I don’t know why but every year I’m surprised by that sweet little yellow-skinned watermelon in our boxes. I don’t think we see a whole lot of them – maybe one or two? – but they are delicious and the bright yellow always makes me smile. And what a colorful box this week with bright stems of rainbow chard accompanying the red, yellow and greens of the “regular” summer vegetables.
Chard is another vegetable I don’t think we see a ton of – and it’s really my favorite green. Somewhere along the way I’m sure I’ve told the story of my introduction to Swiss chard via Julia Child. It’s just a green I saw growing up and I wasn’t sure what to do with those fleshy stems and thin leaves. It was her tutoring to cook the stems first, then add leaves, and I’m sure it was all cloaked in a luscious béchamel sauce, that helped me fall in love with the mild flavor. You can find more ideas at https://grassfedcow.com/
We don’t get a lot of arugula either so it was a nice surprise to see that bunch. I’ve been noshing on tomato and arugula sandwiches with tiny arugula leaves I’ve picked up at local farmers markets. For these larger leaves, I’m thinking of pureeing the arugula into a green sauce. Check out the recipe below for baked fish with a fancy arugula sauce. You could just make pesto using the arugula and have a simpler version on the table in no time.
And where have the little red cabbages been hiding? This enormous head is fodder for several meals. I tend to go old school with braised red cabbage which at this time of year I’ll match up with peaches added at the last minute instead of apples.
Asha Gomez makes this stir fry with her red cabbage and since Indian spices are a favorite, this is how I’ll use up maybe half of that head.
Quick Red Cabbage Stir Fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10 fresh curry leaves or 2 bay leaves
8 cups red cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Salt
3/4 cup water, divided
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 serrano chile, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the mustard seeds and cook over moderate heat just until they begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Add the cumin seeds and curry leaves (or bay leaves) and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cabbage and turmeric and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the water and cook until the water has evaporated and the cabbage is tender, about 5-6 minutes. Discard bay leaves, if using. Add the garlic, chile, coconut, and remaining 1/4 cup of water into the skillet and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt to taste and serve.
Baked Fish with Arugula Sauce
Adapted from a Florence Fabricant recipe in New York Times based on a recipe from Armani Ristorante. I love this combination of pink peppercorns and thyme to season the fish – but I have pink peppercorns on hand since I used them to make pink peppercorn ice cream for the AJC. If you don’t have any, and don’t want to go shopping for them, just plain black pepper will be fine, if not as floral in flavor.
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 white-fleshed fish fillets, with skin, about 12 ounces each
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/2 teaspoon pink peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 soft-boiled large egg
2 cups arugula, plus a few sprigs for garnish
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (if you have some)
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking dish with parchment paper. The dish should be large enough to hold the fillets flat. Brush paper with 1/2 tablespoon oil.
Brush fish on both sides with another 1/2 tablespoon of oil and place in dish, skin side down. Combine fleur de sel, pink peppercorns, thyme and lemon zest and scatter on fish. Put fish in the oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through.
Peel egg and coarsely chop. Into a blender, add egg, arugula, parsley, tablespoons water, lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup olive oil. Process to a fine purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread sauce on each of 4 warm dinner plates. Cut each fillet in four pieces and place two pieces on each plate, on the arugula sauce. Season fish with salt and pepper. Garnish with arugula and serve.