|
THE HUMBLE VEGETABLES You wouldn't know it from the weather here, but I remember that it's winter when I go to the farmers market. Roots, bulbs and cruciferous vegetables rule. Where juicy tomatoes and peaches reign in the summer, alongside sugary corn, fragile zucchinni blossoms, and brilliant red raspberries, now there are mountains of turnips, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and endless winter squash. Of course there are other things, too - all the cool weather greens, the bounty of citrus, the snap peas and the early crops of strawberries - because this is California, where it's easy to say "eat seasonal." But what if you don't live in California? Is it to be nothing but cabbage and roots from now till April? I took this idea to heart, not only because I feel for the folks east of the rockies. My family came from a cold, northern place, where cabbages, potatoes, onions and turnips had to get you through the winter, with the crocks of salt-cured pickles you had filled in August, and the mushrooms that you dried in the fall. I really do love the humble vegetables of winter, and in their own way they are the most beautiful things in the market right now. For starters, don't dis cabbage. I've been buying large, sweet green cabbages from a Hungarian lady at my local Sunday market. (I figured if she didn't know her cabbage, no one did.) They are flavorful, crisp and pale green when raw, but golden, buttery and tender when cooked slowly on a winter afternoon. I've made a wilted cabbage slaw with mustard seed and raisins - it's good warm or cold, and makes a great accompaniment to a toasted cheese sandwich. I've made pasta with cabbage and mushrooms and cream, lovely with a glass of red wine. And I've made a perfect winter soup of cabbage, onions and apples, all caramelized and simmered together until the perfume is seductive, the flavor irresistable. I've also been buying a lot of root vegetables. There are already recipes in the archive for roasted root vegetables, with suggestions about how they can be used in risotto, soup, salad, and so on. But I got a bunch of parsnips in my basket from Peter the other day, along with very sweet carrots and new turnips, and they brought a whole new feel to my roasted vegetables. The parsnips were a revelation - they had a sweet and nutty flavor when they were roasted, with nothing but a light touch of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. I had overlooked parsnips before, but I won't neglect them again. And I was reminded how much I like turnips when I went to a Scottish party and ate the traditional "neeps and tatties" - that would be turnips and potatoes to the rest of us. They were simply prepared, mashed, creamed and buttered, served seperately in earthenware bowls. Delicious. Eating them together, I thought how wonderful a gratin of potatoes and turnips would be, sort of like scalloped potatoes with half the potato slices replaced by turnip slices. Try it with some Gruyere, or one of the hard, aged Basque cheeses grated over the top. One day I decided to combine all the root vegetables in my refrigerator, and instead of roasting them I stewed them with Moroccan spices. Garlic and green chilies gave them some heat, cinnamon, cumin and turmeric produced an exotic perfume, and plump raisins added sweetness. The sturdy vegetables - carrots, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, butternut squash, onions - all simmered slowly, softening into a stew of melting tenderness and rich flavor. At the end, I added a squirt of lemon juice and a handful of chopped cilantro. Served over couscous, this could be the centerpiece of a wonderful cold-night supper. I can't leave off without talking about kale, the darkest of the dark, leafy greens. I had two generous bunches of different kinds of kale last week, and they made one of the best green soups of the season. Starting with black kale and dinosaur kale, I added a small amount of spinach, some fennel tops, and green onions. I simmered the greens as usual with caramelized onions and one potato, and that tough, almost leathery kale transformed into a velvety soup with a deep, slightly sweet flavor. Humble perhaps - but heavenly. Don't despair. The more voluptuous produce of spring and summer is still far away, but the rewards of winter vegetables are great. Cook slow, cook easy, and enjoy the comforting, nourishing, satisfying vegetables that can take you through the winter beautifully. You will find recipes for Sweet and Sour Cabbage Slaw, and for Stewed Root Vegetables with Moroccan Spices in this month's New Recipes.
|