Growing at the Speed of Life
Page 22
Peppers
Annual
Water: Moderate until fruit forms, then less
Sun: Full
Companion Planting:
PRO: Basil, carrots, eggplant, parsnips, tomatoes
CON: Fennel, kohlrabi
Pests: Aphids, army worms, mites, slugs
Diseases : Rot, blossom end rot, mildew
Soil: Light, well drained, and fertile; good composting before planting out; moderate compost
Fertilizer: Medium to heavy feeders; liquid seaweed at blossom plus 2-3 applications during growth
pH: 5.5-6.8
Varieties:
GREEN: California Wonder
YELLOW: Labrador
ORANGE: Ariane
RED: Ace, Lipstick
Zones: 4-12
Planting: Seed ¼-½ inch deep in spring, when night temperatures are above 60ºF; best to start indoors 8 weeks before last frost; plant 12 inches apart
Germinates: 7-10 days
Harvest: From seed, 60-90 days; from transplant, 55-60 days (extra 15-20 days for reds)
Rotation: Don’t plant after tomato, eggplant, or potato
Edible: Pod fruits
PEPPER
How to Roast
Peppers have a tough outer skin that can be easily removed after the roasting process to yield a soft, silken flesh, unlike the crispness that you get if you stir-fry peppers with the skin on.
Cut the peppers into strips no more than ½-inch wide to present as flat a skin surface as possible to the radiant heat source, usually an overhead grill or broiler. Place the cut peppers skin side up on a metal cookie sheet. Spray with a little olive oil and place under the broiler for 5-10 minutes or until the skins have begun to blister and turn brown but not black, which will lend the peppers a burned flavor. Turn them immediately into a brown paper bag. Close it up tightly and allow to cool. All things being equal (and they almost never are), you should be able to easily slip the charred skins off and enjoy the smooth luscious slightly caramelized flesh beneath.
COUSCOUS WITH PEPPERS
In a sense, this is a North African salsa, very colorful and full of bright taste and texture. Great with seafood or poultry dishes.
SERVES 6
3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
(see page 288)
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup large-grain couscous
3 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely diced yellow bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon finely chopped cilantro stems
1 teaspoon arrowroot mixed in 2 teaspoons water (slurry)
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup fruity white wine (I prefer dealcoholized Chardonnay)
Combine the stock and almond extract in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Toss in any vegetable trimmings left over from preparing other courses. Simmer for 10 minutes or so. Strain, discard the trimmings, and return the stock to the saucepan.
Stir the couscous into the stock and simmer 20 minutes or until fluffy and dry. If the couscous is too runny, drain the excess liquid. If the couscous is too dry, add up to ½ cup of water or dealcoholized wine. (If you have only alcoholized wine available, boil off the alcohol before adding it to the couscous or it could be harsh.)
While the couscous is cooking, combine the bell peppers and onion in a small bowl. Add the lime juice and cilantro stems and mix.
As soon as the couscous is done, stir in the slurry. (It is important to add the slurry while the couscous is still very hot.) Add the pepper mixture and the salt, and then remove the pan from the heat and cover tightly to keep warm.
When ready to serve, stir in the cilantro leaves and wine.
Per serving: 132 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 27 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 260 mg sodium. Exchanges: 1 Starch, 2 Vegetable, ½ Fat
MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS
This dish originated on the 1969 Galloping Gourmet TV show, when my guest from the audience didn’t like it! It has since been transformed, so if you are my 1969 guest reading this, let’s try it again.
SERVES 4
4 red bell peppers
1 teaspoon nonaromatic olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1 jalapeño or chipotle chile (seeds removed if you like it mild), chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15.25-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in juice
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels
1 cup cooked or canned pinto beans
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut the tops off the peppers, core, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet and cook the onion 2 minutes over medium-high, until it starts to wilt. Add the garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, and cumin. Sauté 2 more minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, corn, and beans. Cook until the liquid disappears and the stuffing holds together. Spoon into the prepared peppers and set into a 10-inch greased baking dish.
Bake 1 hour or until the peppers are tender.
Per serving: 248 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 50 g carbohydrate, 9 g protein, 8 g dietary fiber, 504 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Starch, 4 Vegetable
RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN PASTA
This is a splendid and colorful dish, full of crisp textures and flavor. Harvest carefully to have the same colors in your garden at one time. Since that is quite a trick, you may want to fill in a missing color from the store—on this one occasion!
SERVES 4
8 ounces dry orzo or other small pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, bashed and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and cool under cold water. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet large enough to hold the whole dish over medium-high. Sauté the onion 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Toss in the bell peppers and cook 5-8 minutes until tender.
Add the spinach just to wilt it. Stir in the cooked pasta, salt, and black pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each serving.
Per serving: 283 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat (3% calories from saturated fat), 51 g carbohydrate, 11 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 144 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 ½ Starch, 3 Vegetable, ½ Fat
ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP
If the peppers have done really well and you’ve left enough to ripen (redden) on the plant, then here’s a special soup for the early winter season.
SERVES 6
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup diced sweet onion
2 garlic cloves
4 large red bell peppers, roasted (see page 212)
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in juice
4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
(see page 288)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Sauté the onion 2 minutes, and then add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes, and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Whiz half the soup in a blender, then pour it back into the pan. Season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Divide among 6 hot soup bowls and serve with some good hearty, whole-grain bread.
Per serving: 48 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber, 361 mg sodium. Excha
nges: 2 Vegetable
MULTICOLOR PEPPER SAUTÉ
If you love great colors, this dish will delight you. Serve as a side dish to barbecued meats, in omelets, or heaped on small garlic-rubbed toast rounds as bruschetta.
SERVES 4
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup sliced sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into fine strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into fine strips
1 green bell pepper, cored and cut into fine strips
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Spritz of extra-virgin olive oil
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high. Sauté the onion 2 minutes or until it starts to wilt but not brown. Add the garlic and bell pepper strips, and sauté about 10 minutes until tender. Stir in the salt, black pepper, and parsley. Spritz with the olive oil just before serving.
Per serving: 60 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 12 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 143 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Vegetable
SPINACH-STUFFED RED BELL PEPPERS
This side dish looks like an advertisement for Italy, and it tastes that good, too!
SERVES 4
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut in half lengthwise
3 bunches fresh spinach or 2 (12-ounce)
packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Place the pepper halves in a steamer and steam 3 minutes over boiling water. Set aside.
Wash the spinach and discard the stems. Chop the leaves and season with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Steam until wilted, 3 minutes. (If using frozen spinach, heat in a small saucepan, then season.) Press out the excess water and fill the pepper halves.
Steam the stuffed peppers 3 minutes or until heated through. Cut each half into 2 wedges and serve green side up ... what else!
Per serving: 87 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 11 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 405 mg sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
We live in one of the world’s greatest potato-growing valleys, and so I felt I could better use our limited space for plants that have a greater markup at the store.
Then I discovered a yellow potato called German Butterball and a deeply blue tinted organic potato called, of all things, All Blue. So I set out to plant a patch 5x4 feet, using a pound of each variety as seed and hoping for a 10-pound harvest from both. Since these varieties are what one might call designer potatoes, their designer prices in the supermarket—when you can find them—make them a good candidate for the kitchen garden.
For the first-time potato grower, if you want an early new potato size, break off the foliage but leave the tuber in the ground for a couple of weeks to develop a good skin (with its abundant vitamin C), and always serve them unpeeled.
Exactly when to do this depends on how small you want the new potatoes to be; my best suggestion is to delicately excavate the earth bank to see how they are doing. At 1-inch diameters, you may decide to top the greens.
One other handy hint: keep the soil banked up against the green tops to protect the tuber from developing a green skin. This green pigment is actually a low-grade toxin called alkaloid solanine, which can cause digestive distress.
Tradition has it that Escoffier, the famed master chef, used to have potential apprentices who wanted to work in his Savoy Hotel kitchens make him a plain omelet with boiled potatoes—a seemingly simple audition. Yet both can attain perfection only through skill.
The formula for the perfect boiled potato is simple: water, plus 1 teaspoon salt for each quart of water. Add small/new potatoes to boiling water; older and larger potatoes—2 inches diameter and up—are added to cold water, which is then brought to a boil. In both cases, count on about 12 minutes of boiling time. Drain off the water and cover the hot potatoes with a clean absorbent towel, pressed down tightly into the saucepan. Let stand for 10 minutes. The excess water will then steam off and leave the potatoes in a perfect state.
The Numbers
Although there is only anecdotal evidence concerning arthritis and nightshade vegetables (of which potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes are members), you might be well advised to limit portions of these vegetables if you suffer from arthritis.
100 g baked including skin (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 97 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 21 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 14 mg sodium
Potato
Perennial/Annual/Cool Season
Water: Moist but not saturated
Sun: Full
Companion Planting:
PRO: Cabbage family, eggplant, beans, marigolds
CON: Cucumbers, peas, tomatoes
Pests: Potato beetles, earwigs, slugs, snails
Diseases: Black leg, blight, root rot, Verticillium
Soil : Loose, well-drained sandy loam
Fertilizer: High nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium; add extra potash
pH: 5.0-6.5
Varieties: I’ve focused my attention on the unusual potatoes to make best use of the kitchen-garden space
FINGERLINGS: Russian Banana
YELLOW: Yukon Gold, German Butterball
ROUND RED: Norland
PURPLE: Purple Viking, All Blue
Zones: 3-11
Planting: Sprouted tubers 3 weeks before last frost in 6-inch-wide trenches at 2-4 inches deep, spaced 24 inches apart
Harvest: From tubers, 90-110 days
Rotation: Don’t plant after tomato family
Edible: Tubers
DUFFED POTATOES
My publisher is a devotee of pure white creamed potatoes. I’m hoping he’ll like this attempt to compete with the version served at Au Bon Accueil in Paris! At least it will have a lot fewer calories.
SERVES 4
FOR THE POTATOES
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and
quartered
½-¾ cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
FOR THE SAUCE
1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
(see page 288)
Pinch saffron or turmeric
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons vegetable stock (slurry)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives (optional)
Cook the potatoes in boiling water 20-30 minutes or until very soft. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot, put a towel over the top and press it onto the potatoes. Let them sit on very low heat for 15 minutes to dry.
Transfer to an ovenproof bowl. Add ½ cup of the buttermilk and the salt, white pepper, and nutmeg, and mash by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth. Add more buttermilk if the mash is too dry. Keep warm in the oven at 190°F, covered.
To make the sauce, boil the stock in a small saucepan about 10 minutes until reduced by half. Add the saffron and salt. Remove from the heat and stir in the slurry. Return to the heat to thicken and clear.
Divide the potatoes among 4 hot plates. Make a well in the middle of each mound and fill with the sauce, allowing it to spill over just a little. Scatter fresh chives over the top and serve with a nice piece of fish or chicken.
Per serving: 196 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 42 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 374 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Starch
CELERY ROOT AND POTATO PURÉE
This could become the Mercedes of mashed potatoes if you enjoy the flavor of celery.
SERVES 6
1 small celery root (about 1 pound when unpeeled)
2 large russet potatoes
¼ teaspoon salt
4 cups water
¼ cup yogurt cheese (see page 290)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons finely sliced fresh celery leaves
Scrub the celery root with a vegetable brush. Cut off the top and bottom and discard. Peel the root with a knife, making sure to cut out all the brown spots and any woody parts near the center. Slice thickly and then cut into 1-inch pieces.
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch slices. Put the celery root, potatoes, salt, and water into a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.
Strain the vegetables and cover with a towel to dry out for 5 minutes, then mash well. Stir in the yogurt cheese, white pepper, and sliced celery leaves. Cover until ready to serve.
Per serving: 96 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 21 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 186 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Vegetable
COLORFUL MASHED POTATOES
This is the potato lovers answer to the well-known pasta primavera—an otherwise bland presentation dressed up with lots of colors.
SERVES 6
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes cut in chunks
(yield 2 cups)
1½ cup low-fat milk
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped carrots
¼ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup chopped broccoli
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Boil the potatoes 10-15 minutes or until very soft. Drain and return to pot, put a towel over the top, and press onto the potatoes. Let them sit on very low heat for 5 minutes to dry. Mash and stir in the milk. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high and sauté the onion 2 minutes. Add the carrots and caraway seeds, and cover and cook about 10 minutes until almost tender. Add the broccoli and cook 5 minutes more. The carrots and broccoli should both be just tender and bright in color.