In your share this week will be:
Tokyo Turnips: Tokyo turnips can be pickled, roasted, sautéed, or boiled in soups. You can use them as a garnish or serve them alongside poached or grilled whole fish or roasted meat. I shave raw turnips into my Romaine salads for an added tender, mild-spice. You can also steam or sautee the greens!
Mizuna: Mizuna has a mild and tangy flavor. Use mizuna as a bed or garnish for meat and fish. Mizuna has a bit of a peppery bite but is perhaps a bit more mild than something like arugula. Mizuna, which is a Japanese mustard, was traditionally pickled in Japan, and can certainly be enjoyed that way, as well as steamed or sauteed!
Kohlrabi: This turnip-cabbage hybrid is incredibly tender and can be utilized in braises, soups, and sautees.The greens are delicious too and can be eaten raw in salad or sautéed or steamed like mustard greens. Try making fritters with the shredded bulb! Shred it and mix with an egg and a few tablespoons of flour or breadcrumbs. Heat oil or butter in a flat skillet, drop on small mounds, and flatten slightly with the back of your spatula. Turn after a few minutes, and serve when both sides are crispy.
Lacinato Kale: Cut into ribbons off the stem, blanch and sautee! Lacinato (also known as dino or Tuscan kale) is also wonderful in salads, just be sure to add some fresh squeezed lemon on top as the acidity helps to tenderize the leaf.
Fennel: The fronds can be used in a salad, though the bulb, which is very firm and crunchy, is the real “meat” of the crop. It has a fresh anise/licorice flavor and is excellent as a slaw grilled/braised until tender.
Recipe for braised fennel from Epicurious:
- Cut off and discard stalks from fennel bulbs, reserving fronds. Chop 1 tablespoon fronds and discard remainder. Cut bulbs lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, leaving core intact.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown fennel slices well, turning over once, 3 to 4 minutes total.
- Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle fennel with salt and pepper, then add broth and water. Cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds.
Snow Peas: Crisp, tender and sweet, the pods are eaten whole with these, as opposed to the shelling peas we’ve also got at our markets.
Red Leaf Lettuce: Here is an awesome simple recipe for a late winter/early spring salad that involves Red Leaf, beets (which should be coming in from our fields any day now) and oranges.
Sweet Onions: These guys are fantastic thinly sliced and served in salads or on top of sandwiches. They can range in color from white to yellow and often have a flattened or squashed appearance. Sweet onions tend to be more perishable and should be store in the refrigerator.
Collard Greens: In addition to its impressive nutrient content, collard greens are absolutely delicious! Heat unlocks the real treasure trove of nutrition in the broad leaves, making those vitamins and minerals above exponentially more available, while still packing a fiber punch to keep your gut happy and in working order. This hearty green can take the heat and has earned its rightful place in your kitchen. You can go the traditional route and cook it with meats, or use some less traditional methods like using aromatics (onions, carrots, celery, thyme parsley, etc.) when you cook them.