I’ve had a chance to talk to a few Beans this week and I’ve learned that some of our members are not too familiar with all of the vegetables in our baskets – willing to try them, just not sure how to proceed!
So perhaps I’ve been assuming too much previous familiarity, and in trying not to sound patronizing, or seeming to state the obvious, maybe I haven’t shared enough basic information. Let’s look at this week’s basket in a new light: Vegetables 101. After all, we didn’t all grow up eating such a variety. My mother refused to cook cabbage, for instance, because that’s what ‘poor people’ – i.e., her family – ate during the Depression, and it was forever associated with poverty in her mind. Thinking through today’s basket, I’m realizing we also never ate kale, swiss chard, or kohlrabi, although I’m not sure what association or bias or maternal neuroses kept those from the table.
I grew up eating beets that came in cans, and probably thinking that’s where they came from originally. I was a bit baffled when I bought ‘real’ ones for the first time and learned I was supposed to peel them. Peels, I thought, are what bananas have: something you just zip off. Not so with the beet. I’m glad no one secretly filmed my attempt to peel a raw one the way you would an orange. The beet won that round. Then I learned that the skins loosen when the beet is boiled, but for how long? And then how do you handle the thing without getting second degree burns on your hands, or beet juice all over yourself?
I’ll admit I still haven’t entirely solved the last part (I recommend wearing a magenta shirt). But as far as the boiling, I’ve reached Beetmaster status. First, cut off the greens, which are in fact edible, we’ll get to that in a minute. Leave about an inch of the stems on, that makes a nice handle when you peel them. You can put them into boiling water or start with cold and bring the heat up, doesn’t seem to matter. Length of time will depend on the beets’ size, but you want them to be fork-tender (i.e. you can stick the tines of a fork into it). If you are somewhat lacking in coordination, as I am, you may wish to remove the pot from the heat before trying to impale a beet that’s spinning in boiling water.
Once they’re tender enough, dump the beets into a colander (being careful not to spill, and guess how I know to mention that) and run cold tap water over the beets for a minute or so. You will not cool them too much, if your goal is to serve them hot. This will help loosen the skin further and will make it possible to grab the beet by the remaining stem for peeling (or if you do not have teflon fingers, spear it with a fork). A regular vegetable peeler works well, but if you have achieved that perfect moment of beet nirvana and boiled it just long enough, you can rub the skins off with your fingers. Slice off the top part, with the remaining stems, and the root. Serve as is, or splash with a little orange juice. Or balsamic vinegar.
You can peel raw beets, and boil them after, but you lose too much of the juice and color. Shredded raw beets are a good salad topper, though, especially paired with feta – I like to toss them with some lemon juice and olive oil first. Beets can be picked – there’s lots of recipes online. Cooked beets can be used to make a cold or hot beet soup.
Beet greens are edible. I’m not a huge fan personally just because there’s so many other good greens available at the same time, and the best beet greens are the tiny ones. But if you’d like to try them, the fallback position for all greens is to saute them in olive oil with a bit of garlic.
That’s a good plan for the Tuscan kale (also called dinosaur kale, can you see why?) Remove the ribs, or not, and then slice the kale crosswise into 1/2″ strips. Heat a little olive oil, briefly stir in the kale until it’s coated and the green has intensified. (Cooking by color-change is nearly foolproof.) You can serve as is, or if you’re trying to ease into this idea of eating dark green veg, try this Katie-recipe (which means there’s no measurements). Add a bit of turmeric and cumin and curry powder, or two of those, or just one, while the kale is cooking. Dump in a can of rinsed, drained chickpeas. If you have leftover chicken, or pork, or fish, dice it and throw it in.
The Swiss chard – you received a variety called Rainbow, which we chose just because it’s cool looking – is related botanically to the beets, but it’s the stalks and greens which are used. The greens can be prepared as with the kale, or try cooking them in a little bit of sunflower oil (or another light oil) and adding a splash of vinegar and just a pinch of sugar and salt before serving. The stalks can be baked or prepared on the stovetop.
There are a lot of resources on the internet for recipes. We’ll try not to put something in your basket for too many consecutive weeks (lettuce doesn’t count) so you don’t tire of it. Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment!