Broccoli: Boon or bust?

Two seemingly unrelated things coincided this past week: rethinking how we do our veggie donations and an early broccoli harvest (our second succession, which came along with the first, is 3 weeks early).  Waste.  There is a significant amount of waste in "our" (the US) food system.  The USDA estimates that 25% of the food grown in the US never makes it to consumers and another 96 billion pounds of food annually is never used once purchased.  We came to farming, originally, from a a food systems perspective: how do we get out of the industrialized food system? how do we stop and reverse the social, environmental, cultural, and economic damage it causes? and how do we make healthy, locally-grown, organic food available to more people?  Harvesting hundreds of heads of early broccoli, I started thinking about these questions again, and much of what we do on our farm and through the CSA felt very much affirmed.  One great advantage of a CSA is that there is less waste.  We don't grow broccoli for a distributor-middle man or a chain grocer or a large "agricultural" company.  If we did, all of our broccoli that we are harvesting right now would be trash - too small to meet their specifications.  Instead, through the CSA, approximately 100 families per week (maybe 400? people) will eat broccoli for at least 4 weeks this spring.  And it is beautiful broccoli.  It is exactly what food really should be: yummy, packed-full of nutrients, fresh, vibrant, and free of insect-damage.  Sure, if it hadn't been so hot and the broccoli had come more on schedule, we would have had more broccoli overall and for a longer period of time, but we have been through enough springs here to know that we should celebrate any broccoli that we are able to harvest and that is exactly what we plan to do!  Enjoy your early-broccoli.  If you are bored with plain boiled or steamed broccoli, try these recipes.

Roasted Broccoli

4 c. broccoli florets

3-4 T. olive oil

salt to taste

Toss florets in olive oil and salt. Place on baking sheet.  Broil on low for 10-12 minutes.

Broccoli with Peanut Butter or Cashew Butter Sauce

4 c. broccoli florets

1/2 c. peanut butter or cashew butter

1/4 t. salt

1 T. curry powder (or to taste)

2 T. olive oil

enough water to make peanut butter into sauce

Mix peanut butter through olive oil.  Add enough water to make it a thick sauce.  Toss broccoli in sauce.  Place on baking sheet.  Broil on low for 12-15 minutes, until browned.  Stir half way through.

Broccoli Pesto (from Heidi Swanson’s super natural every day)

2 c. broccoli florets, cooked for 1 minute in boiling water, dunked in cold water, and 

drained

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2/3 c. pine nuts, toasted (or I like walnuts, too)

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. creme fraiche (or anything like it)

1/4 t. salt

Put it all in a food processor and blend.  Mix into pasta or make into a pizza sauce or put on sandwiches.

Ideas for broccoli stems: (1) peel, cut into strips, and dip in hummus; (2) peel, cut into strips, and make into refrigerator pickles; (3) blanch and freeze and use in broccoli-cheese soup when it isn’t so warm out; (4) bake like french fries

Fennel

Fennel is probably the most under-appreciated vegetable we grow.  I like to believe it is because most people have only had it raw or baked, both of which make for an unpleasant experience, in my opinion.  Slow-cooked, fennel is one of my favorites. Fennel (like celery and arugula) is at its best when you think of it as an herb: it is sort of strong and unappealing when eaten raw and fresh from the field but develops layers of wonderful flavors when coked and even takes on the “hmm...that is really good, what did you add to that?” role.  Many years ago, I found the following recipe in a cookbook that I have.  I have never actually made it in its entirety and instead have taken bits and pieces of it to make various meals depending on what we had at the time.  I strongly suggest taking a stab at it.  It has been tested many times amongst the “fennel-haters.”  If not, try fennel chopped small like celery in any soup.  I particularly like it in split pea soup (I don’t make it without it anymore) and white bean soup.  It is also good slow-cooked with green cabbage.

Potato Ragout with Fennel and Tofu 

from The Big Book of Vegetarian (Farrell-Kingsley) with my suggestion in italics

1 T. olive oil

1/2 c. onion, chopped  (1 c.)

1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped (I like it sliced and diced)

1 leek, chopped (leeks and fennel don’t always coincide here, so I eliminate)

1/4 c. parsley, chopped

2 T. rosemary, chopped

2 t. fennel seed 

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 c. chopped tomatoes (I often make without tomatoes, in which case, also eliminate fennel seed)

2 pounds tofu, drained and cubed (use, eliminate, or substitute with meat - sausage is good choice since fennel is often used in sausage)

2 c. cooked white beans

a pinch of saffron (not necessary, only use it if you have it on hand, don’t go buy it for this)

2 c. broth or water

2 c. new potatoes, quartered

salt and pepper

Heat oil in dutch oven.  Add onion, fennel, leek, parsley, rosemary, and fennel seed (if using). Salt.  Cook 10 minutes on medium.  Add vinegar, cook 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes (if using).  Cook 6-8 minutes.  Add beans and tofu.  Dissolve saffron into broth, if using, and add to mixture.  Add potatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook approx. 45 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and ragout is thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.

What do I do with those fennel fronds (the frizzy part on top)? a few options: you can use a little bit as garnish or in a yogurt-garlic sauce; they work great as filler in flower arrangements; and I recently learned that a wash of fennel fronds (boil water, add fennel, boil a couple of minutes, cool, and strain) is very good for the skin, particularly your face!