Vegan Recipes

Pickled Chard Stems

rainbow chard stalks

Not sure what to do with chard stems? Pickle them!

Many people like to lightly steam chard greens for their health benefits. But don’t throw the stems away! Once pickled, they can be added to salads or sandwiches, or just munched as is.

1 pound chard stems (from about 4 bunches), cut into 4″ lengths
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons Nash’s black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Toss the chard stems and shallot slices in the salt and let them stand in a colander in a sink for 1 hour. Rinse and drain well.

Meanwhile, toast the mustard and caraway seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until mustard seeds begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Let cool.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; let cool slightly. Pour brine into jars. Let cool slightly, add chard stems, shallots, and seeds, then cover and chill for 24 hours. They will last for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

We thank epicurious.com for this recipe.

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What to Do with Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes

Curlicues of bunched garlic scapes look whimsical, but scapes are seriously tasty.

Do you love garlic but have run out of last season’s garlic cloves? Not to worry—garlic scapes are here! Scapes are the tall flowering stalk of the garlic plant. They have a mild garlic flavor and can be used to add garlicky goodness to so many dishes. Here are several tasty suggestions.

Garlic Scape Pesto—Blend with pine nuts, Parmesan, olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper. Add basil, if you want.

Grilled or Roasted—Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper, and grill for 2 minutes on each side.

Hummus—Swap scapes for garlic cloves. Great in a lemony, tahini-free hummus.

Compound Butter—Add some lemon and fresh thyme.

Pizza—Delicious on a white grilled pizza with caramelized onions.

Stir-fry—They lose some bite when sautéed, so use 3-4 times as much.

Salads—Blanch them first, like you would green beans.

Soup—Add to soup towards the end to get the best flavor from the scapes.

Pickled—Add to your favorite pickle recipe, or just pickle the scapes themselves in vinegar, salt and dill.

Sautéed—Great with shrimp.

Quesadillas—Grill them first and add lots of cheese!

Omelets—Add cut-up scapes, arugula and a little basil along with cheese.

Pork Burgers—Mix with Nash’s Italian sausage or ground pork, and a little rosemary. OMG!!

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Spinach-Strawberry Salad

A bucket of strawberries in the field

Strawberry season means strawberries go in every meal — and they lend this spinach salad a deliciously sweet note.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach—rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries—cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

In a bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce or Bragg’s and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.

Spinach in the fieldIn a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds.

Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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Qorma (Afghan Spinach Dish)

Bunched spinach

Our first spinach harvest of the season is here! Spotlight these crisp and tender greens in this spinach-centered side dish.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup green onions (white and green parts), chopped
2 pounds fresh spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon dried dill
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a large, deep pan heat the oil over medium-high and sauté the onions until tender, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook covered on medium heat, stirring regularly until wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water to pan and remaining ingredients except lemon juice.

Stir thoroughly and cook for 5-10 more minutes until the liquid has decreased, keeping an eye on the pot so it doesn’t dry out. If you’re going for satiny smooth, add more water or stock and continue to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Otherwise, season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serve as a side or over rice.

We thank Full Circle Farms for this recipe.

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Herb Vinegar Salad Dressing

Basil

Basil and oregano flavor this tasty dressing.

1/2 tablespoon finely minced shallot or scallion
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil

Stir the shallots or scallions together with the mustard and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice and vinegar, and when well blended, whisk in the oil. Add freshly ground pepper and dried herbs and shake well. Taste by dipping lettuce in. Adjust by adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice.

We thank Karolina’s Kitchen for this recipe.

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Pickled Mixed Vegetables

Makes 5-6 quarts

1 large head cauliflower
4 ribs celery
1 dozen small pickling cucumbers
8 small carrots
1 medium green bell pepper
1 medium red bell pepper
8 small pearl onions
16 cloves garlic
1 pound green beans
10 cup vinegar
6 cup water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons celery seed
4 teaspoons dill seed
4 teaspoons mustard seed

Sterilize jars. Break cauliflower into small florets; cook in boiling water 5 minutes; drain. Cut remaining vegetables into bite-sized pieces and mix in a big bowl. Mix the vinegar, water, salt, celery, dill and mustard seed to make brine and heat over medium. Pack hot jars with random vegetables, bring brine to a boil and fill to 1/2” head space. Follow the USDA recommendation for processing pickled mixed vegetables.

We thank Stocking Up for this recipe.

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Triticale Berries with Basil Oil and Seasonal Greens Stir Fry

Triticale Berries
Rinse berries well and soak overnight. Drain and simmer in water for 1 hour.

Basil

Imagine the aroma in our basil greenhouses — and imagine that same lovely scent in your own kitchen.

Basil Oil
1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup olive oil

Blanch basil in boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat basil dry with paper towels. Transfer to blender, add oil and puree until smooth. Transfer to small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

Seasonal greens
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 bunch chopped rainbow chard
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch baby dill
1 1/2 pounds fava beans, husked and blanched
2 tablespoons oil
Splash apple cider vinegar or other vinegar

In a medium skillet, saute garlic scapes and 1 cup cooked triticale berries in 2 tablespoons oil. Once berries start to turn golden brown, add fava beans, rainbow chard, baby dill and spinach. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the greens cook down, add a splash of vinegar. Take off stove, plate up, and drizzle with basil oil.

For a more meaty option, serve with Nash’s spicy Italian sausage, made into patties and pan fried. Makes a great sweet and spicy combo!

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Fava Bean Pesto on Charred Romaine Salad

fava beans

Did you know that you could grill lettuce? Or that you could make pesto from fava beans? Try doing both with this tasty recipe.

1 cup fava beans, removed from pods and blanched
1 bunch garlic scapes, roasted
4 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon juice to taste (optional)
Salt to taste
1 head romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 375. Place garlic scapes on a cookie sheet with a little bit of oil and roast for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, place all ingredients except romaine in a food processor and pulse till combined. Set aside.

Cut romaine head into 4 wedges. Drizzle the cut sides of the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the romaine over a hot fire, cut side down, until charred in spots, about 20 seconds. Turn the romaine over and grill for 20 seconds longer. Transfer the wedges to a platter, cut side up, and drizzle the fava bean pesto over them.

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Creamy Ranch Dressing

2 cups almond milk
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup minced parsley
1/2 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons flax oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dry dill weed
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 dates, pitted
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch white pepper

Soak the cashews for 4 hours, then rinse and drain. Blend all of the ingredients until smooth. Store in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.

We thank Pamela Ziemann of ElementalCuisine.com and the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute for this delicious and healthy ranch dressing.

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Grilled Leeks

leeks

Grilling season is here! Try grilling your leeks, maybe with other assorted veggies or some Nash’s pork burgers.

12 medium leeks, trimmed to about 7 inches, split length-wise to within 1 1/2 inches of the root end
Olive oil for grilling

Vinaigrette
4 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup minced assorted fresh basil

Tie the leeks in 4 bundles with kitchen string, and place in a kettle of boiling salted water. Boil them for 6 minutes, or until they are just tender, and drain them in a colander. Refresh the leeks under cold water and discard the strings.  Brush the leeks with the oil and grill them on an oiled rack set, 5 minutes on each side, or until they are golden.
Transfer the leeks as they are grilled to a platter and keep warm. In a separate bowl combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the leeks.

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