Hello Rootabaga subscribers,
Welcome to your weekly Rootabaga subscription release! We have some exciting new crops to share with you this week, the Nova Scotian summer staple – rhubarb! This week we’re also welcoming beet greens! Their arrival on the shelves at Uprooted is one of my favourite signs that summer is approaching. We also have more fresh spinach, perfect for this week’s recipe for Simple Spinach Pesto Pasta, which I’ll share below. In all, this week the small share has:
Rhubarb – Noggins Corner Farm, spray-free
Spinach – Noggins Corner Farm, spray-free
Onions – Country Magic, conventionally-grown
Russet Potatoes – Noggins Corner Farm, conventionally-grown
Red Cabbage – Noggins Corner Farm, conventionally-grown
Grape Tomatoes – Den Haan Greenhouses, conventionally-grown
The large share has everything above, as well as:
1lb grape tomatoes instead of ¾ lb
Mini Cucumbers – Stokdijk Greenhouses, conventionally-grown
Beet Greens – Bob Ansems Farm, spray-free
This week’s recipe is one I go for often, Simple Spinach Pesto Pasta. It’s quick, easy, satisfying and can be tailored to whatever ingredients you have on hand. This recipe calls for spinach, walnuts, lemon, and garlic, but you really just need to follow the formula of something green, a nut or seed, and some extra flavour boosters like lemon juice, fresh garlic, and/or parmesan cheese. Blend the ingredients in a food processor with some extra-virgin olive oil and you have the perfect pasta sauce. Pesto is also great as a sauce on chicken or on a sandwich or wrap. To make the pasta a more balanced meal, I like to add cherry tomatoes and sliced Cogmagun Chicken Breasts or marinated Acadiana Extra-Firm Tofu cubes.
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- ½ cup of walnuts, or sunflower seeds for nut-free
- Juice of half a lemon
- ¼ cup of parmesan cheese, or nutritional yeast for dairy-free
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- Pasta of choice
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, cook the pasta.
- Meanwhile, wash and dry the spinach, stems are fine to leave in the pesto. In a food processor, pulse the walnuts into a fine crumb. Add the rest of the ingredients down to garlic. Pulse to combine and blend the greens. As the food processor is running on a low-speed, pour in the olive oil. Don’t overmix as greens and herbs can sometimes get bitter if over processed.
- Taste the pesto and increase salt to boost the flavour, or more lemon for added tartness.
- Once cooked, drain the pasta, leaving a couple tablespoons of pasta water in the pot. Add the pesto to the pasta pot along with the fresh grape tomatoes and the chicken or tofu if using.
Pesto is so easy and delicious to make. Once you’ve done it you won’t buy store-bought again. And it’s a great recipe for your repertoire as all the summer herbs come into season. Basil and parsley make delicious additions to pesto. And you can experiment with other greens in place of spinach and try it using blanched beet greens, stinging nettle, or baby kale.
Next up – beet greens! It’s so nice when an entire vegetable is edible. You can eat the leaves cooked or raw, and the stems are tasty chopped up as well. They’re a mild flavoured green with a slight earthy flavour. They’re often enjoyed steamed. Wash the leaves, chop the stalk into 1 inch pieces, and steam or blanch until just bright green. Season with salt and a drizzle of vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Beet greens can also be added to salads or even smoothies.
Lastly, I’m excited to get into this week’s fresh rhubarb! Tart and crunchy, rhubarb is a great addition to baked goods. But something you maybe haven’t tried is rhubarb pickles. This recipe has lots of spices for adding savoury notes to the pickles, like fennel seed, cardamom pods, black peppercorns, and bay leaf: https://www.thefoodblog.net/pickled-rhubarb-recipe/#recipe
We are so thrilled each delivery day to see new produce coming off of the truck and onto our shelves! Thank you for subscribing to Rootabaga, we look forward to bringing you more fresh local produce next week.
See you then,
Robin