RECIPE: Easy Vegetable Soup

This soup is perfect when you have veggies in your fridge but CSA pickup day is tomorrow!  Throw it all in a pot and make a delicious and nutritious soup.

Ingredients:

- At least one onion, chopped (more are better)

- All your other CSA veggies chopped into bite-size pieces, including summer/winter squash, carrots, hearty greens, kohlrabi, cauliflower, celery, …

In a large pot, heat 4T olive oil on medium-high heat.  Add chopped onions (and carrots and celery, if using) and some salt and allow them to cook till light brown.  Add other vegetables that you think taste better browned, like squash, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and allow them to brown in the pot.  After they are brown, add at least 8 cups water, or more if the pot and amount of veggies will accommodate it. Add the rest of the veggies (like the hearty greens: kale, collard greens, etc).  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for 30-60 minutes depending on size of veggies. Veggies will be tender when soup is done. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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RECIPE: Braised Dandelion Greens

1 bunch Dandelion leaves

4 strips bacon (optional)

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt, pepper, red pepper

Water

1. Cut bottom of stems and rinse greens thoroughly. Use a medium to large size pot for this recipe.

2. Dice approximately 4 strips of bacon and cook until beginning to brown. Drain grease from pot. Add 3-4 crushed garlic cloves and sautée until fragrant. If not using bacon, simply sautée crushed garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil until fragrant.

3. Add greens to pot. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper.

4. Add approximately 4 cups of water, enough so that when the greens wilt they will be just submerged. Bring water to boil and reduce heat to low. Braise greens until tender, about 30 minutes.

4. Serve in bowls with broth alongside steak and other meats. The dandelion broth is highly nutritious and can be drunk as a soothing end to the meal or used as a stock when making soup.

RECIPE: Dandelion Egg Salad

Difficulty Level: Easy

 

Ingredients:

- bunch of dandelion greens (the entire bunch from the distribution)
- 8-12 hard-boiled eggs (depends on whether you like more green in your egg salad or not)
- mayonnaise (2-3 tablespoons depending on individual preference)
- 2-3 garlic cloves (depends on individual preference)

Wash dandelion greens thoroughly and chop finely. Chop up hard boiled eggs. Combine in a bowl with squeezed garlic cloves and mayonnaise. Add salt and ground pepper to taste.  It goes really well as a spread on toasted pumpernickel or rye bread.  If it's breakfast time, spread it on a toasted croissant.  Enjoy!

RECIPE: Korean Greens Side Salad

Difficulty Level: Easy
(note some unusual ingredients)

1 bunch dandelion, arugula, and/or sorrel, washed and chopped

1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

Throw everything in a bowl and start massaging with your hands.  The greens should wilt and be thoroughly mixed with the dressing.  Taste and adjust the salt or sugar level to your liking.  Serve with short grain brown or white rice. 

One Bowl Meal Variation: place over rice in a bowl, top with a fried egg - runny yolk a must! Mix everything together and enjoy.

RECIPE: Dandelion Pesto

This time of year pesto recipes abound, but here's a new twist using dandelion greens. If you find them a bit too bitter, try substituting some of the dandelion for the basil that we get this week to mellow it out.

From davidlebovitz.com

Ingredients:
12 ounces (350g) washed and cleaned dandelion leaves

1 cup (250ml) olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled

6 tablespoons (40g) pine nuts, lightly toasted

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

2 1/2 ounces (70g) Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Procedure:
1. Put about one-third of the dandelion greens in the food processor or blender with the olive oil and chop for a minute, scraping down the sides. Add the remaining dandelion greens in two batches, until they’re all finely chopped up.

2. Add the garlic cloves, pine nuts, salt, and Parmesan, and process until everything is a smooth puree.

3. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. If it’s too thick, you can thin it with more olive oil or water.

Storage:
The pesto can be refrigerated in a jar for up to four days. The top may darken, which is normal. You can pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent that. It can also be frozen for up to two months.


Ideas for Dandelion Pesto:
-Spread over pizza with cooked potatoes slices, then baked.
-Smeared on crostini over a layer of fresh spreadable cheese.
-Use to dress potato salad.
-Toss with whole wheat pasta with chicken or roasted vegetables. Reserve a bit of the pasta cooking liquid to help smooth the sauce over the hot noodles. (I add a knob of butter, too, which helps smooth it out. Although pesto purists wouldn’t do that.)
-Mix with a salad of farro or wheat berries.

RECIPE: Chubby Veggie Sandwich

Contributed by Chubby Bunny Member Seth Burroughs


1 bunch radishes, cut in quarters lengthwise

1 bunch scallions or garlic scapes, roughly chopped
1 bunch dandelion greens*, mustard greens, or komatsuma, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (feta would also work well)

2 slices of crusty bread per sandwich (baguette also works well)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a sautee pan over medium heat until butter is melted

2. Add radishes. Let cook 5 minutes until lightly browned, and stir.

3. Add scallions (whites cut thin) and/or garlic scapes and cook for about 3 more minutes until wilted.
4. Add anchovy fillets, garlic clove, and red pepper flakes and sautee for approximately 30 seconds until anchovies dissipate into the oil.

5. Add the greens and sautee until just wilted, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Remove pan from the heat.

6. Meanwhile, add a sprinkling of cheese to the slices of bread and melt in a toaster oven or under the broiler in the oven.
7. Once melted, assemble the sandwich with two slices of bread and the greens/radish mixture inside.

(For an omnivorous version try adding sliced chicken, turkey, or sausage.)

* If using dandelion greens, trim the stems and boil in salted water for 5 minutes before sauteeing which will remove much of the bitter after-taste.

RECIPE: Greek Country Salad

From Gourmet January 2001

Ingredients:

For dressing

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For salad

1/2 lb escarole (preferably pale inner leaves), chopped (4 cups)*

1/4 lb tender young mustard greens, trimmed and finely chopped (2 cups)*

1/2 lb dandelion greens, tough stems discarded and leaves cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices (2 cups)

2 oz baby spinach (2 cups)

1 cup watercress sprigs, trimmed

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion

Procedure:

Make dressing:
Whisk together lemon juice, salt, and honey in a large salad bowl and add oil in a slow stream, whisking until blended.

Make salad:
Add salad ingredients to dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

(* Try substituting the lettuce from our shares for the escarole, and the komatsuna for the mustard greens!)