Brown Rice and Kale Gratin

This week my vegetable of choice was a popular fall/winter green – kale.  The decision to use this particular vegetable was fairly easy.  I hadn’t looked for anything in the grocery store, but when I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to cook something for my blog, she told me that there was fresh, organic kale out in the garden ready to be picked.  Perfect!  I had seen a recipe awhile back for a brown rice and kale gratin, so I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.

First of all, I should start out with a confession.  Having not been a particularly vegetable-loving kid, when I was younger I thought that the broad category of “greens” was actually a specific vegetable.  Collards, kale, mustard greens, spinach – they all looked the same to me, smelled the same to me, and repulsed me equally.  The only experience I had with “greens” was on New Year’s Day when my mom would make me eat a bite of them because, as the superstition goes, eating collards on New Year’s Day will bring wealth in the coming year.  Black eyed peas were another part of the same tradition; eating them allegedly brings good luck.  Well I couldn’t stand the taste of either.  I thought black eyed peas tasted like dirt and “greens” (collards) tasted like vomit.  But every year without fail I would be told that I had to eat these two things on January 1^st.  New Year’s dinner was probably my least favorite meal of the year because of this.  My family would watch as I would cut open a roll, stuff one single black eyed pea in the middle along with one tiny shard of a collard leaf, and then take a bite.  I’d try to chew as little as possible, resulting in my almost literally choking the roll with the vegetable passengers down my throat.  Needless to say, up until today, my experience with “greens” had not been pleasant.

Of course as I got older I came to realize that “greens” was not a single vegetable.  It was in fact a whole group of vegetables that share similar health benefits but have different tastes and growing seasons.  Kale likes cold weather, growing sweeter after a frost.  It can grow well into the winter, earning the nickname “Hungry Gap,” named after the period in winter in traditional agriculture when little can be harvested. Nutritionally, kale has many benefits.  One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Interestingly, kale has been around since ancient times.  Recently in my classroom we have been studying the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome.  Last week I wanted to take my students on a “field trip without leaving the classroom” so I had students volunteer to prepare and bring in traditional Greek recipes.  We sampled the cuisine while watching a scenic video on Ancient Greece and I encouraged the kids to use their imagination and pretend that they really weren’t in the classroom but instead were in the valleys in Athens, gazing up at the Parthenon on the acropolis.  At the time I didn’t realize it, but kale was actually a vegetable commonly eaten in both ancient Greece and Rome.  Next year I’ll have one more recipe to add to the list of foods that students can prepare!  There are many different varieties of kale, and it was the Russian variety that eventually moved into Canada and then the United States.

I’m a firm believer that anything tastes better with cheese, so I decided that when trying a kale recipe it was probably a good idea to try one that required large amounts of cheddar.  To start, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy bottomed pan.  (Oh, butter also makes anything taste better.  This recipe just HAD to be good).   Next add one large shallot that has been minced.  Sauté the shallot until it is lightly browned.  Add 2 cups brown rice and sauté with the shallot for about 5 minutes, until the rice is a little toasted.  

  

Next add 6 cups 2% milk, 2 teaspoons beef bouillon concentrate, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Most of the liquid will be absorbed, resulting in a paste-like consistency.

 

  

Next add 2-3 cups of chopped kale and cook for about 5 more minutes to soften the kale.   

Spoon the mixture into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.  Top with 8 ounces (or more!) cheddar cheese and ½ cup bread crumbs.  Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  

And that’s it! It’s a pretty simple recipe, but it resulted in a very hearty dish.  I will say that I actually really enjoyed the kale in this recipe, and call me crazy, but next time I think I might even add a little more kale than what the recipe calls for.  It was definitely more rice than kale, and I think a more even balance between the two would be really good.  With that being said, I still thought this recipe was delicious and can’t wait to eat the leftovers the rest of the week.  I’ll also look forward to making this dish again!  I guess I am officially over my fear/hatred of “greens”!

Garlic Ginger Bok Choy

This week I decided that a trip to the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market would serve as my inspiration for deciding what type of vegetable to cook.  While at the farmer’s market, we came across a place called Blenheim Organic Gardens, a 400 acre farm in Westmoreland County.  The farm is family owned and operated, and produces all of their crops without the use of pesticides or chemicals.  They had a nice variety of fresh vegetables on display, and the one that finally caught my eye was the bok choy.

Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage first cultivated in the 14^th century.  While it is a vegetable high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium, it is also very low in calories, with one full pound only equaling about 50 calories.  Bok choy also has many antioxidants that have been proven to prevent colon, breast, and prostate cancer as well as lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol.

In the past I had tried bok choy as an ingredient in vegetable soup, but I had never tried it as a main dish.  I found a recipe that only called for bok choy, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and olive oil and decided to go with it.  It sounded easy enough, and this particular night I was in a hurry. 

 

To start, I cut the bok choy into chunks.  Bok choy has a white stem and green leaves, and as I cut the bok choy,  I separated the stems from the leaves, as I knew they would require different cooking times.  After the bok choy was cut, I heated a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.

As the oil was heating, I grated about 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger (which smells exactly like ginger ale, by the way), and minced 2 cloves of garlic.  When the oil was hot, I added the ginger and garlic and sautéed until the garlic was soft (careful not to burn it!).  

 

Next I added the bok choy stems and ½ cup soy sauce.  I cooked and stirred this until the stems were soft and slightly translucent.  Finally I added the leaves and cooked just until they were wilted.

And voila! That was it! This recipe was very simple to make, and I found the bok choy to be a great pick for a main dish.  It was very filling and left us feeling satisfied, but at the same time we knew we were eating something very healthy for us.  Plus we really felt good about buying local, organic produce. 

   

Unfortunately the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market is about to end for the year, but we definitely look forward to next spring and summer when we can go back and get some more fresh vegetables!

Linguine with Brussels Sprouts, Shallots, and Asiago

This week I chose to use Brussels sprouts as my main ingredient.  Brussels sprouts have a reputation for being one of those really gross vegetables that kids don’t want to get anywhere near.  Until last year, I had never tried them out of fear from their reputation.  I figured if it was scorned by kids the world over there would be no chance of me ever liking it.  However, after really looking at them for the first time I realized that they just looked like little heads of cabbage, and cabbage was something that I had grown to like.  After taking the risk and trying them for the first time, I learned that they’re really quite tasty little vegetables and I was eager to try new recipes with them.

Brussels sprouts look really, really cool when you see them on the stalk.  Most of the time when you see them at the store they have already been trimmed away from the stalk and are sold looking like the little mini heads of cabbage that they are.  However, they don’t look like cabbage when they are grown.  They grow on a tall, narrow stalk, and the part that is eaten are the little buds that grow along the side of the stalk.  I think one of the first places I ever saw Brussels sprouts in their natural form was on the ride “Living with the Land” at Epcot in Disney World, where they were grown hydroponically.  Growing them hydroponically just made them look even that much cooler.

Although named for the capital of Belgium, I was intrigued to learn that Brussels was not their place of origination.  The first Brussels sprouts were actually grown in Ancient Rome, where they were cultivated from a form of wild cabbage.  However, they first became popular while being grown in Belgium in the 13^th Century, and they quickly spread throughout all of Europe and eventually to the United States.  I just realized while researching Brussels sprouts how food-oriented Belgium is in its popularity.  I mean, I honestly know nothing about the nation other than the fact that it has waffles, chocolate, and Brussels sprouts.  What other nation is known primarily for its food?  I can’t think of any.  Today the Netherlands are the largest producers of Brussels sprouts, followed by Germany.  The United Kingdom is also a big producer of the vegetable, rivaling the Netherlands in the amount of Brussels sprouts produced each year, but it is not exported to other countries. 

Brussels sprouts were first brought to the United States in the 18^th century by French settlers who came to Louisiana.  (For those of you like me who know nothing about Beligum, it is located directly north of France).  They quickly became popular, and even Thomas Jefferson is known to have grown them at Monticello.  Their growth rapidly expanded along with the boundaries of our nation, and today the largest areas of production in North America are in California, Baja California, and Washington.  Perhaps the true manifest destiny of our nation was to grow Brussels sprouts on the west coast.     

Brussels sprouts grow the best in cool areas where the temperatures are generally between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  They reach their peak in autumn through mid-winter, becoming sweeter in flavor after a mild frost.  They have many nutritional benefits, including a good amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, and dietary fiber.  Unlike most green vegetables, Brussels sprouts are also high in protein.  Although they lack the full spectrum of amino acids, when paired with whole grains the full spectrum is achieved.  Too bad I didn’t know this ahead of time or I would have bought whole-grain pasta instead of regular.    

Brussels sprouts also contain a compound known as sulphoraphane, a chemical believed to have very potent anti-cancer properties.  However, as the name implies, this compound also contains sulphur, which isn’t exactly known for having a pleasant smell.  If Brussels sprouts are overcooked, the sulphur smell becomes more noticeable, resulting in the belief that Brussels sprouts stink or taste gross.  When cooking this dish I decided to be extra careful not to overcook them.

This recipe starts by roasting 2 whole shallots in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes.  Peel the shallots and place them in a small baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and a little salt and pepper, wrap in foil, and roast until they’re tender.  After they have cooled, cut them into slices and set aside for later.

While the shallots are roasting, thinly slice one pound of Brussels sprouts and grate ¼ cup (2 oz.) Asiago cheese.  

 

Boil a large pot of salted water, add one pound of pasta and cook until al dente, about 6 or 7 minutes.  Remove 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until lightly browned (careful not to burn it!).  Stir in the Brussels sprouts along with a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon of sugar.  Cook, stirring often, until the Brussels sprouts begin to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Add 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and cook for about one more minute.  

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add ¾ cup heavy cream and the shallots.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the Brussels sprouts to the drained pasta and stir well. 

 
Add some of the reserved pasta water if it seems dry.  Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the Asiago cheese. 

This dish was really good, and I was surprised at the sweetness that I tasted from the Brussels sprouts and the shallots.  Roasting the shallots really gave them a good flavor.  I will admit that the original recipe called for 5 shallots, not 2.  However, I didn’t pay attention to the amount of shallots before I went shopping, so I just grabbed a pack of shallots thinking that would be enough.  I think adding a few more shallots could have definitely helped make the shallot flavor more noticeable, but even with just 2 I still thought it ended up tasting good.

Since I feel kinda bad about not knowing anything about Belgium, here are some fun facts:

• Smurfs are Belgian.  
• The city of Ypres is the site of the Cat Festival. This dates from the medieval ritual of throwing cats off the top of the belfry. Today's politically correct society dictates that stuffed toy cats be hurled instead.
• There are more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
• The first recorded lottery to involve buying a ticket and distribution of prize money was held in Bruges on February 14th, 1466.  It was held to raise money for the poor of the town.
• French fries actually originated in Belgium.  (What?? So they are known for chocolate, waffles, Brussels sprouts AND French fries? What a cool place to live for a person who loves food.)
• Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo, and Waterloo is in Belgium.
• Belgian endives! I just thought of another food to add to the list!
• Education is required by law to all children until the age of 18 in Belgium.
• A Belgian founded the Holy Roman Empire.
• Belgium has one of the lowest proportions of McDonald's restaurants per inhabitant in the developed world, which is 7 times less than the United States.
• Belgium is one of the few countries in the world where it is required by law to vote.
• Europe's first modern health resort opened in the town of Spa in the 18th century.
• Belgium has 3 official languages: Dutch, French, and German.