Before we know it, the farmers’ markets will be open again and we’ll face the annual June glut of local greens. In previous years I've bemoaned this period before the "real" vegetables start to ripen in the fields, but this year I'm trying a new approach. Each week I buy several types of greens at the grocery store and road-test them on my family. (Yes the greens come from California, but what can you do?) Now my family has been eating kale puree hidden in their pasta sauce for a long time without comment, but I decided to get them involved in this little experiment. So during the initial week we tried a different green smoothie each day, which I will share more about in the next post, and those recipes all used swiss chard or collard greens.
This past week I bought mustard greens for the first time and was unsure about what to do with them. As it turns out, mustard greens are much more, shall we say, delicate than kale or collards and as a result, after nearly a week in the fridge about half of the bunch was too rotten to use. It’s a shame, but thankfully they will still be able to contribute to our household in the form of compost. And with the remaining half bunch, I improvised a quick recipe that turned out to be quite good. As my time was very limited, no chopping of garlic or onions for this one. No picture either, sorry!
Capellini with Mustard Greens and Sundried Tomatoes
Serves about 4
30 minutes or less
Skill level: Easy
1/2 bunch mustard greens, chopped roughly and washed well, then dried
1/3 cup sundried tomato slivers, packed in oil
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
2 cups prepared tomato pasta sauce
1/2 lb capellini pasta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
1. In a wide skillet on medium heat, add the sundried tomatoes with a teaspoon of their oil. Stir in the greens. Sprinkle garlic and onion powder, stirring the greens to coat. After a couple minutes, turn the heat down to low and cover. Let cook about 10 minutes until greens are tender.
2. While the greens cook, bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook capellini according to package directions. Drain, toss with a small amount of olive oil and set aside, covered.
3. Once greens are tender, stir in pasta sauce, cover again and let simmer another 5 minutes.
4. While pasta sauce is simmering, toast the pine nuts in either a small skillet or toaster oven pan. Watch carefully to prevent them from burning. Shred the parmesan cheese.
5. Serve sauce over the pasta, with parmesan and pine nuts on top.
Storage/Leftover tips:· Store leftover sauce and pasta separately.
· Sauce can be used over eggs, as a topping for veggie burgers, or over polenta.
· Pasta can be mixed with quiche filling in place of using a crust, served as cold sesame/peanut noodles or added to stir-fried veggies and tofu.
Capellini with Mustard Greens and Sundried Tomatoes
Serves about 4
30 minutes or less
Skill level: Easy
1/2 bunch mustard greens, chopped roughly and washed well, then dried
1/3 cup sundried tomato slivers, packed in oil
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
2 cups prepared tomato pasta sauce
1/2 lb capellini pasta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
1. In a wide skillet on medium heat, add the sundried tomatoes with a teaspoon of their oil. Stir in the greens. Sprinkle garlic and onion powder, stirring the greens to coat. After a couple minutes, turn the heat down to low and cover. Let cook about 10 minutes until greens are tender.
2. While the greens cook, bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook capellini according to package directions. Drain, toss with a small amount of olive oil and set aside, covered.
3. Once greens are tender, stir in pasta sauce, cover again and let simmer another 5 minutes.
4. While pasta sauce is simmering, toast the pine nuts in either a small skillet or toaster oven pan. Watch carefully to prevent them from burning. Shred the parmesan cheese.
5. Serve sauce over the pasta, with parmesan and pine nuts on top.
Storage/Leftover tips:· Store leftover sauce and pasta separately.
· Sauce can be used over eggs, as a topping for veggie burgers, or over polenta.
· Pasta can be mixed with quiche filling in place of using a crust, served as cold sesame/peanut noodles or added to stir-fried veggies and tofu.
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