Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Bachelor Recipes Vol.1 #3


Chioggia Beets
Green onions
Bibb or Green Leaf

Lettuce
Bok choy

Dill
Garlic flowers
Arugula

Lily bouquet

Family shares also include:

Red Oak Leaf lettuce
Spinach
Green kohlrabi

New this week: green onions and Chiogga beets, there are also kohlrabi in the family shares.

The Chiogga beets are an Italian heirloom and if you slice them into rounds, they have a bull's eye pattern...very pretty; too pretty to overlook. There is really no quick way to prep beets, but I can try to make them easier and more approachable. Put a few inches of water in a double boiler, or in a pot with a steamer rack. Trim the greens to with in an inch of the beet, but no closer, I like to leave a bit more. KEEP THE GREENS. Heat the water to a boil and place the beets on the rack or in the steamer of the double boiler. They take a while...at least twenty minutes, probably more. They are done when they can be easily pierced with a fork. In the mean time wash the greens and trim off the stems. After about ten minutes of the beets cooking on a low simmer, heat a heavy pan to medium heat, add a little butter, and toss the dripping wet beet greens in. Sautee them unti they are just tender. By then the beets should be done. Remove them and dunk them immediately into a sink of cold water. The skin will slip right off, then they can be transferred to a cutting board and carefully sliced to show off the bullseye. Serve them on a bed of the sauteed greens and a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar. A smattering of crumbled Feta is a really nice touch.

If you have never grilled green onions you simply must. Just trim the tops and toss the onions in a bowl until they are drenched with olive oil and a shake of salt and pepper. Grill them indirectly over low heat until tender or wrap them in foil and place them at the back of the barbecue until they are limp and smell good.

The kohlrabi falls into the salted crisp things category from my earlier post, or you can use them in place of water chestnuts. I have tried every conceivable way to eat these and far prefer them raw, sliced thin, and lightly salted.



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