Plant It Forward

Green Gumbo

Green Gumbo

Might we suggest adding Egyptian spinach, roselle greens, water spinach, and sweet potato greens to that long list of greens!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peanut oil, lard or other vegetable oil
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (see below)
  • 1 ham hock (optional)
  • 10 cups water
  • 3 pounds assorted greens (i.e. kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, chard, parsley, dandelion greens, beet greens), chopped (about 14 cups)
  • Salt
  • 1 pound smoked andouille sausage (optional)
  • File powder to taste (optional)
  • Cajun Spice Blend
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tbsp sweet paprika

Instructions

  1. Make the roux: Start the gumbo by making a roux, which will add a lot of flavor and thicken the gumbo. Heat the cup of peanut oil or lard (both are traditional roux ingredients) over medium heat for a minute or two and then stir in the flour. Mix so there are no lumps.
  2. Cook the roux over medium-low heat until it is the color of chocolate. It is your choice how dark you let your roux go. The darker it is, the better, but once the roux gets dark it can burn easily, so you must stir constantly and keep and eye on it.
  3. Heat water to a simmer: While the roux is cooking, bring the 10 cups of water to a simmer.
  4. Add onions, celery, green pepper, then garlic to roux: When the roux is dark enough, mix in the chopped onions, celery and green pepper and turn the heat to medium. Let this cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes.
  5. Add bay leaves, spice, hot water: Add the bay leaves, the Cajun spice and slowly stir in the hot water. The roux will seize up at first, but keep stirring and it will all come together in a silky broth.
  6. Add ham hock, greens, cover and simmer: Add the ham hock and all the greens. Taste for salt, but remember the ham hock will be salty, so let the broth be a little under-salted for now. If you want to add more Cajun spice, do so now. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  7. Remove meat from ham hock bones, chop and return to pot: Check the ham hock. If the meat is falling off the bone, remove it, discard the bones, chop the meat and return it to the pot. If the hock is not ready, keep simmering the gumbo; ham hocks don't always cook at the same rate.
  8. Add andouille sausage: Once the hock is ready, add the andouille sausage and cook for another 15 minutes.
  9. Serve with file powder at the table.

Notes

Original Recipe

Join the Plant It Forward Farm Share to eat local and support refugees.

https://plant-it-forward.org/green-gumbo/

Calabrese Mustard Greens

Calabrese Mustard Greens

Ingredients

  • 6 pounds mustard greens or chicory, stems discarded
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of the greens and cook, stirring a few times, until just tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the greens to a colander and rinse with cold water. Repeat with the remaining greens. Drain very well. Coarsely chop the greens.
  2. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the greens and stir well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are heated through, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the greens to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the vinegar and serve.

Notes

Original Recipe

Join the Plant It Forward Farm Share to eat local and support refugees.

https://plant-it-forward.org/calabrese-mustard-greens/

Indian-Style Mustard Greens

Indian-Style Mustard Greens

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Cooks in northern India make this dish, called sarson ka saag, when winter greens are in season. Sanjeev Kapoor's daughters like spreading the greens on makki ki roti (cornmeal bread), adding a cheese topping and grilling the bread to make a kind of pizza

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 pounds mustard greens, stemmed, or broccoli rabe, trimmed and chopped
  • 1/2 pound cleaned spinach
  • 2 tablespoons cornmeal
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
  • One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 2 red onions, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the mustard greens and cook for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds. Drain the greens, transfer to a food processor and puree. Sprinkle the cornmeal over the greens and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer the pureed greens to a bowl.
  2. Add the garlic, jalapeños and ginger to the food processor and finely chop. Add the onions and finely chop.
  3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic-onion mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the pureed greens and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally; add about 1/4 cup of water if the greens look dry. Season with salt and serve.

Notes

Original Recipe

Join the Plant It Forward Farm Share to eat local and support refugees.

https://plant-it-forward.org/indian-style-mustard-greens/

Sautéed Carrots and Mustard Greens

Sautéed Carrots and Mustard Greens

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 bunch fresh carrots, trimmed and sliced ¼ inch thick on the bias
  • Coarsely ground pepper
  • Coarse salt
  • 1 bunch tender mustard greens, chopped, rinsed and drained (but not dried)
  • Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 fresh lemon wedge

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the carrots; sprinkle generously with pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook without stirring 2 to 3 minutes, then toss and cook until just fork-tender, 2-3 more minutes.
  2. Remove carrots from pan and set aside.
  3. Add greens to pan, stir, then cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until just tender. Return carrots to the pan, sprinkle with a grating of nutmeg, add a squirt of lemon juice and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Notes

Note: Do not overcook the mustard greens. Add a pinch of sugar to take out the bitterness.

Original Recipe

Join the Plant It Forward Farm Share to eat local and support refugees.

https://plant-it-forward.org/sauteed-carrots-and-mustard-greens/

Mizuna pesto

Mizuna pesto

Ingredients

  • 2 cups coarsely chopped mizuna or mustard greens (leaves not stems)
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated romano cheese
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a food processor chop the garlic, romano, and walnuts. Add the mizuna, turn on food processor and drizzle the olive oil while it is running. Taste. If it has too much kick, add a couple more walnuts.
  2. Transfer the pesto to a jar with a tight fitting lid and chill it, covered.

Notes

The pesto keeps, covered and chilled, for 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup. After boiling the pasta, reserve a couple of Tbsp. pasta water to mix into the pesto and then add to the pasta. Bowties or farfalle work very well with this recipe.

Join the Plant It Forward Farm Share to eat local and support refugees.

https://plant-it-forward.org/mizuna-pesto/