any pot pie
Also, in California I don't see cauliflower used to it's full advantage and will be showcasing this fantastic vegetable in upcoming months..again it is NOT just for covering in a cheese sauce and baking.
Several local stores/restaurants have been offering kale raw as a salad, but I know that curly kale is quite tough ( & defeats the purpose of encouraging one to eat more greens, raw) and in this dish it is better to use the more tender dinosaur kale which is almost purple-green.
I hope this info helps you introduce more dark green veggies into your diet..they are coming into season now in the West and are at their Nutritional Best..take advantage of this fact!
With tougher greens like Curly Kale, their addition to vegetable dishes almost adds the texture of meat.
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