Mystery Vegetable: Savoy Cabbage

First off, thanks to you all for checking back! I have been really busy starting a new phase at work and doing a little traveling (check again soon for relevant posts about that! :) but will try to post more often now if I can!

Now winter is starting to (very slowly) peek its toes out from underneath the warm covers of mid-fall, the assortment of vegetables that I am getting in my weekly CSA box is definitely adjusting to suit the season. This week I got a very typical German vegetable that I know we have in the States, but I at least never would have purchased! What would you do with a...

Savoy Cabbage

savoy cabbage

The Brassica oleracea var. sabauda L. or Savoy Cabbage Group is a fall and winter vegetable that is quite popular over here in Germany especially around the Christmas season - "wirsing" is mostly cooked with scallions and garlic and is either served with sausages or as a side to duck, deer, or any wild game for the holidays (along with potatoes, of course!). It is a variety of the same species as kale, or "grünkohl" in German, but unlike kale, does form a head. The texture is the same, and I think they also taste the same. 

These heavy heads of green are not only a nice side dish for the winter season but are also very good for you for several reasons! Leafy greens are thought to help prevent cancer, probably due to their high fiber content, which also helps you stay full for longer and aids in digestion. Savoy cabbage as well as kale are also high in Vitamin C (wow!) and Vitamin K.

Another increasingly popular way to prepare kale and thus savoy cabbage is to make chips! I have done this once, but I used too much oil so the chips gotta kinda soppy quickly. The preparation is pretty simple, though, and something different to try. Have fun with this recipe from Food Network and invent your own ways to eat savoy cabbage!

Kale Chips

Ingredients
- 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried (important! otherwise the chips will not be crispy!)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes.

Mystery Vegetable: Fennel

This is one that I'm just really not that familiar with, and was never very aware of. One that never really seemed all that appealing and kind of rare. One that I probably have seen at the store, but never really caught my interest. One that has a kinda furry top, reminiscent of dill. One that is...

Fennel

2 fennel bulbs

These two fennel bulbs were part of my recent CSA box delivery, so it became time to venture into fennel territory! But in which direction?

Fennel, or Foeniculum vulgare (I find it amusing that "vulgar" is in the latin name, makes you wonder...), is also commonly used in seed form in baking and cooking, more so in India and Mediterranean/middle Eastern dishes. Its pretty little yellow flowers make it a nice addition to flowering beds, and its foliage is often used here in Germany in tea form to aid in digestion. The bulb itself is also popularly eaten in salads here in Germany and has a anise or licorice flavor. It is also one of the main 3 herbs used to flavor absinthe, that green alcoholic substance popular in Europe. Didn't know that!

So how to make fennel then? I had a recipe from a friend for fennel soup, which consisted of cooking the sliced bulbs with vegetable bouillon and onion and the pureeing. This was actually really good, in a way reminiscent of potato soup (maybe I haven't had potato soup for a while...).

Besides helping with digestion (to get things flowing and prevent flatulence), fennel also has a bit of Vitamin C, Manganese and Potassium.

So if you're looking for something new to try, give fennel a shot! Love it or leave it!

Mystery Vegetable: Rutabaga

Ok, ok, this isn't really all that strange or mysterious, but it is a vegetable that I have admittedly never actually purchased before, and never really at least been aware of eating, so here it goes!

rutabaga

Rutabaga
This was another one I got recently, but more during the winter, in my CSA delivery, and I just loved how it looked! The roots on the bottom make it look like an alien! :-)

The rutabaga, or Brassica napobrassica as it is known in the scientific world, is called a "Steckrübe" over here, which hints at a root being stuck into the ground. It is closely related to the turnip, and is even sometimes called a Swedish Turnip, but the ones I get are much bigger (and more monster-like... :)

It's commonly cooked, pureed, and served like mashed potatoes would be, or is used as a base in stews, soups and casseroles, but I've also eaten it raw, peeled and cut into pieces, with a low-fat cream cheese (with horseradish mixed in) for a side for lunch, and prefer it so. They are much more flavorful than I expected!

And they have a bunch of nutrients - the big shocker being a lot of Vitamin C - only 100g (or 3.5oz) has almost 50% of your RDA! Wow, who would have thought?

Plus I learned that Rutabaga has some historical significance here in Germany - it helped keep the Germans from starving during WWI and II - they would make a soup of just cut-up rutabaga and water to sustain themselves during food shortages. This also means that Germans aren't really a huge fan of rutabagas....

But I certainly enjoy them! :)

Mystery Vegetable: Yellow Turnip

yellow turnip

While admittedly really *not* the best picture at all, I think you can still get an idea of what this round little root vegetable is!

It's about the size of a beet, but harder, and is a pale yellow color, not as intense as a lemon. It's a....

Yellow Turnip!
Or that's at least the closest name for it that I could find, so unfortunately no latin name this week (although it is a member of the Brassica genus)! It was labeled in my CSA box as "Rübchen, gelb", which means "root vegetable, yellow", so based on the consistancy and some photos after searching for the official German name for it, I stick by my name for it!

Similar to a turnip and a rutabaga, you can eat a yellow turnip raw with some dip, steam it as a side dish, or cut it up and fry it in a pan, stir-fry style, my favorite! I've only gotten these little guys once so far. They do have a pretty mild flavor, so you can use them in a variety of ways - oh, they'd also be great in a soup! 

Turnips have some great natural fibers and more importantly are filled with Vitamin C! Who would have known? One medium-sized turnip has half of your RDA of it, so load up!

"Let food be thy medicine ... " - Hippocrates. Smart guy. One of my favorite quotes these days, it's so true!  

Mystery Vegetable: Napa Cabbage

Napa Cabbage

Another semi-mystery vegetable has been arriving in my CSA-box off and on for the past few weeks. Having never seen this particular kind in the store or having never purchased it before, I had an idea what it would be like just based on the texture, which is interesting!

Napa Cabbage
The Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, also known as the celery or napa cabbage, is known here in Germany as "china cabbage", which is not entirely false - this vegetable does originate from China and is popular in Chinese cuisine. This is apparently also the main ingredient of the famous spicy Korean side dish, kimchi (which I didn't know!).

It has a very light green color, and a sort of rubbery texture, a bit like kale, but is still soft like white cabbage when cooked, even a bit more delicate, perhaps. It has a fairly mild taste, so it absorbs the flavors of whatever are being cooked with it well. This one fries great, and it particularly enjoyable cut up and fried with some onion and ground beef in a skillet. Fast, easy, and healthy!

And according to Wikipedia, this veggie is a sign of prosperity in China, so eat up and you will at least be considered rich! :)

Mystery Vegetable: Indian/Miner's Lettuce

Indian or Miner's Lettuce

Whew, a post here is long overdue! Busy week, so am now coming up for air...

This week's vegetable is one that is really growing on me, one that I hadn't seen before getting my weekly CSA box, but one that I've grown to love now! Presenting....

Indian Lettuce!

Or for you latin-lovers - Claytonia perfoliata, also known colloquially as miner's lettuce or winter purslane (I think I may have heard of that...). This one tends to grow in more northern, harsher climates, like in the mountains or just in cold weather (like here right now, was brought over to Europe in the 1700s). It's a fairly mild tasting and nutritious winter green, filled with lots of vitamin C - it apparently got it's name because California miners used to eat it to prevent scurvy! What do you know!

At first I thought they'd messed up and given me some sort of weed...I though, are you supposed to eat this?!

But in the meantime I really enjoy it fresh (it shrivels a bit when cooked or fried, kinda like spinach, so I prefer to eat it raw) as a salad base or even cut up and mixed into a pasta salad! This is my favorite way to eat it at the moment: whole-grain pasta cooked and the mixed with this lettuce (chopped), cut-up fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and a pesto dressing. This recipe is filled with vitamins and healthy fats and satisfies you on cold days!

Mystery Vegetable: Corn Salad

This one isn't really a mystery to me these days, in fact I've grown to love it over the past few years here. Now it's my favorite type of lettuce-y vegetable!

Introducing this luscious green also known as lamb's lettuce aka field salad aka feldsalat aka nut lettuce aka rapunzel aka...

Corn Salad!

Valerianella locusta is its latin name, and has round, soft, dark green leaves, about 6 to a plant or so by the time it's ripe for harvest. It has a nice flavor and is not bitter or rough like many other greens. In fact, it is quite delicious!

It's best eaten on the side with just a little light dressing, or as a base for a salad - if you try to cook/fry this one, it will wither into non-existence!

It supposedly got its common name because it is known to grow as a weed in wheat fields, which is actually kinda funny - when I fist arrived in Germany, I saw my German friends eating this and laughed because I thought they were eating a weed! This delicious green is, however, anything but a weed to me! Check it out!

Mystery Vegetable: Black Salsify / Viper's Grass

Black Salsify / Viper's Grass

It's a dirty turnip...it's a dirty beet....no, it's Schwarzwurzel!!!

Literally translated from the German word as "black root", these black round balls landed in my veggie box for the week! These little guys, about the size of a small beet or turnip, look like someone just forgot to wash them - yet the black coloring is part of the skin, rough and almost net-patterned. This is definitely a vegetable that I've never seen outside of Germany before, let alone in the States. Way to go Germany, with all your root vegetables!

This is supposedly called "Black Salsify" or just "Salsify" or even "Viper's Grass" in English; Scorzonera hispanica is its latin name...anyone heard of it? While they can be eaten raw (has a bit of a spicy bite raw), they are best eaten cooked or steamed and tastes kinda like a mix between radishes and kohlrabi. And you can't forget to peel the tough skin from them before cooking - they are also practically pure white inside! I've seen a variety of this in the store, which was a lot longer and shaped like a carrot - maybe these are round because of the late and cold weather harvest time?

These guys, due to being pretty hard, are robust and can be stored for a long time without going bad. A good and very nutritious winter vegetable, another new one to try! They are best cut and put into a casserole or stew, or in a curry. Or just with some meat and other vegetables in a pan with a finishing cream-type sauce!

CORRECTION (Mar 6, 2013): This vegetable was mislabeled in my CSA box...I was wondering why it was not carrot-shaped like it was in all the pictures I saw. This is because it is the healthy Black Spanish Radish!! My description is still the same, just goes by another name, sorry for the mix-up! :)

Mystery Vegetable: Red Arugula

Since there are so many (also new) lovely vegetables to try thanks to the weekly delivery of my organic box, I've decided to start a new series here called "Mystery Vegetable"!

Not that these vegetables are anything exotic, after all, they do come from the region (that being Northern Germany), but they are often times not only things that I have never bought before, but things that you can't get at the normal grocery stores...or even vegetables I've never heard of before!

This series will highlight a new vegetable that I get in my box (which does seem to happen often enough to write about!) or if the supply runs out, new vegetables that I discover in the area. Here I will share with you my new vegetable experience! Hopefully you will enjoy discovering them with me and learn something new, too!

Red Arugula
This one is called "Agano-Salat" in German, and as far as my research and translation abilities can tell, it is basically Red Arugula. Arugula mostly comes in the green variety (also known by some as rocket, roquette, rucola), but this red variation is apparently a "chef's secret" (read more)!

The redish-colored leaves you see in the picture are not brown and dried, but rather a brick red color turned so by the cold weather. This belongs to the group of greens known as "post-frost" greens, which grow even after frost hits the garden.

Red Arugula is pretty robust - it doesn't wilt easily and has a bit rougher texture, but can be enjoyed (as can green arugula) with a salad. It provides a bit of a stronger taste, and the leaf tips almost tickle your tongue!

As are many leafy greens, it is also very healthy! It's full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!

How I enjoyed mine:
After cooking a portion of buckwheat pasta, I added some fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatos, pesto, and last but not least - the Red Arugula, chopped into bit-sited pieces. Yum!