The Rapini is on the left and I also harvested the tenderest tops of some of the Red Florence Fennel that is volunteering around the garden, plus some cilantro, and in the bottom right corner the tops of a few Super Sugar Snap Peas. The fennel, most of the cilantro, and the pea greens were used in an herbed skillet souffle.
I'm still making good use of previous harvests. Some of the Marina di Chioggia squash that I cut into the week before last was sliced and pan sauteed and served with a Garlic Agrodolce sauce (sauteed sliced garlic, sugar, white wine vinegar and a touch each of cinnamon and vanilla, and crushed dried oregano - fresh mint is good also if you happen to have some). And some the of celery root that was harvested long ago and that is keeping quite well in the fridge was combined with some fingerling potatoes to make Potato Smashers or in this case Celery Root & Potato Smashers. I served the Smashers with Shredded Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (seasoned with sweet onion, zante currants, pine nuts, crumbled dried peppers, and pomegranate balsamico). I served the Brussels Sprouts on the side instead of folding them into the smashers. And I'm still working my way through the Romanesco Broccoli, some of it was pan browned with some sweet onion slivers and capers, then braised with chicken stock and chopped Couve Tronchuda. That was combined with whole wheat penne and some crunchy sauteed breadcrumbs seasoned with crumbled dried peppers and oregano.
Here's the harvest totals for the week:
Couve Tronchuda - 6.5 oz.
Olive Leaf Rapini - 3.25 oz.
The total for the week was - 9.75 oz.
The total for the year is 14 lb., 5.75 oz.
Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne on her blog Daphne's Dandelions, head on over there to see what other garden bloggers have been harvesting lately.
Beautiful box. Your broccoli sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteNice looking cilantro, and that red Florence fennel is lovely too. I didn't realize it came in any shade other than green, at least the bulbing type.
ReplyDeleteI got seeds for the Couve Tronchuda. I guess I will grow it in the fall, like I would collards or kale. When it's harvest time I will have to come back here and see what you are doing with yours, because reading about what you are cooking up always makes my mouth water!
I envy you the cilantro (coriander, we call it) as I've never been able to grow it well. The days of small harvests will soon turn into weeks of spring and summer crops!
ReplyDeleteOh yum. I really have missed cilantro. Both now and last year. I grew pretty wild in my last garden. I never planted it except the first couple of years. It just multiplied and self seeded every year. I was always giving it away and eating tons. I'll miss that this year. But I'm going to try a longer holding cilantro and see if I like it or not.
ReplyDeleteThose leaves look so pretty I feel a bit motivated to do some cooking;-).I don't know why but I let all of our over-wintered cilantro to bolt and we had so much cilantro seeds to use as herb or marinade.
ReplyDeleteThe cilantro and red fennel look really good. I'm sure they would be tasty in a pasta salad of some sort.
ReplyDeleteBarbie, thanks!
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villager, the red Florence fennel doesn't make much of a bulb, but the foliage is beautiful and the seeds are very flavorful so I like to let it volunteer around the edges of the garden.
Do a web search for Caldo Verde, it's a traditional Portuguese soup that uses Couve Tronchuda, very simple and delicious.
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chaiselongue, cilantro is a funny herb, every time I try to intentionally grow it I get so so results, but when I just scatter the seeds around and let it fend for itself I end up with more than I can use.
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Daphne, I'm not sure how much longer the "slow bolt" cilantro grows before blooming, I've never noticed much difference. It seems like day length may be important, my winter growing cilantro just keeps pumping out the foliage even though we've had a lot of warm days lately. It will be interesting to see just how long it will be before it bolts.
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Malay-Kadazan girl, I love coriander seeds. Have you ever tried using them while they are still green? They're delicious, they have the flavors of both the dried seeds and the green leaves.
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Thomas, I think you're right! There's also an Italian pasta dish that uses the fennel greens with sardines that I've been meaning to try.
Nice bunch of cilantro and red fennel. I don't have much luck with cilantro here, they go to seed quickly around May, they don't seem to grow well in the fall either because of extreme day and night temps.
ReplyDeleteVery very nice cilantro. I always have trouble with it bolting. This year I'm trying two slow bolting varieties. Hopefully they will work out. My husband just loves cilantro!
ReplyDeleteI love the red fennel! I'm going to find some seed for it and plant some in my garden...just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI want to invite myself over for dinner (please!). Your preparation of the vegetables sounds absolutely delicious.
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