Second Charlestown Farm CSA Pickup
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Sorry I’m a bit late with this one - camera issues. Last week I brought home two heads of lettuce, 1/2 lb of leaf lettuce, 1/3 lb of arugula, 1/3 lb of mixed Asian greens, one bunch of turnips, and 1 1/2 quarts of u-pick strawberries. I also picked up some mint. Amazingly we managed to eat all of the greens in the week! I know many of us struggle with eating all of the greens that come in most CSA boxes - and we were the same last year. However, I recently figured out a way to eat them all - and without eating huge salads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! My secret - Tabbouleh! This tasty Middle Eastern salad works as well with arugula as it does with parsley. My recipe is below - you can use any flavorful greens that are edible raw (so arugula, mustard, tat soi, and mizuna are in, but this won’t work well with lettuce or kale). Enjoy!
Mixed Greens Tabbouleh
* = optional ingredients
I prefer my Tabbouleh to have equal amounts of bulgar and greens, feel free to adjust the proportions if you’d like.
Ingredients
2 c bulgar wheat
~2 1.2 c boiling water
2 roasted red peppers* (I used some we have packed in oil from last year, you can use canned if you like)
6 T oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 T lime juice* (or use lemon)
2 T lemon juice* (or use cider vinegar)
2 T mint, chopped*
3-4 green onions, chopped* (use any allium)
8 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
salt and pepper
1 lb mixed greens, chopped finely (I use the food processor)
1. Put the bulgar in a boil and cover with the boiling water to reach about 1 inch above the buglar. Let soak up to an hour, until most of the water is absorbed and the bulgar is al dente.
2. Whisk the oil, garlic, lemon, and lime juices together.
3. Mix the olives, mint, onions, red pepper, and greens.
4. Combine the greens mixture, bulgar, and dressing.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the oil and acid if necessary.
As it gets later in the season you can add tomatoes and cucumbers to this as well.
I must confess, I don’t even attempt to eat the turnip and radish greens. There’s just so many other greens to eat and only the two of us. We have the regular share (supposed to feed two adults and two kids). Pretty much everything else is just the right amount for us (or not enough in the case of our favorites) - but we are always overwhelmed with the greens.
Thanks for the suggestion about the potato/turnip mash.
The only really happy folk are married women and single men. mp3 hits
My CSA is Charlestown Farm, also. This is my fourth year and each year I struggle with how to cook/consume all those greens. Don’t forget the radish greens and the turnip greens, too! We get tired of salads, and sometimes I share the wealth with a neighbor. I found a recipe that I like so much that I’m happy to make it over and over. It’s from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Suppers. Make a “mash” from potatoes and turnips (or just potatoes if that’s all you have); add milk/cream/butter to taste. Top with sauteed onions and greens. You can add cheese (goat cheese is especially good) to the potatoes. This is so delicious. Once you have potatoes and onions from your CSA you can make this a true local meal.