Notes From the Farm

This Week’s Veggie Feast

Red Cabbage, Bell Pepper, Leeks, Dragon Tongue Beans, Beets, Tomatoes, Cucumber

New This Week

Red cabbage displays brilliant leaves of either a crimson or purple color with white veins running through them, and with its hue comes additional health benefits not found in green cabbage.

Red cabbage is often used raw for salads and coleslaw. This vegetable can be eaten cooked. It is the traditional accompanying side dish paired with many German meals—most notably, Sauerbrauten.

Keep cabbage cold to help retain its vitamin C content.

Green bell peppers are, in fact, the unripe bell pepper, whereas other bell pepper colors are ripe. Green bell peppers are often sweeter than the colored varieties of bell peppers but taste and texture of the bell pepper can be also be affected by growing, storage conditions and cultivar species.

The edible part of a leek is the white part plus an inch or so of pale green.  Smaller leeks are more tender, making them perfect for grilling or braising, while larger leeks are perfect for soup and gratins.  Due to how leeks are grown, they often have lots of dirt between the leaves so they need to be washed well.  Cut off the greens an inch above the white part and slice off the roots, leaving a thin piece attached so that the leaves remained joined at the base.  Halve the leeks lengthwise down the middle to the root end.  Rinse well under running water while you fan the leaves to make sure you are getting dirt stuck between leaves.  Cut leaves can also be rinsed after cutting.  If using in a soup, leeks do not caramelize well so they are best lightly cooked.  In addition to the classic Vichyssoise and Cock-a-Leekie soups, leeks go well with potatoes, fennel, celery, capers, parmesan, goat cheese and olives.

The bright colored dragon tongue beans are considered a heirloom Dutch wax type green bean that originated in the Netherlands.  This yellowish-green bean with variegated purple strips is great both raw and cooked.  Once cooked or pickled, the purple color tends to dissipate.  Like other varieties of bush beans, dragon tongue beans have an edible shell.   Just remove the stem end before cooking.  If not serving raw, these beans will make a great addition to bean salads, stir fries, salads, or cooked on their own for a side dish. 

Recipes

Dragon Tongue Bean Salad

Ingredients

For the dressing

• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1½ teaspoons chili paste
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• a few turns of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the salad

• 1 pound Dragon Tongue beans, washed and dried, root ends trimmed
• 2 cups loosely packed mixed micro greens, washed and dried
• a few red Thai chile peppers for garnish and added heat if desired

Instructions

For the dressing

• Add the vinegar, mustard, honey, chili paste, salt and pepper to a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Gradually add the oil while still whisking. Once it’s smooth, set aside.

For the salad

• Prepare a large mixing bowl with ice water and set it aside.
• Place a steamer rack into a pot with the water level just below it. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil and then add the beans to the rack, sprinkle lightly with salt and cover. Steam just until they’re about 50% more tender, about 3 minutes.
• Immediately drain and add the beans to the bowl of ice water — this will help preserve any bits of purple still remaining. Let them sit in the ice water until they’re cold, then drain, dry them, and add them to a large mixing bowl.
• Toss the beans with the micro greens and the dressing.
• Wash, dry, and slice the red chile peppers in half for garnish (and added heat) if desired.
• Serve!

Source: Cooking on the Weekends

Roasted Leeks with Olive Oil and Parmesan

Ingredients

• 6 leeks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
• Trim the hairy bottom of the white part of the leeks. Trim the dark greens, leaving the white and light green part only.
• Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then rinse them well (there’s often dirt trapped in there) and dry. Arrange them in a 9 X 13 baking dish, cut side down.
• Drizzle the leeks with the olive oil and use your hands to thoroughly coat them. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
• Roast them for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn so that their cut side is up, sprinkle with the Parmesan, then continue roasting until fork-tender and golden brown, about 10 more minutes.

Source: Healthy Recipes

Date, Feta and Red Cabbage Salad

If you don’t like your cabbage too crunchy, dressing it as directed and letting it rest in the salad bowl for a while before adding the other ingredients will soften and wilt it a bit.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 1/4 pounds red cabbage (1 small head or half of a large one), sliced very thin
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice (I use lime)
• Salt and red pepper flakes (I used the mild Aleppo variety) to taste
• About 1/2 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped or sliced
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled into chunks
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons well-toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

• Toss cabbage with olive oil and first tablespoons of lime juice, plus salt and pepper, coating leaves evenly.
• Taste and add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. I do this a few times, making sure I really get this base well seasoned because it will be hard to do it as well later.
• Toss dressed cabbage gently with half of dates and feta.
• Sprinkle with remaining dates, then feta, then parsley and sesame seeds. Dig in.
• Do ahead: The whole salad can sit assembled for at least an hour, if not longer in the fridge. Mine is going strong on the second day. You can also prepare the parts separately (feta, chopped dates, sliced cabbage) to assemble right before serving.

Source: Smitten Kitchen