m. Vegetables. Cruciferous and Legumes

The Tentacular Cruciferous Family

Cruciferous plants are a big part of our human diet. Cabbage and turnips or rutabagas helped Europeans survive the somber Middle Ages and even during the last World War.

Cabbage is the most emblematic with its closest variations like romanesco, cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale and broccoli. The cruciferous family also includes plants we use a lot in the kitchen without making the connection, like turnip, radish, horseradish or wasabi. It also includes delicious salad leaves like arugula, mizuna and sweet and sour watercress. Canola oil and Dijon mustard are made from cruciferous plants as well.

In the kitchen, simple glazing with butter or olive oil is enough for the subtle romanesco, cauliflower and kohlrabi. The Asian bok choy will love to participate in a quick stir-fry mix where its gleaming green color will complement its mild taste. Others are more problematic: Brussels sprouts can be sublimated with pork or duck roast juices whereas I personally do not care much for broccoli and rarely use it despite its reputation for health. Chinese broccoli doesn’t look as good but tastes much better.

Romanesco or Cauliflower: Glazed, Sautéed, Puréed, etc. (1)

These are extremely versatile. You can

×        Glaze them. Cut them in small pieces and glaze as indicated for carrots. They will cook much faster than carrots, therefore, limit the water volume and stir from time to time to make sure pieces are cooked on all sides.

×        Purée them, like potatoes.

×        Bake them, like a potato gratin dauphinois.

Sauté or stir-fry them quickly.

Cauliflower soufflé

A soufflé is an egg-based preparation, very simple to make, yet very surprising and appealing when it appears on the table. You will need:

×           1 ½ lb. cauliflower

×           1oz. butter

×           2 eggs

×           Salt and pepper

Steam the cauliflower for 10 minutes.

Purée it. Mix with butter and egg yolks.

Salt and pepper.

Beat the egg whites

Fold the whites into the purée and pour into a high-walled baking dish. Keep in mind that the preparation will expand, so fill only 2/3 of the dish.

Put into a medium hot oven for about 20 minutes.

Soufflés are quick to collapse when cooling off. Serve immediately for best effect.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts can be sold detached, as bulk, or still on their stem.

The first step is to trim each of them of odd leaves. You can then process them whole or cut in two, to speed up cooking and improve the final flavoring. Like cabbage, Brussels sprouts are strong tasting and “windy”. They will benefit from blanching for five minutes in boiling water with some baking soda added. You can then boil them in new salted water until tender. Immediately rinse them with cold water to keep them green.

If you serve them with a pork roast, just finish cooking them in the roast juice, either in the oven or in a pan on the stove. Salt and pepper to taste.Divine!

Stuffed Cabbage (Chou Farci)

Although its consumption helped European people survive medieval times, cabbage is often used today as a complementary vegetable in a larger dish. Exceptions come from some northern European ethnic cuisines where it constituted a center dish, in association with pork meat. These traditional peasant dishes were preserved throughout the ages until recently, but I doubt they can last much longer as most people think they are too busy to deal with their preparation.

In the traditional French “Chou Farci”, a cabbage is dismantled, stuffed and reconstituted to create an appealing illusion. If you wish to replicate it, you will need 2 green Savoy cabbages and a stuffing made of the following ingredients: 

×           ½ lb. ground pork

×           ½ lb. ground veal

×           1 minced garlic clove

×           4 or 8 tbsp. minced parsley

×           4 tbsp. minced chives

×           2 or 3 cups chopped bread

×           2 eggs

×           Salt and pepper  

The principle is to blanch cabbage leaves for 10 minutes and then use them as a wrapping for some of the stuffing.

The original recipe aimed to make one item only, gradually building a future ball inside a bowl with alternative layers of cabbage and stuffing. In the end, having used up everything, you folded the outside cabbage leaves over the rest and formed the ball. The ideal way to hold it together used to be a fishnet, made of natural fibers at the time and easily available. Cooking this cabbage could then take at least 2 hours and up to 3 to 4 hours for older purists! Using string instead is possible but tricky, and the cooking time stays the same.

This is why I would propose a different solution today: Making small individual parcels that will hold well in the final largest cabbage leaves, all the more if you lay them down one against another in a dish, so they do not unfold. The visual effect will be close to the Polish “golabki” (minced pork or beef, chopped onions and barley or rice), Jewish  "holishkes (save the pork) and not so far from the Mediterranean dolmades wrapped in their grape-leaf.

You can now braise your mini “choux farcis”, browning them in a Dutch oven for example, with olive oil or lard if you feel more sinful today, adding :

×           1 cup of minced onions

×           1 cup of minced carrots

×           1 cup white wine

×           1 cup of water

Cook on low heat, covered, for about 1 hour or 1 ½ hour.

By now, they are ready to melt in your mouth and illuminate this gray winter day.

Legumes, good fresh and dried

This is another wonderful plant family with roots extending the world over, from Asia for the multipurpose soybean to the Mediterranean area for lentils, chickpeas and green peas and to the Americas for beans proper, as well as peanuts.

Some legumes are eaten fresh, some dried, some fresh and dried. Some legumes are also used for animal feed. All possess the useful capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen and replenish the soil, a feature which was noticed very early by farmers and gave them a somewhat sacred character.

Green Peas

For most men, mid-life crises translate into red sports cars or the young thing next door. Mine was more dramatic: I discovered the sweet and creamy green pea.

For all their affinity for legumes and emphasis on freshness, my parents used only canned peas when I was growing up (they kept arguing about the merits of different brands and excommunicating the lesser ones). I had to wait until I was affluent enough before trying fresh ones, and once I did, my culinary landscape was never the same. I would never again resist a basket of freshly picked green peas at the farmer’s market, especially considering that the growing season is incredibly short. (2)

Like many other vegetables, peas lose their sugar quickly, which leads many experts to recommend local vs. imported. I beg to differ: the only way to choose is to taste the competing peas at the market and to select the sweetest. You will know immediately which one is the best! 

Steamed Green Peas with Potatoes and Butter

This is a simple variant, and an improvement on the earlier recipe for steamed potatoes. It consists of steaming some shelled peas with potatoes (if possible, new potatoes of the year)

They should take about the same time to cook, about 10 minutes. Mix with butter, salt, pepper, and serve.

This simple preparation is heaven on earth. It will go well with most meat and fish.  

Fresh Green Pea Soup

If these peas are really good and mealy, I propose an even simpler solution: a soup made with peas, barely covered with water. When they are cooked, after 10 minutes at most, salt, pepper, and serve piping hot in bowls with some freshly minced thyme or mint. (3)

Green Pea Stew

If you are not sure of your peas’ quality or if they have spent too much time in the refrigerator, you could prepare this stew where permeation with other flavors will save the day. You will need:

×           ½ sweet onion, chopped

×           2 carrots, sliced

×           2 cups of shelled peas

×           2 or 3 slices of prosciutto, chopped

×           Salt, pepper, lemon thyme

Sauté the onion in a pan until golden.

Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes.

Cover generously with water, salt, and cook for 10 more minutes.

Pour the peas and prosciutto. Add water if needed, until barely covered.

Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until peas are cooked (still firm but already mealy when bitten).

Salt, pepper to taste Throw in chopped lemon thyme. Serve. 

White Beans Périgourdine

Two months after green peas, white beans start appearing on French markets, in many varieties. I have not encountered any of those in the US but they may become available one day. Meanwhile, dried beans will be the next best thing. Just soak them in water for 3 hours prior to use.

The traditional family way to prepare white beans implies the following:

×           ½ sweet onion, chopped

×           2 lbs. shelled beans

×           2 or 3 slices of prosciutto, chopped

×           ½ garlic clove, minced

×           5 tbsp. minced parsley

×           Salt, pepper

Sauté the onion until golden in a Dutch oven.

Add the beans, cover with cold water, salt, and cook covered on low heat for 40 minutes.

Beans soak up water. Make sure they are always covered with water, but just barely.

After 40 minutes, check the readiness of the beans by biting one. At one point, they will start breaking down, ready to become mealy.

Add the prosciutto, garlic, and parsley.

Cook for 20 minutes more and check again.

If they are cooked, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as an accompaniment to roasted poultry, lamb or beef. At this point, from time immemorial, the family ritual has been to partially mash them on the plate, pour a tablespoon of walnut oil over, mix coarsely, and enjoy.  

String beans

Like many other vegetables, string beans benefit from selecting the best cultivars, growing them in your backyard garden, picking them yourself, trimming and cooking them right away.

Simply throw them in boiling salted water and cook for about 10 minutes or less. This is when they will be sparkling green, sweet, and crunchy enough. Quickly rinse them in cold water to keep the color fresh, and sauté them for 2 minutes in butter or olive oil. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic and parsley. Serve.

If you have to cope with coarser commercial string beans, you can apply the same method and still find them enjoyable. One way to improve them will be to cut them in 2 lengthwise before boiling. This doesn’t take much time with the added advantage of practicing your knife skills.

String Beans Basquaise

This preparation is closer to a stew, the “basquaise” name referring to the magical flavor resulting from having tomatoes, bell peppers, and prosciutto cooking in the same pot. Of course, the original recipe was conceived with the rustic Basque ham in mind, rather than the elite prosciutto coming from Italy, but going upscale always works well.

You will need:

×           2 lbs. string beans

×           2/3 lb. bell pepper

×           ¼ lb. sweet onion

×           1 lb. ripe tomatoes

×           1 garlic clove

×           1/8 lb. prosciutto or pancetta, sliced and chopped

×           ½ tsp. ground Espelette pepper (4)

×           Parsley

×           Salt, pepper

Trim the beans. Cut them in short 2-inch or 4-inch pieces.

Chop the bell pepper and the onion.

Sauté them in a pan for 3 minutes.

Add the beans and the tomatoes, cut in fourths.

Barely cover with water and bring to a gentle boil, with water evaporating slowly.

Cook for 20 minutes, checking from time to time if the beans are cooked.

When you are satisfied, fish the tomato skins out of the dish. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the Espelette pepper.

Throw in the prosciutto and some parsley

Stir on high heat for 1 minute and serve.

This goes well with eggs and fish. Beans will be permeated with the tomato taste but will take longer to cook in the tomato acidic environment. With some types of beans, it may be necessary to pre-cook them in water before adding them to this stew.

Flat Runner Beans Basquaise

Same recipe with runner beans, if you can find them. They are meatier, stronger tasting and benefit greatly from this stewing method.

Cooking Dried Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans)

Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) are dry, large and beans. This translates into soaking in water for about 10 to 12 hours with some baking soda added to make them more digestible before you cook them.

Put the desired quantity of beans in a large bowl, 1 to 2 cups for starts.

Pour a liberal amount of water over as the beans will soak up water and double in size.

Add 1 tbsp. of baking soda.

Let them soak overnight.

In the morning, rinse and put the beans in a pan covered with cold water on medium/high heat.

Aim for a gentle low boil. Skim the foam constantly

If well soaked, they should be cooked (i.e. melting on your tongue) after only 20 to 25 minutes.

Another telltale sign is that some chickpeas skins will start floating around.

When ready, pour into a colander and into cold water.

Now is the dreaded part: You will have to eliminate all these skins by peeling every bean one by one. This can be done easily by just rubbing them slightly with the tip of your fingers but it will still take some time. In the end, you will have on one side a bowl full of nice shiny beans ready for use, and on the other side a mound of empty shells: Looking at those will amply validate what you have been doing.

Of course this is an opportunity to share the task with others. If you are alone, try meditating. You can also fantasize that you are in a party, working the crowd and getting introduced to each bean one by one. Maybe you will recognize some of them later in your plate… 

Lentils with Sausage

Being smaller, lentils do not need more than 1 hour of soaking time in water with baking soda added. Cook them following the recipe for the lentil soup but with less water. Serve them with mild Italian sausages, cooked slowly in a pan or in the oven.

Split Peas with Bacon

Like lentils, split peas do not need more than 1 hour of soaking time.

For 2 cups of dried split peas, you will need to start sautéing 1/3 sweet onion and 3 chopped slices of bacon before adding the peas, garlic, a pinch of turmeric, and water. Let them simmer, adding water if needed. They will be cooked one hour later. Salt, pepper, serve in deep plates.

Fava beans

Fava beans can be found dried and you can find recipes to prepare them. However, the real delicacy is the fresh fava.

If you grow them in your garden, you will start enjoying them much before dinner, watching them grow as healthy greenish grey bushes with their purplish white flowers. If not, you will have to wait until you find them at the market. They are tricky to select because you have to appreciate if the pods are full or not and what size the beans inside are. 

Once in the kitchen, you have to shell them and blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute, so that you can remove the outer skin of each bean. You are now ready to sauté them quickly (5 minutes at the most) as a side dish or to incorporate them at the last minute in a larger dish to which they will impart their crunchiness and sweet bitterness.

They are complemented very harmoniously by cooked prosciutto.

 

(1)    Romanesco, a variant of the cauliflower, is more than 500 years old but was absent from most markets outside Italy until recently. It is remarkable not only for its nutty flavor but also for its color and its looks. It would have filled Leonardo Fibonacci with joy and today, any professional or amateur mathematician can fall in love with its fractal appearance and its logarithmic spirals.

(2)    Apparently, I am not the first person to sing the modest pea’s praises. I recently came across a revealing quote from Mme. de Sévigné, that keen observer of Louis XIV’s court, famous for her letters. She writes: “The pea craze is still going on. Longing to eat them, remembering fondly having eaten them and rejoicing about the prospect of eating them again are the three subjects our princes have been concerned with in the last four days.”

(3)    I find that the British association of fresh mint with peas, much maligned by the French, is a significant contribution to World cuisine. 

(4)    Espelette pepper is a small chili pepper which has some bite without being qualified as officially hot. It is grown in the Basque country and can be found whole and dried or ground. It is much milder than Cayenne or normal chili flakes.

T