More of the Renee's Golden beets were big enough to harvest. I roasted and peeled the whole lot and then used some of them in a salad that was similar to the one I described last week except that instead of charred scallions I used thin sliced red onion that was briefly soaked in Agrodolce Zinfandel vinegar and a pinch of salt. Dollops of buttermilk blue cheese dressing, toasted sliced almonds, and finely cut Persian basil finished the dish.
The greens on the beets were pristine so I used those in dish, I don't know if it should be called a braise or a stew, but it featured bulk sweet Italian sausage in tomato sauce into which I stirred the chopped beet greens and then nestled in big florets of broccoli and let it all simmer until the broccoli was tender. I served that with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. If I was still eating pasta on a regular basis I would have tossed it with some penne or rigatoni.
That was it for the week other than a big harvest of Cilician parsley which I don't keep track of in my harvest tally. I used most of that big bunch of parsley along with some Persian mint in a Turkish bulgur salad called Kisir. It's a cousin of tabbouli but more boldly flavored with pepper paste, tomato paste, and pomegranate molasses. I used my fermented Jalapeño Rose Petal paste and homemade tomato paste. Wow, it was really tasty and I tried one spoonful as a stuffing in one of my lacto fermented grape leaves which was a double wow.
Head on over to Dave's blog Our Happy Acres where you will find links to more Harvest Monday posts.
I harvested the first beets as well and I'm hoping to add some potatoes to the harvest basket next week from one of the pots. Am envious of the Tromba squash, though - it's amazing how big they get even before pollination. Mine unfortunately hasn't even started vining yet so it will be a few weeks before I'm enjoying them.
ReplyDeleteFurtle, what a great word I never knew existed! I will use it from now on. Nice you got some squash. In my garden it's always the male flowers that open first, and then can't get a date! The beet green dish sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteSwallowtail butterflies are beautiful but we don’t have them here. Do the caterpillars cause damage like our Small and Large Whites?
ReplyDeleteThey are very selective about what they eat, only plants in the carrot family and there tend to not be more than 2 to 4 caterpillars on a plant, so no, they don't cause much damage, at least in my garden.
DeleteThe food you create with your veg sounds absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteSuch cute little potatoes and gorgeous beets. I just planted beets in the onion patch, they came up in just three days with the warm weather. I don't think I've ever had blue cheese in a salad dressing, sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I usually don't pick my beets for a while cause I use the greens more often than the roots, so I just keep cutting the greens. I love the swallowtails. So many pretty varieties! I should grow some fennel just for them. Never have even grown fennel, and haven't cooked with it either. But I'm sure I've had something with it at a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteYour fennel looks great, and with the added bonus of swallowtails... wow!
ReplyDeleteI always wind up hungry when I read your posts! The Tromba are starting to set on here too. I'm taking your lead and growing them on a remesh trellis this year and they are already filling it up!
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