English Peas, Spring Onions and Roasted Almonds

Just cooked English peas, sautéd spring onions and roasted, salted almonds are a delicious combination of tender sweet, sweet pungent, and crunchy just salty. You can set this side dish next to grilled fish or chicken or mashed potatoes and a roast. It's...

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Flower Vegetables Category Archive

Artichokes: Steamed and Stuffed

Artichokes are always eaten cooked. Once cooked, they can be served hot, warm or cold. Pull off each leaf; dunk it in the sauce; put it in your mouth and pull, scraping the tender flesh through your teeth. Cut the tender nut-flavored bottom into bite-sized pieces, dunk in sauce and eat. Serve with béchamel, butter, or hollandaise sauce.

Whole cleaned baby artichokes can be deep-fried to a golden brown.

Steaming is perhaps the best way to cook an artichoke. The flavor and nutrients will be retained.

Steaming an artichoke. Stand the artichoke in a stainless steel pot or steamer basket with 2 to 3 inches (5-7.5 cm) of salted water so that it does not completely water cook. Cover. Steam the choke until the stem end is tender--about 20 to 40 minutes. Remove the thistle-like choke and the small purple leaves. Tug on one of the leaves; if it comes off easily the artichoke is finished cooking. Stuffed artichokes are a favorite in Arabic cuisine. Stuff steamed artichokes with rice, ground meat, sausage, chicken, vegetables, cheese or combinations and bake until bubbling.

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Cauliflower

Pick up a palm-sized head of cauliflower and you will have the makings of a tasty snack.

Raw or steamed until tender-crisp and then chilled, florets of cauliflower can be dipped in guacamole, curried mayonnaise, or Russian dressing.

You can marinade raw or parboiled florets in a vinaigrette dressing and then mix them with broccoli, pimiento, mushrooms, and onions.

And, of course, as the French have done for nearly four centuries, steamed or boiled cauliflower can be buttered or dressed with a white or cheese sauce.

Spring and fall are the best times of the year to find abundant offerings of fresh, local cauliflower at your farm market.

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Broccoli

Fresh, local broccoli will have a delicate flavor and texture.

The key to capturing broccoli at its sweetest is to take it out of the field or garden before the weather warms too much and get onto the table right away.

The young emerald-green florets of broccoli can be served raw dressed with vinaigrette or accompanied by a dipping sauce.

Mature broccoli—both the budded flowers and stems--can be boiled or steamed and eaten cold as a salad or hot as a side dish.

The peak season for broccoli is early fall through early spring. Cool weather sweetens the taste of broccoli so for the best flavor broccoli should come to the table before the weather warms.

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Artichoke

There are only two requirements for enjoying an artichoke: front teeth and patience.

First you pull each leaf off the choke by its thorny end and place the base in your mouth; then you drag it slowly between your front teeth to scrape off and enjoy the nutty-flavored edible flesh. Repeat 20 to 30 times and you will be rewarded by reaching the furry inedible core, which once dissected of its prickly protectors, will yield a bite or two of delectable heart.

It’s a bit of work that can’t be hurried, but the reward is tasty—especially if warm butter or a cream sauce is at hand.

There are two harvest seasons for artichokes: a short one in October and the main artichoke harvest which is starting now, in March, and will run through May.

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Broccoli raab and Rapini

Broccoli raab and rapini are not synonymous, but when it comes to recipes and marketing they practically are.

Broccoli raab [rob] has long, thin rich-green stems (6-9 inches/18-23 cm long) topped with scattered clusters of broccoli-like florets. The flavor is nutty and both pungent and zesty.

Rapini [rah-PEE-nee] is similar to broccoli raab but with fewer florets and a flavor akin to mustard. Rapini is preferred for its mustard-like tops. (Both have leaves that look like turnip greens.)

Either is a good match for less assertive partners such as pasta, rice, polenta or potatoes. Italian cookbooks dating back to the fourteenth century included broccoli raab and rapini recipes.

For the record, here are some of the other names also used for these vegetables: raab, rapa, rabe, rapine, rappi, rappone, fall and spring raab, turnip broccoli, taitcat, Italian broccoli, broccoli rape, broccoletti di rape, broccoletto, broccoli di foglia, cime de rape, rape, broccoli de rabe, Italian turnip, and turnip broccoli. There is a related but milder green grown in China which is known as choy sum or Chinese broccoli or Chinese flowering cabbage.

Choose: Select stems that are upright and firm with leaves that are bright green. The florets should be tightly closed.

Serve: These two can be stir-fried, steamed, sautéed and braised or included in soups or salads. Try this: Trim the bottom of the stems and cut the stalks crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Drop them into boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon. Sauté in a little olive oil and garlic to taste for 3 to 5 minutes until tender.

Cauliflower

Many French kings went by the name Louis. The name means famous warrior. The moniker worked for many of the kings of France, but by the time the name came down to Louis XV, the French had just about had it with the idea of an absolute monarchy.

While Louis XV did little to popularize the notion of the divine right of kings, he was a great lover of cauliflower and is perhaps rightfully credited with bringing that heavily flowered vegetable cousin of the cabbage to its culinary high point in history.

Even today if you see the name “Du Barry” on a French menu—such as crème Du Barry—you can be assured that cauliflower figures into the recipe. (You see, the Countess Du Barry was Louis’ favorite mistress and she shared her love for everything cauliflower with the king and his court.)

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Broccoli

Quick! Name an edible flower!

Ok, which once did you name: nasturtium, pansy, viola, marigold or lavender, day lily, carnation or sage? The petals of each of those can be added to a salad for both taste and show. There are dozens of flowers that are edible.

But did you name the most commonly eaten flower of all?

If you said broccoli, you're right.

Millions of pounds of broccoli are eaten around the world every year. A relative of the cabbage, broccoli is one of the most accepted vegetables anywhere. If you think about it for a minute or two, it's easy to understand why.

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