Archive for the ‘Dandelions’ Category

A Spring Tonic of Dandelions

Saturday, June 16th, 2012

Patience Gray’s Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia is an off-beat classic, both literary and culiniary. It was first published in 1986 and has unfortunately been long out of print. Patience writes:

“In the last twenty years I have shared the fortunes of a stone carver…The Sculptor’s appetite for marble precipitated us out of modern life into the company of marble artisans and wine-growers in Carrara and into an isolated community of ‘Bronze Age’ farmers on Naxos…

Living in the wild, it has often seemed that we were living on the margins of literacy. This led to reading the landscape and learning from people, that is to first hand experience. This experience is both real and necessarily limited. It is in this situation that I set out to write from personal observation and practice, underpinned by study, over a considerable period of time.”

(measurements are my guestimates but I make this often and it turns out well)
3 or 4 Cups Dandelion Greens
1/2 cup Fragrant Rice (Basmati, Jasmine, etc.)
enough water to steam rice
2 (or more) Tablespoons of Pine Nuts
Olive Oil
Salt

Patience calls this “Dandelion and Chicory Cooked in Kyria Agapi’s Way”, and gives the recipe as follows:

“In Kavala, Macedonia…culinary traditions carry on: grandmothers and great-aunts go on cooking in the age-old way. Here I should mention that weed-gatherers have never been known to measure or weigh.

After thoroughly washing the gathered dandelions and chicory, changing the water several times, Kyria Agapi chops them finely on a board, pours olive oil into a pan, puts in the chopped plants, adds a little water, salt. When they have cooked for a few minutes, she throws in a handful of long-grained rice and some pine kernels, and continues to cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is completely absorbed.

If the pine kernels are lacking, this dish can be served with a grated piquant cheese. The Sculptor, in spring, often has this for lunch. Weeds promote energy.”

Yet Another Healthy Kale Lunch…

Saturday, April 7th, 2012

Prepare a pot of healthy grains like millet, quinoa or kasha:

For millet, use 1 part millet to 2 1/2 parts stock or water. Toast millet in dry pan until it turns golden, add stock or water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes then remove from heat and let steam for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

For quinoa, rinse well under cold running water, drain, then add to boiling stock or water. Use 1 part quinoa & 2 parts liquid. Cover and cook till liquid is absorbed, about 12-15 minutes.

For kasha, stir 1 cup kasha with one egg which has been beaten lightly in a bowl until well mixed. Transfer to a dry skillet and place over medium heat. Stir the kasha with a fork till it is dry and the grains separate, about 3 minutes. Mix with 2 cups broth, cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, stir, then let steam for 10 minutes.

Toast some healthy nuts or seeds of choice in a dry skillet, then set aside.

Tear the kale or other healthy greens into bite-sized pieces and blanch in lightly salted water. Drain.

Toss the grain with a healthy nut oil like hazelnut or walnut or with olive oil. Adjust salt, toss with drained blanched greens, and top with toasted seeds or nuts and some shaved hard cheese if you like.

Good warm or at room temperature. The nuts and nut oil as well as the unprocessed grain make this a satisfying, filling and, might we add, healthy lunch.

NOTE: Arugula is very tasty with healthy grains, but don’t blanch first. Cook the grain (millet works especially well) till all the water or broth is absorbed, turn off the heat and stir in the arugula, cover and let steam for 10 minutes. I use 4 cups arugula to 1 uncooked cup of millet. Fluff with fork and add a bit of olive or other flavorful oil if you like, and possibly top with toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds. It’s really good, and the arugula brightens up the millet in a wonderful way.

Mashed Potatoes & Greens

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

This recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman (NYTimes), is so good and so easy that it demands a place in our cookbook.

You will need equal parts of blanched greens (dandelion works especially well as does arugula) and potatoes boiled in their jackets.

Blanch the greens (don’t blanch arugula if using), drain, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Boil the potatoes till soft, peel or not as you prefer, then pour a goodly amount of olive oil over them and mash roughly. Adjust the potatoes for salt and mix in the greens.

This dish works well with almost any kind of greens — kale, collard, chard, dandelion — just adjust your blanching times to make sure different types of greens get cooked their proper amounts. If you are using arugula, don’t blanch, just stir into the hot potatoes to let it wilt a bit.

Mark Bittman’s original recipe, which comes from Liguria on the north-west coast of Italy, uses dandelion greens which lend a slightly bitter flavor to the dish, along with lots of good olive oil. At the end, he finishes by topping with breadcrumbs and toasting under the broiler for a minute or so to add a bit of crunchy texture.

However, toppings are optional, broiler step is optional, toasted seeds or nuts sprinkled on at the end are optional. The real key to this dish is flavorful potatoes (yukon golds, red bliss, something heirloom from your garden) mixed with garden-fresh greens blanched just to tenderness, and a fine olive oil. And just a touch of sea salt.

Chard & Fava: A Simple Peasant Lunch

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

It’s nice to make this ahead of time and leave on the kitchen counter so when you get back from a morning’s gardening, sweaty and tired, it is ready. It’s really good eaten at room temperature, and makes a satisfying lunch.

1 cup split, skinned fava beans (you can get these at Claudio’s in the Italian Market)
Water
Salt & pepper

Chard (or chicory or dandelion greens), torn in bite-sized pieces

For dressing: lots of good olive oil

Wash the split fava beans, put in a small pot and cover with enough water to reach about 2 inches above the beans. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until they get the consistency of mashed potatoes. Turn off the heat, salt to taste, and cover.

Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the chard or other greens, and cook only till tender. Drain and set aside.

When it is time to eat, put a scoop of the fava bean puree on a plate. Next to it, place a scoop of chard or greens. Pour a goodly amount of olive oil over both the bean puree and the greens, season with sea salt and cracked pepper, and enjoy.

- Barb McKenzie