Long relegated to the outer edges of polite eating society, cruciferous vegetables have a bad rap. They're stinky. They give you gas. They're tougher than a Harley-riding grandma and taste like rotten eggs.
Get over it. Turns out these funky vegetables also are some of the best things we can put into our bodies -- loaded with vitamins, nutrients and cancer-fighting antioxidants. And with chefs and cookbook authors getting on the bandwagon, there's no reason to hold your nose while eating them.
Braised, roasted and sauteed, they become
rich, earthy accompaniments to meat and fish. Really. Still not buying
it? Find out how and where to taste them right...
Chard, kale,
collard greens
Year-round CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
members become very familiar -- not always by choice -- with these
hearty winter greens that seem oblivious to frost and cold. Best served
braised, they're often mistaken for spinach.
Benefits: A vegetable that resolutely can't help but be good for you. High in vitamins A, C, folates, calcium and iron, they're powerhouses of nutrients. Bright red stems are a signature of many chard varieties. Kale tends to be dark green with curly leaves.
Tastes like: Spinach's bigger, slightly bitter cousin. Chard stalks can get tough, so its best to cook or saute the greens and leave the stalks behind.
How to eat: Cut the leaves into ribbons and saute with garlic and olive oil. Or, keep leaves intact, but coat with salt and olive oil. Place on cookie sheets and cook for several minutes at 400 degrees until dry and crispy. Eat like potato chips.
Where to get: Usually disguised as "winter greens," these soulful dark leaves are usually used as a bed for hearty winter meats like Rocker Oysterfeller's braised greens with BBQ Beef Brisket (14415 Highway One, Valley Ford, 876-1983).
Rapini
More delicate and petite than bold, brash chard, rapini (also called
broccoli rabe) has fuzzy greens and little florets that look like
broccoli (scaring some people away). Fear not, this cute little bunch
of leaves are actually in the turnip family. Little yellow flowers,
which are edible, sometimes bud off the florets.
Benefits: High in vitamins A, C, K, potassium, calcium and iron.
Tastes like: Very green and earthy, slightly bitter.
How to eat: Steam or saute with lots of garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. A little bacon couldn't hurt.
Where to get: Rapini is a southern Italian staple, so you'll often find it mixed in with pastas and soups. LoCoco's Cucina Rustica: Orecchiette Con Salsiccie E Rapini with sausage, broccoli rabe, garlic and chiles (117 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 523-2227).
Brussels sprouts
The
current poster child for cruciferous vegetables, chefs have latched
onto this despised childhood torture device and given it a complete
makeover. Because really, who can resist the adorability of mini
cabbages?
Benefits: High in vitamins A, C, potassium, fiber
Tastes like: OK, we'll admit that sprouts done wrong taste like a rotten egg. Or worse. But in the hands of a pro, they can be delightfully sweet, earthy little nuggets of goodness.
How to eat: Freshness is key (look for sprouts still on the stalk). Cut heads in half, drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast at high heat to caramelize. Add some raisins, bacon, sauteed shallots or garlic to add flavor.
Where
to get: Stark's Steakhouse is the master, serving up sprouts with
Andouille sausage, apples, blue cheese and sage brown butter (521 Adams
St., Santa Rosa, 546-5100.); roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta at
Santi (21047 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 857-1790 through Dec. 31;
reopening in early 2010 in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove Village center);
sprouts with bacon, Calabrian chiles and caramelized shallots, Estate
(400 W. Spain St., Sonoma, 933-3663); flash-fried sprouts with olive
oil, lemon, chili flakes and garlic, Boon Eat & Drink (16248 Main
St., Guerneville, 869-0780).
Bok choy
This most Asian of veggies
doesn't turn up many places aside from Chinese restaurants, where its
usually relegated to a side dish. But bok choy deserves a little
respect both for its delicate flavor and celery-like crunch, revered
for centuries in the East. Often found in kimchi.
Benefits: High in vitamin C, potassium, calicium, folate, beta-carotene.
Tastes like: Light, earthy, sweeter than chard, takes on flavors well.
How to eat: Steamed or braised with ginger, garlic and soy sauce. Stems can be a little tough, so cut them thin.
Where to get: Pan roasted butterfish with baby bok choy, Sea Thai Bistro (2323 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, 528-8333); Steamed with tofu, Gary Chu's (611 5th St., Santa Rosa, 526-5840).
Cauliflower
Long-favored
with a heavy dousing of Velveeta, cauliflower saw its star rise again
in recent years as Atkins Diet proponents discovered that it tasted
pretty good pureed with a lots of cream and butter. One of the
stinkiest crucifers when cooked, it takes a bold chef to welcome it to
the party, but when roasted returns the favor.
Benefits: High in vitamin C, folate
Tastes like: Nutty, sulfurous, can be creamy and sweet when cooked well
How to eat: Raw or slow-roasted until it caramelizes. To really increase your nutritional value (and trick your mind a bit) look for bright orange, green or purple varieties.
Where to get: Underwood Bistro's Chou-Fleur cauliflower gratin (9113 Graton Road, Graton, 823-7023).
Cabbage
More suited to summer salads and cole slaw, cabbage isn't often thought
of as a winter green, but can add crunch to almost any dish. The basis
for sauerkraut, Korean kimchi and borscht, along with its evil boiled
cousin (found in much of Europe) cabbage is an international essential.
Benefits: High in vitamin C, said to help with respiratory problems and inflammation
Tastes like: Nutty, sulfurous, can be creamy and sweet when cooked well
How to eat: Raw, pickled or preserved
Where to get: Little Ear Pasta enrobed with garlic, cream and prosciutto gets a grown-up goose of crunch with cabbage at the newly opened Jackson's Bar and Oven (135 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 545-6900).
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What about broccoli? Though high in nutritional value, this green machine has lost cachet in many restaurants. Thoughtlessly steamed broccoli thrown on as garnish is just amateurish. Health nuts, however, know that a stem or two thrown in a morning smoothie can't be beat.
And that's not all: There's lots more to love about cruciferous veggies including the lesser known mustard greens, arugula, turnip greens, beets, watercress and rutabaga. Explore a little and get to know the neighborhood. It's tastier than you might think.
At Dean & DeLuca in St. Helena, catering servers were cruising the shop on Sunday with tastes of the, yikes, brussel sprouts.
Famed childhood torture devices indeed.
In the hands of Dean & DeLuca, subjected to olive oil, pancetta, honey, these brussel sprounts were great! Smoky, sweet and very carmelized.
People were demanding seconds.
I've gotten a few questions on the inclusion of various veggies into the "cruciferous" category. Some include it in the category, others don't. It certainly does fall within the same family of veggies as kale, mustard, turnip. If I got it wrong, apologies.
Hmm. When did chard become a crucifer?
Hmm. When did chard become a crucifer?
And you can find all these hardy greens at Santa Rosa Farmers Market too
year round, rain or shine, Wed and Sat morning