I wanted to use more than one of the ingredients together in a recipe. That way when you pick up your CSA box or you find them laying together at your favorite farmers market booth, you could use them up on a single recipe. My first recipe for the week I decided to use the baby chioggia beet greens and the garlic scapes together.

Baby chioggia beets are an Italian heirloom variety of beet. When sliced you can see the beautiful alternating red and white rings, because of this chioggia beets are also known as Candy Stripe beet or Bull’s Eye beet. When storing the beets I read it is best to separate the greens from the beet –the greens will draw out moisture causing the beet to shrivel. Cut the green off about 1-2 inches above the beet. You will want to use the greens up right away, as they won’t keep as long as the beets.

Garlic scape is a relativity new vegetable/herb to me. The first time I heard about it was last year when my friend Jessie put garlic scapes on her pizza. Garlic scapes are the stem and flower part of the garlic. When the scape is removed the garlic bulb can focus the energy on growing and maturing a bigger bulb.

The scape reminds me of a curly green onion that is solid like asaparagus. These are delicious! I wish you could find garlic scapes all year round.

When I hear the words “greens” and “garlic” the first thing that I think of is pesto. It is a terrible obsession of mine. I LOVE pesto. I made pesto with the last supply of produce from Black Sheep Farms, so I really didn’t want to toss the beet greens and garlic scapes into the food processor for another pesto recipe. Instead I decided to do a deconstructed pesto –all the elements of pesto but the ingredients remain separate and intact. Is that cheating?

The deconstructed pesto received three out of four stars from our family. My husband thought it tasted a little fishy –I think that was because I was out of olive oil and used canola oil instead. My little girls (ages 3 and 20 months) really like the dish, so that makes it an automatic winner for me. I served this pasta with my Parmesan chicken bites, I think that sauteed sea scallops would go wonderfully with it as well –that is if meat is your thing.

BEET GREENS & GARLIC SCAPE DECONSTRUCTED PESTO
2 c beet greens, chopped into 2 inch pieces
3 or 4 garlic scapes, chopped
1 T EVOO
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c chopped toasted walnuts
your favorite pasta (I used angel hair)
1-15 oz can diced tomatoes (once tomatoes are in season I would use chopped Romas)
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat skillet over medium low heat.

Add oil, greens, garlic scapes, salt & pepper. Stir everything around. Cover for 3-5 minutes until everything is wilted. Add in chopped walnuts. Drain pasta. Toss tomatoes and greens with the pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when ready to serve. ENJOY!

Other Recipes using Black Sheep Farms produce:
Tom Thumb lettuce salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Two recipes with Baby Bok Choy

This weekend I prepared the baby bok choy two different ways –keeping it raw in a pesto, and softening it by grilling it. Which one do you think was successful? I saw the people over at Burp! Where Food Happens tossed baby bok choy and radishes with a little oil, and grilled it for a warm spring salad. They said the baby bok choy “grew suspiciously tender (and fabulously sweet).” I was intrigued and needed to try it immediately. While the baby bok choy was grilling, I also tossed a few of the heirloom radishes on the grill. I’ve never heard of grilled radishes before, in fact I think the only way I have ever eaten radishes is raw –with plenty of salt.

As I pulled my produce off the grill, I was growing more and more excited to try my grilled spring salad. Once inside I splashed a little Balsamic Vinaigrette over the veggies, sat down with my fork and knife in hand ready to enjoy my first grilled salad.

Half of the baby bok choy was used in my grilled salad, the other half I wanted to use in a different way. Stir-frying it was out of the question, only because that seems to be a typical way bok choy is used, I was looking for an “outside of the box” way to use this veggie. As I was cleaning the baby bok choy for the grilled salad a few leaves feel off and I tried them raw. They were very green tasting and not bitter like I was expecting them to be. The first thing I thought was PESTO! If you do not know this already, I love pesto –and actually I have been known to eat basil pesto with a spoon. After a quick survey of my cupboards I noticed I had some cashews, and thought an Italy meets Asia pesto would make a great experiment. A while back I had made a meatloaf with an Asian twist, instead of meatloaf I formed them into burgers to grill and serve with my baby bok choy pesto.

Two different recipes using baby bok choy as the main ingredient. One recipe I loved, and the other one I think I screwed up on. For me the baby bok choy pesto was the WINNER. The grilled spring salad wasn’t a complete failure.

I learned that I really liked the warm tenderness of the grilled radishes, and hope that you try them that way. The first bite of the grilled baby bok choy was incredibly bitter. The baby bok choy isn’t entirely to blame, I think a lot of the bitterness came from the prepackaged Balsamic Vinaigrette I used. I should have tried the grilled bok choy BEFORE I doused it in the vinaigrette, I would also make my own vinaigrette instead of relying on a premade mixture purchased at Target. Lesson learned. Please don’t let my mistake stop you from trying this salad. Head over to Burp! Where Food Happens to get the recipe and read about how they call this salad “heavenly”.

BABY BOK CHOY PESTO
serve with Asian pork burgers

2 c Baby bok choy, cleaned and chopped
1/2 c raw cashews
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 c Olive Oil
small splash of Toasted Sesame Oil
pinch of salt & pepper

Add all ingredients through Parmesan cheese into blender or food processor. Pulse a few times to chop and combine ingredients. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until everything becomes one. Scrap down sides of container as needed. Add salt & pepper, and small splash of toasted sesame oil (this has a very strong flavor, so only a little is needed) and pulse until combined. Transfer to a serving dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to combine. ENJOY!

ASIAN PORK BURGERS
serves 4
1 lb ground pork
1 8 oz can water chestnuts, minced
6 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
2 T soy sauce
1 egg beaten
small splash of toasted sesame oil

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix together, being careful not to over mix (you don’t want your meat to get tough). Form into four patties. Grill over medium-high heat, for about 5 minutes each side. You want an internal temp of 180 degrees. Place on bun and top with Bok Choy Pesto. ENJOY!!