I really appreciate recipe sharing. Although I love searching my cookbooks and the internet for new and exciting ways to use the produce in the Inverbrook Farm share, sometimes farm duties keep me from do this a timely matter. So a big thank you to Nikki and Matt for your ideas and suggestions.
Tonight I cooked up my beet greens, and they came out so well, I wantedto share the recipe. It's adapted from a recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra. I cut up all the greens and stems that were attached to my full share of baby beets, and it was exactly the right amount for
this recipe. The pungent Indian spices accentuated the delicate sweetness of the greens, and it was the perfect side dish to a plate of chicken curry with rice. It made enough to serve 4 people as a side.
2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
1 tbsp peeled minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
4 to 5 cups finely chopped beet greens, including stems
1 cup chicken broth or water
1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add
cumin seeds. Cook for 1 minute. Add onions and cook until golden. Add
ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute
2. Add coriander, ground cumin, and salt. Stir for 1 minute then
mix in greens, stems, and chicken broth or water. Cover and cook over
medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover and raise heat to medium high, cook to reduce remaining
liquid, until greens are very soft (5-7 minutes.) Serves 4 as a side
dish.
A Salad With No Name:
I love the challenge of whipping together something tasty when presented with an odd array of ingredients. This is one of the many reasons I so enjoy being a member of our local CSA, Inverbrook Farm. In the face of an approaching weekend get-away, this week I am attempting to empty the fridge of all manner of food that could go bad. Last night, I was presented with the following for inspiration:
a mixed bag of lettuce, some baby beets, a container of feta, and a few stalks of mint.
Hmmmm...
Here's what I came up with (incidentally, it was very well-received):
1 bag Inverbrook lettuce mix
8 Inverbrook baby beets
Handful of sunflower seeds (I toasted raw sunflower seeds in a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes)
1 container of Highland Farm's feta (The best feta on earth, in my humble opinion. :-) See the attached photo my daughter, Azia, took of Martha's cheese all stacked up in Claire's distribution shed fridge over at Inverbrook Farm. Yum! )
2 small apples (I used jazz apples... super crunchy)
Mint Vinaigrette:
Handful of mint, finely chopped (Don't be shy with the mint! This is the magic behind this recipe)
1/4-1/3 C (give or take) good quality, cold-pressed olive oil
2-3 Tbs unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp (more or less... to taste) sugar or agave
Sea salt to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste
1. Boil the beets until firm tender. Drain. Once they have cooled, slide the peels right off and chop into bite-sized chunks.
2. While the beets are boiling mix together the vinaigrette. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Allow to sit for a good 20-30 minutes (or longer) to allow the flavors to meld.
3. Drain and crumble the feta (leave some bigger chunks too).
4. Core and chop the apples, leaving the skin intact.
4. Toss the greens with the apples, sunflowers seeds, and dressing. Top with the feta and the beets and serve.
Enjoy!
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