During this weird Covid year of lockdowns combined with getting overly familiar with ones immediate local environment, I've finally become a veg box devotee, courtesy of a local initiative Florence Road Market. Feeling all together more settled and rooted in one place than I ever have, I've found the regularity of the weekly veg box a pleasant routine (picking it up provided a mini adventure in leaving the house) as well as adding an element of unpredictability to our week's eating. Picky eaters might not welcome the randomness of the weekly produce box, but as an ex-vegetarian who has a special place in my heart for all vegetables and fruit, I've enjoyed the weekly surprise of seeing what someone else has selected for us that week. Or, more truthfully, it's what the seasons have selected for us at any given time.
I won't bother wasting too many words here on what's already been said by many food campaigners and writers but it goes without saying that your greengrocer and veg market are an excellent guide on what's in season, and that eating seasonally can also lead you to much more delicious vegetable adventures. The market makes it easy for you: you might visit the market and say "Hmmm, those tomatoes are a more expensive than they were the other month..." That's probably because it's December. Or, "Wow, tonnes of huge courgettes and they seem cheaper than the supermarket!" That's probably because it's July. Or "I never even knew there were this many varieties of potato!" That's probably because the local supermarket throws all its buying power into one or two standard varieties, if they even mention varieties at all.
If you go down to the market you're so much more likely to find treasures that rarely grace the average supermarket shelf: Jerusalem artichokes, a romanesco cauliflower, purple potatoes, rainbow carrots, and more marvellous flavours/varieties of British apple than you ever thought existed. Florence Road Market is one of those markets specialising particularly in produce from small, local farms and I really do feel like I've appreciated the changing seasons like never before. Suddenly, when local asparagus appeared last April/May and at an excellent price I bought it repeatedly for weeks (it was worth the smelly wee). What had previously seemed like a bit of a rarity almost got boring it was so abundant for a short amount of time. The season ended but I felt I'd had my fill, and was happy to wait another year for the really good stuff. Besides, you don't need asparagus all year round when you have so much to bring joy to the taste buds in the season after that: fresh peas, strawberries, runner beans, courgettes, tomatoes, cherries...
Anyway, this is a long winded introduction to a lovely recipe I found in one of my searches for amazing ways with vegetables, as well as constantly looking for ways to obsessively use up any food I buy (I'm the kind of person who scrapes the mould off forgotten condiments at the back of the fridge, shoves black bananas in the freezer for making cake later...on the rare occasion when I have to throw food away I am genuinely LIVID.).
The Guardian's Tom Hunt specialises in recipes that prevent food waste, and his recipe for beetroot top borani is one I keep going back to, ever since I got a beautiful bunch of beetroot with all the upper leaves still attached to the root. It is gorgeous lush green veined leaves with vivid purple-red stems and, crucially, this is BONUS FOOD. If you buy a bunch of fresh beetroot in the supermarket it's likely the leaves will have all been trimmed off but boy, are you missing out! Borani is an Iranian yoghurt based dip, and this recipe uses a whole bunch of chopped beetroot stems: you wilt the chopped stems in a frying pan then mix them with yoghurt, garlic, lemon and olive oil plus you can add in any spice, nuts or garnish as you feel. The stems have a similar texture to chard, and they have a juicy, earthy taste which is so delicious against the rich, fresh taste of the garlicky, lemony yoghurt. It's very moreish and can be served as a dip with bread, or as a side to any grilled meats or various summery dishes.
It's also really pretty - green and purple are a gaudy match made in heaven and the saucy bits end up a fetching shade of pink. The camera doesn't do it justice!
No comments:
Post a Comment