This recipe, adapted from “Vegetable Literacy” by Deborah Madison, is the perfect way to use so many of the bits in the box this week.
Ingredients:
1 bunch radishes, plus their greens All the turnips that came in the box 3 green onions, sliced (about 1/2 cup) 1 bunch Swiss chard Butter 1/2 to 1 cup water or chicken stock Salt and pepper Chopped fresh tarragon, if you have it Juice of 1 lemon
Preparation:
Trim the radishes and turnips slice them lengthwise, making all the pieces more or less the same size. Also wash and dry the radish greens and chard. Slice the green onions and chop the chard.
When you are about ready to eat, melt a few teaspoons butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the green onions and 1/2 cup of the water and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with a few pinches of salt, add the radishes and turnips, and simmer for 3 minutes. Next, add the chard and radish greens, making sure there is liquid in the pan as you go and adding more if needed. Continue cooking until the leaves are tender, about 2 minutes longer. The radish leaves will wilt and look a little funky, but they will taste mild and slightly nutty.
When the vegetables are done, remove from the heat, add a heaping spoonful of butter, season with salt, and stir in the tarragon and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasonings, then serve and enjoy your garden in a bowl.
Storing chard: the same principles here as for lettuce above, or the mustard or turnip greens. Rinse the leaves and spin them dry in a salad spinner. If you have space, storing the leaves in the salad spinner is great. But that takes up a lot of room in the refrigerator. You can wrap the washed leaves in a dry tea towel and then drop that into a plastic bag that you don’t seal tight.