Contents of this week’s box: cucumbers (salad & Kirby), summer squash (yellow & zucchini), small head of cabbage (promise), broccoli (or maybe cauliflower?), Swiss chard, kale (lacinato, here), bell pepper, leeks, green onions, garlic, tender green beans, green onions, and, lettuce.
Don’t know about the Napa cabbage in your box, but the one in ours was enormous. I’m guessing we’re coming to the end of these cabbages and while it’s sometimes been a challenge to use them up, I know I’ll miss them. I’ve put a recipe from Mark Bittman down below, Stir-Fried Chicken with Cabbage, as one more way to use up some of the cabbage. There’s nothing to say you need to restrict yourself to 2 cups of cabbage! Be sure and separate the leaves before you start chopping. Occasionally I’ve found a slug or two in these organically grown cabbages. No need to add that protein to your recipe.
I also ran into this recipe from Gourmet many years ago, Napa Cabbage Slaw with Radishes and Celery. We seem to be past having radishes in our box, but maybe you still have some of that celery from a few weeks ago. Anything crunchy would work. Cucumbers instead of radishes? And the dressing will work just as well on that bag of lettuce as it will in the slaw. The notes with that recipe are from Smitten Kitchen.
Actually, I’m finding this box is full of inspiration for me, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with recipes – but pancakes using those greens? Green beans blanched and mixed with tuna for a cold salad? Or the thing I’m going to work on tonight (and I am sharing this recipe) – Cucumber Lemonade. I just found this recipe but didn’t make a note of the source. So sorry not to be giving it proper attribution.
Stir-Fried Chicken with Cabbage
Recipe from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition”
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks and blotted dry
1/2 cup cornstarch, rice flour, or all-purpose flour, or more as needed
4 tablespoons good-quality vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 scallion, green part only, chopped
Toss the chicken with cornstarch so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat. When the oil just begins to smoke, shake off any excess cornstarch and add the chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook, undisturbed, until the chicken browns on one side, then toss and cook until almost done; smaller pieces will take 5 minutes, total, larger pieces about 10. Transfer to a plate. Turn off the heat and let the pan cool for a moment.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Once it’s fragrant, add the cabbage, let it cook for a moment, then add the chicken stock or water a tablespoon at a time.
Return the chicken to the pan and stir to coat chicken and cabbage with the garlic ginger sauce. Turn off the heat and add soy sauce, continuing to coat the ingredients. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve.
Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet.
The dressing is a simple blend of buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, a touch of mayo, shallots, sugar, salt and pepper but the flavor is anything but. This is my new go-to creamy dressing. I am sure it would equally delicious with some crumbled blue cheese mixed in, if you’re into that kind of thing.
The dressing would be really great on an iceberg wedge or romaine hearts salad, or any kind of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mega mixed bowl. Like your lunch tomorrow.
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1 pound Napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (4 cups)
6 radishes, diced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced diagonally
Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until sugar has dissolved, then whisk in chives.
Toss cabbage, radishes, and celery with dressing.
Cucumber Lemonade
1 pound cucumber(s), peeled or unpeeled, cut into large chunks, plus a few extra thin cucumber slices for garnish
1 cup lemon juice (from about 7 to 8 lemons, although juiciness will vary)
2 cups cold water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Run cucumber through a blender or food processor until pureed, then run it for a full extra minute to ensure that it’s as processed as possible. Set a fine-mesh strainer or a regular strainer lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a pitcher and pour cucumber puree through it, stirring to help it move along faster. Discard solids. In the pitcher, you should have about 1 cup cucumber juice. (You could also just use a juicer.)
Add lemon juice and sugar to it, then water. Give it a good stir or shake, and let it sit in the fridge (to get it started chilling) for 15 minutes, after which a couple more stirs or shakes should leave the sugar fully dissolved. Taste lemonade, adding more sugar or water if desired. Serve chilled over ice, with or without a splash of seltzer on top. You can fancy up the glass with a garnish of cucumber slice, if desired.