Local cook sings the praises of winter's misunderstood vegetable bounty

[Guest guest]

By REBEKAH DENNP-I FOOD WRITER

 

For those who blanch at Brussels sprouts, panic around parsnips and condemn kale, let Devra Gartenstein be your guide.

When Gartenstein walks through the Ballard Farmers Market, where she has been a vendor for years, she sees the makings of deeply gratifying meals: Hearty soups, warming braises, bright and piquant salads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meryl Schenker / P-I

 

 

Devra Gartenstein, who makes a mean veggie quesadilla at the Ballard Farmers Market, wrote a new seasonal cookbook, "Local Bounty," that shows her affinity for seasonal cooking.

The vegetables in season over the winter months aren't as flamboyant as their summer counterparts, she wrote in her new book, "Local Bounty," ($17.95, Book Publishing Co.), but searching them out "is a worthy challenge and the results can be gratifying." Brussels sprouts, for instance, get a bad rap because they're often overcooked. Roasted and tossed in a lemon-garlic sauce, they become a household favorite.

Gartenstein's signature dish at the markets is a vegetable quesadilla, simply spiced with cumin and chili powder and oregano, filled at this time of year with greens and cabbages and thinly sliced root vegetables. Even a few years ago, she said, she thought zucchini, which peaks in the summer, had to be part of her quesadilla mix year-round. Now she's using winter substitutes such as delicata, acorn and butternut squash.

Both "Local Bounty" and Gartenstein's first book, "The Accidental Vegan," feature recipes that are vegan, using no animal or dairy products. Gartenstein isn't a vegan, but thought the practice of eating with the seasons fell in naturally with recipes that relied on vegetables, fruits and grains.

Besides, "I don't know how to cook with meat," she said. "I learned to cook in a natural foods store and vegetarian restaurants."

She started her Patty Pan Grill 12 years ago at the Fremont Farmers Market and now is a regular at 10 markets around the region. Farmers markets used to shut down in Seattle by the end of summer, or at least during the fall. But three are now year-round -- Ballard, West Seattle and the University District -- as more customers carry over their eat-local ideals to the colder months.

"I love working with a bunch of different varieties of the same thing, which I think you get more in the winter than the summer," Gartenstein said, admiring the four types of beets and countless greens on display at the Nash's Organic Produce stand at the market, where she buys many of her supplies.

"I'd do something with the kale," she said, especially the crinkly, almost sweet leaves of the dinosaur kale now in full season. She might turn the savoy cabbage into a coleslaw or the parsnips into soup.

Go simple, she advised: "When you have such great ingredients, you don't have to do much to them."

WINTER VEGGIE QUESADILLA

SERVES 6

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ onion, thinly sliced

1 unpeeled beet, very thinly sliced

1 cup very thinly sliced winter squash (delicata, acorn, butternut, etc.)

1 cup very thinly sliced turnips

1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons water

Cooking spray

Tomato- or spinach-flavored flour tortillas (8-inch size)

1 heaping cup grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

 

Heat the canola oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the onion, beet, squash and turnips, and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then add cabbage, kale, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and water, and cook another 5 minutes or until all vegetables are soft and water has evaporated.

 

Transfer cooked vegetables from skillet to a bowl, then wash and dry the skillet. Heat skillet on a medium-low flame and add cooking spray.

 

Lay a tortilla in the pan, then spread about 2 tablespoons of cheese over half over tortilla. Cover cheese with about a half-cup of the cooked vegetables. Spread another tablespoon of cheese over vegetables, then fold tortilla in half and flip it with a spatula. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, until tortilla is nicely browned and cheese is melted on both sides.

 

Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese and vegetables. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

 

Note: The quesadilla recipe is vegetarian, but not vegan.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH LEMON-GARLIC SAUCE

SERVES 4

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise

¼ cup olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Toss the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon of the salt and all of the pepper. Arrange them on a baking sheet.

 

Toss garlic cloves with enough of the oil to coat them, wrap in foil and place on a separate corner of the same baking sheet.

 

Roast the Brussels sprouts and garlic in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until sprouts start to brown and garlic becomes aromatic.

 

When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the pulp out of the skins into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Mix garlic pulp with remaining oil, remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and all of the lemon juice to make a sauce. Serve sauce on the side as a dip or toss the roasted sprouts with the sauce before serving.

 

CHOOSING YOUR VEGETABLES

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: Look for "uniformly green, tightly furled sprouts with no yellowing, wilting or mold. They should be very dense with no impression of airspace within when squeezed. ... Buy sprouts when you expect to cook them, not in advance. Despite the keeping qualities of cabbage, their close kin, sprouts, store poorly. While they do not visibly deteriorate, their flavor rapidly turns heavy and bitter -- even just a few days after harvesting."

KALE: "Choose comparatively deep-colored bunches with moist, small to medium leaves. Avoid dried, browned, yellowed or coarse-stemmed plants. ... To avoid yellowing, keep kale far from climacteric fruits (ones that continue to ripen) such as apple, avocado, banana, peach, pear, plum, tomato and most tropical fruits. ... To extend storage or revive leaves, trim the base of stems, drop kale into plenty of lukewarm water; soak 5 minutes. Shake dry, leaving a little moisture on the leaves. Pack into an airtight box in the coldest part of the refrigerator."

PARSNIPS: "Seek sturdy, firm parsnips free of pitting. Although a uniform cream-beige skin indicates the freshest parsnips, some browning is normal. ... Tops should have no hint of a sprouting seed stalk, which signifies woodiness within. ... Do not wash parsnips before storing (they are scrubbed before coming to market). Wrap in a paper towel, then plastic, and refrigerate in the vegetable crisper or whichever spot is coldest and most humid. Kept cold and wrapped, they'll last for months."

-- Excerpted from "Vegetables From Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference," by Elizabeth Schneider

 

rebekahdenn, 206-448-8117; more at blog.seattlepi.com/devouringseattle.

 

Peter vv

[Guest guest]

more stories like this, more stories like this

we have 3 or 4 parsnips right now waiting for us to get around to making em

Peter VV Feb 4, 2009 10:32 AM Re: Re: Local cook sings the praises of winter's misunderstood vegetable bounty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By REBEKAH DENNP-I FOOD WRITER

 

For those who blanch at Brussels sprouts, panic around parsnips and condemn kale, let Devra Gartenstein be your guide.

When Gartenstein walks through the Ballard Farmers Market, where she has been a vendor for years, she sees the makings of deeply gratifying meals: Hearty soups, warming braises, bright and piquant salads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meryl Schenker / P-I

 

 

Devra Gartenstein, who makes a mean veggie quesadilla at the Ballard Farmers Market, wrote a new seasonal cookbook, "Local Bounty," that shows her affinity for seasonal cooking.

The vegetables in season over the winter months aren't as flamboyant as their summer counterparts, she wrote in her new book, "Local Bounty," ($17.95, Book Publishing Co.), but searching them out "is a worthy challenge and the results can be gratifying." Brussels sprouts, for instance, get a bad rap because they're often overcooked. Roasted and tossed in a lemon-garlic sauce, they become a household favorite.

Gartenstein's signature dish at the markets is a vegetable quesadilla, simply spiced with cumin and chili powder and oregano, filled at this time of year with greens and cabbages and thinly sliced root vegetables. Even a few years ago, she said, she thought zucchini, which peaks in the summer, had to be part of her quesadilla mix year-round. Now she's using winter substitutes such as delicata, acorn and butternut squash.

Both "Local Bounty" and Gartenstein's first book, "The Accidental Vegan," feature recipes that are vegan, using no animal or dairy products. Gartenstein isn't a vegan, but thought the practice of eating with the seasons fell in naturally with recipes that relied on vegetables, fruits and grains.

Besides, "I don't know how to cook with meat," she said. "I learned to cook in a natural foods store and vegetarian restaurants."

She started her Patty Pan Grill 12 years ago at the Fremont Farmers Market and now is a regular at 10 markets around the region. Farmers markets used to shut down in Seattle by the end of summer, or at least during the fall. But three are now year-round -- Ballard, West Seattle and the University District -- as more customers carry over their eat-local ideals to the colder months.

"I love working with a bunch of different varieties of the same thing, which I think you get more in the winter than the summer," Gartenstein said, admiring the four types of beets and countless greens on display at the Nash's Organic Produce stand at the market, where she buys many of her supplies.

"I'd do something with the kale," she said, especially the crinkly, almost sweet leaves of the dinosaur kale now in full season. She might turn the savoy cabbage into a coleslaw or the parsnips into soup.

Go simple, she advised: "When you have such great ingredients, you don't have to do much to them."

WINTER VEGGIE QUESADILLA

SERVES 6

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ onion, thinly sliced

1 unpeeled beet, very thinly sliced

1 cup very thinly sliced winter squash (delicata, acorn, butternut, etc.)

1 cup very thinly sliced turnips

1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons water

Cooking spray

Tomato- or spinach-flavored flour tortillas (8-inch size)

1 heaping cup grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

 

Heat the canola oil in a 10-inch skillet. Add the onion, beet, squash and turnips, and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Then add cabbage, kale, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and water, and cook another 5 minutes or until all vegetables are soft and water has evaporated.

 

Transfer cooked vegetables from skillet to a bowl, then wash and dry the skillet. Heat skillet on a medium-low flame and add cooking spray.

 

Lay a tortilla in the pan, then spread about 2 tablespoons of cheese over half over tortilla. Cover cheese with about a half-cup of the cooked vegetables. Spread another tablespoon of cheese over vegetables, then fold tortilla in half and flip it with a spatula. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, until tortilla is nicely browned and cheese is melted on both sides.

 

Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese and vegetables. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

 

Note: The quesadilla recipe is vegetarian, but not vegan.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH LEMON-GARLIC SAUCE

SERVES 4

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise

¼ cup olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Toss the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon of the salt and all of the pepper. Arrange them on a baking sheet.

 

Toss garlic cloves with enough of the oil to coat them, wrap in foil and place on a separate corner of the same baking sheet.

 

Roast the Brussels sprouts and garlic in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until sprouts start to brown and garlic becomes aromatic.

 

When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the pulp out of the skins into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Mix garlic pulp with remaining oil, remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and all of the lemon juice to make a sauce. Serve sauce on the side as a dip or toss the roasted sprouts with the sauce before serving.

 

CHOOSING YOUR VEGETABLES

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: Look for "uniformly green, tightly furled sprouts with no yellowing, wilting or mold. They should be very dense with no impression of airspace within when squeezed. ... Buy sprouts when you expect to cook them, not in advance. Despite the keeping qualities of cabbage, their close kin, sprouts, store poorly. While they do not visibly deteriorate, their flavor rapidly turns heavy and bitter -- even just a few days after harvesting."

KALE: "Choose comparatively deep-colored bunches with moist, small to medium leaves. Avoid dried, browned, yellowed or coarse-stemmed plants. ... To avoid yellowing, keep kale far from climacteric fruits (ones that continue to ripen) such as apple, avocado, banana, peach, pear, plum, tomato and most tropical fruits. ... To extend storage or revive leaves, trim the base of stems, drop kale into plenty of lukewarm water; soak 5 minutes. Shake dry, leaving a little moisture on the leaves. Pack into an airtight box in the coldest part of the refrigerator."

PARSNIPS: "Seek sturdy, firm parsnips free of pitting. Although a uniform cream-beige skin indicates the freshest parsnips, some browning is normal. ... Tops should have no hint of a sprouting seed stalk, which signifies woodiness within. ... Do not wash parsnips before storing (they are scrubbed before coming to market). Wrap in a paper towel, then plastic, and refrigerate in the vegetable crisper or whichever spot is coldest and most humid. Kept cold and wrapped, they'll last for months."

-- Excerpted from "Vegetables From Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference," by Elizabeth Schneider

 

rebekahdenn (AT) seattlepi (DOT) com, 206-448-8117; more at blog.seattlepi.com/devouringseattle.

 

Peter vv

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, men are scattered and smeared over the desert grass,

And the generals have accomplished nothing.

 

-Nefarious War

Li Po (Circa 750)