BriarPatch Food Co-op | Spring 2022
Get Your Greens On!
Asparagus Asparagus is one of the most versatile vegetables, because you can eat it shaved raw in salads, chopped and cooked in brunch or pasta dishes or roasted on its own. It has its own special mention in one of the first recorded cookbooks, De Re Coquinarius from the 1st Century A.D. Even back then folks were trying to figure out how to keep the heads tender while fully cooking the stalks.
Nettles When cooked properly, their spinachlike flavor is wonderful in soups, pesto sauces, beverages (stinging nettle cordial anyone?) and many dishes in which you’d otherwise use leafy greens. A brief exposure to high heat tames these prickly vines and transforms them into a flavorful dish of earthy and bright flavors. 8
Dandelion Greens
Escarole
Like a heartier version of arugula, dandelion greens lend a punchy bitterness to salads when raw, but that bite is tempered somewhat when cooked. Raw dandelion greens are also packed with iron and are a good source of prebiotics.
The juicy, crunchy white middle ribs and heart, as well as inner lighter-green leaves, are bittersweet and best for raw preparations. The outermost dark green leaves are bitter and chewy and best reserved for cooking. For a great intro to this veggie, make a batch of soup with escarole and white beans.
Pea Shoots
Spearmint
These young tendrils and leaves embody the verdant energy of springtime. Very young shoots are great raw in salads, where they add a sweet, grassy flavor. Add larger shoots to a stir fry at the last minute, or any dish where you’d use lightly-cooked spinach or Swiss chard.
With its divine aroma and bright, clean taste, spearmint is crisp, refreshing and welcome in food and beverages alike. Muddle fresh leaves into your mojito, or blitz ‘em into a pesto for pasta or a salad with feta. Or, tear the leaves and mix with basil and cilantro as part of a Thai-inspired larb dish. Tasty!
