July 12, 2018 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Red Amaranth

Cooking With This Week’s Box: 

This Week’s Summary of Recipes and the Vegetables They Utilize:

Purple Cipollini or Sierra Blanca Onions: Black Beans with Amaranth (see below); Detox Summer Slaw

Fresh Porcelain Garlic: Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Rice

Zucchini: Zucchini & Summer Squash Soup with Oregano & Chickpeas; Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Rice

Cucumbers: Sweet Turmeric Pickles

Green & Yellow Beans: Green Bean Satay

Red Amaranth: Black Beans with Amaranth (see below)

Green Top Carrots: Carrot Top Chimichurri; Sweet Rice with Carrots & Nuts

   

Broccoli: Broccoli Slaw

Green Top Red Beets: Creamed Beets with Greens

Sweetheart Cabbage:  Detox Summer Slaw

Basil:  Basil French 75 Cocktail

This week’s box has some colorful new vegetable selections, starting with the gorgeous Red Amaranth!  This has become one of our favorite, and most striking, summer vegetables.  We’ve been growing this vegetable for several years, so you’ll find the most diverse recipe collection for this vegetable on our website in our searchable recipe database.  There are a few recipes popping up here and there on the internet, including the recipe we’re featuring this week.  This recipe for Black Beans with Amaranth (see below) was originally featured at Cooking.nytimes.com.  Several years ago one of our market customers brought me a copy of this recipe and raved about how good it is.  The next year, I had another market customer recommend this recipe, followed by yet another.  Needless to say, this recipe came highly recommended by several other members as well as one of my colleagues so I figured it must be a winner!  Serve these flavorful beans along with rice, meat or grilled vegetables to make it a full meal.

The other most colorful vegetable in this week’s box is the bunch of green top red beets!  You’ll want to utilize both the root and the greens, which is the reason I created this simple recipe for Creamed Beets with Greens.  This is one of Richard’s favorite recipes for preparing beets.  It’s a simple recipe that comes together very quickly and makes a nice side dish for grilled or roasted meat.

Sweet Rice with Carrots & Nuts
Photo from food52

If you haven’t noticed, we encourage our members to make full use of the vegetables in the boxes by utilizing the green tops attached to selections such as the beets and carrots in this week’s box.  So, this week I’m going to turn those carrot tops into Carrot Top Chimichurri.  It’s a great condiment to enjoy with grilled flank steak.  This recipe will also make use of some of the fresh herbs in your herb garden including parsley and oregano.  As for the tender, sweet carrots, use them to make this interesting Persian dish of Sweet Rice with Carrots & Nuts.  This dish features jasmine rice seasoned with cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric with a touch of honey and the sweetness of shredded carrots.  You also add some fragrant orange zest along with pistachio nuts and almonds.  The author of this recipe recommends serving this with roasted chicken.

Detox Summer Slaw
Photo from with food + love

This week’s “salad green” is sweetheart cabbage, a variety of cabbage specifically grown to be eaten raw as a salad.  This recipe for Detox Summer Slaw is a simple way to use the sweetheart cabbage.  I’m not a fan of the name of this recipe, but I like the simplicity of it.  You combine shredded cabbage with green onions (use thinly sliced onion tops), fresh parsley and slices of fresh peaches (I’ll substitute nectarines from this week’s fruit share) tossed with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.  Garnish the slaw with sunflower seeds and avocado—that’s it!  Serve this salad for dinner with a piece of grilled or broiled salmon.  If you have leftover slaw, take it for your lunch the next day wrapped in a tortilla along with some shredded roasted chicken and a touch of mayonnaise.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Soup with Oregano & Chickpeas
Photo from with food + love

I know it’s the middle of summer and soup may not be at the top of your list, but this simple recipe for Zucchini & Summer Squash Soup with Oregano & Chickpeas looks like a great way to use some of the zucchini in your box along with more fresh herbs from your herb garden and some of the fresh garlic.  This soup will come together quickly if you need a quick dinner option, and the author suggests freezing it as well.  So, perhaps you want to make a double batch and freeze part of it to enjoy later in the year.  This soup can also be pureed and served chilled.

If you have some zucchini remaining after the soup, consider using it to make this Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Rice.  This dish could stand alone for dinner served with this Broccoli Slaw or serve it as a side dish with grilled sirloin steak or Grilled Portobello mushrooms.  The broccoli slaw I mentioned will make use of both the florets and stems of your broccoli.  This recipe also calls for dried cranberries and sliced almonds for some crunch.

Green Bean Satay
Picture from Create kids club

I have to admit I ate a lot of overcooked green beans as a kid, so green beans have never been one of my favorite vegetables.  However, I do really like properly cooked, fresh green beans and was happy to find this recipe for  Green Bean Satay. You make a simple peanut sauce to serve over sautéed green beans.  The author specializes in tasty, nutritious recipes that are attractive to kids and per her report, this recipe is a winner!

Kelly made some delicious refrigerator pickles with turmeric over the weekend.  Pickles are often considered a condiment, but if you slice them thin, you can use this concept to make a tasty cucumber salad. Here’s a recipe for Sweet Turmeric Pickles.  You can actually use this brine to pickle other vegetables too, such as zucchini or beets.

Well, that brings us to the end of the box.  The only thing remaining is a little bit of basil from the choice box.  Lets finish off this week with a little celebratory cocktail.  Here’s a recipe for a Basil French 75 Cocktail.  You make a basic basil simple syrup by blending fresh basil with honey and water in the blender.  Strain that out and combine it with gin, lemon juice and sparkling wine for a refreshing, light summer cocktail.  Until next week, Cheers! –Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Red Amaranth 

Red Amaranth is a stunning “green” that actually has dark, burgundy colored leaves.  It is an ancient plant that was part of the diets of Aztec civilizations in Mexico up to 7,000 years ago.  It was also an important staple food for the Incas of South America and the people of the Himalayan region of Asia.  In these ancient cultures, amaranth was also used medicinally and in cultural rituals.  It was held as a symbol of immortality and means “never-fading flower” in Greek.  Like many other vegetables, amaranth was a multi-use vegetable.  The seeds were used as a winter staple and the young leaves were eaten as a fresh vegetable.  There are about 60 different varieties of amaranth, some grown to harvest seeds, others for the leaves, and several ornamental species.  The variety of amaranth we grow is referred to as “Polish Amaranth”….and there’s a story to go with this name.

We actually purchased the seed for this year’s crop from Wild Garden Seeds (WGS), which is kind of funny because Richard is the one who actually gave them the seed originally!  Some of you may have heard this story already, but for those of you who don’t know it the story goes like this.  One day Richard was driving to town and saw a beautiful red amaranth plant growing in a garden along the way.  He stopped and asked the people who lived there about this plant.  They said their Aunt May brought the seed with her from Poland and they were happy to share it with Richard.  So Richard collected some seed and started growing it, mostly as a baby green to mix into his gourmet salad mix.  It didn’t do so well as a salad mix ingredient, but in later years we found success growing it as a mid-summer bunching green used for cooking.  Since we aren’t in the business of seed production, Richard passed the seed onto Frank Morton at WGS and he has been maintaining this variety of amaranth.

Antonio S, Jose Luis, and Alfredo showing off the
amaranth they just harvested.

Amaranth greens have become an important part of our seasonal diet because of their ability to grow in the heat of the summer when other greens, spinach and lettuce do not thrive.  Amaranth is able to adapt to variable conditions with little impact from weather or disease.  It is able to survive in extreme heat or drought conditions because it is able to convert twice the amount of solar energy using the same amount of water as most other plants.

Nutritionally, amaranth is a power house.  The leaves of this plant are high in calcium, phosphorus, protein, vitamin C, carotene, iron, B vitamins, and trace elements including zinc and manganese.  Compared to spinach, amaranth leaves have three times more vitamin C, calcium and niacin!  Of course we know vegetables that have rich colors like the magenta leaves of amaranth are also packed with important phytonutrients and antioxidants.

Amaranth is similar in flavor to spinach, except better!  You can prepare it similarly to spinach or other cooking greens.  While amaranth may be eaten raw, the more mature leaves and stems are best when cooked.  The stems and leaves are both edible, however the stems might need a little longer cooking time so it’s best to separate the leaves from the stem.   Amaranth greens may be steamed, sautéed, added to soups, stews, wilted and stir-fried.  Amaranth pairs well with so many other summer crops including onions, fresh garlic, zucchini, peppers, corn, green beans, basil, oregano and tomatoes. 

Red Lentil Soup with Amaranth Greens, one of the
many amaranth recipes from our searchable recipe database.

Amaranth is thought to have originated in Central and/or South America, but has made its way around the globe.  It can be found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, which means there are many options for finding ways to use this vegetable.  Season it with cumin, coriander, oregano and serve it with black beans for more of a Mexican approach.  Stir-fry it with garlic, onion, ginger and a drizzle of sesame oil for more of a Chinese influence.  Mix it with pasta, tomatoes, oregano, basil and Parmesan for an Italian flair, or take it in more in the direction of Indian cuisine by choosing curry spices & lentils.  When I was first introduced to amaranth ten years ago, you could hardly find any recipes in cookbooks or on the internet.  That has changed a lot and now I’m confident you will be able to find at least one way to prepare amaranth that will become your “favorite” way to enjoy this vegetable.  We have some tasty recipes from previous newsletters available on our website as well.  We hope you enjoy this lovely green, for its aesthetics, nutrition, history and flavor!

Black Beans with Amaranth 

Yield: 6 servings

Photo from Cooking NY Times

1 pound black beans, washed, picked over and soaked for six hours or overnight in 2 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt to taste

2 to 4 Tbsp roughly chopped cilantro, or a few sprigs fresh epazote

1 bunch amaranth, leaves and stems separated

1. Drain and rinse the black beans, discarding the soaking water.  Put the beans in a large, heavy bottom soup pot or Dutch Oven.  Add fresh water to cover the beans by two inches.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and skim off any foam. Add the onion and half the garlic, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer one hour. 
2. Next, add the remaining garlic, the epazote (optional) and salt. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the cilantro and finely chopped amaranth stems.  Simmer for another 30 minutes, until the beans are tender and the broth aromatic.
3. While the beans are simmering, wash the amaranth leaves. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the amaranth. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Drain, squeeze out excess water (it will be a beautiful plum color) and chop coarsely.
4. Just before serving, taste the beans and adjust seasoning. Stir in the amaranth, simmer very gently for five to 10 minutes, and serve.

Author’s Note:  The beans will taste even better if you make them in advance, and they can be made up to three days ahead of serving. The blanched amaranth will keep for three days in the refrigerator. 

This recipe was adapted from Martha Rose Shulman’s original recipe featured at cooking.nytimes.com