by Graham Kerr
Edible: Swollen root (tuber)
BAKED SWEET POTATO MOUSSE
I concocted this combination of oranges, raisins, and allspice to complement, but not mask, the sweet potato’s creamy sweetness. The result is akin to a delicately textured mousse packed with interesting flavors.
SERVES 6
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon raisins
3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
⅜ teaspoon ground allspice
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly
chopped
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup yogurt cheese (see page 290)
½ teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 tablespoon slivered almonds
FOR THE GARNISH
Edible flowers, such as pansies, nasturtiums, and bachelor buttons
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a 10-inch round ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray.
Warm the orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the raisins, 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon of the allspice. Mix and set aside to let the raisins soak while the potatoes are cooking.
Put the potatoes and salt in a large saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain the cooking liquid and return the potatoes to the pan. Cover the potatoes with a clean dishtowel and place over very low heat for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes have a dry, floury appearance.
Mash with a potato masher and add the yogurt cheese, remaining ¼ teaspoon of allspice, and orange zest. Drain the raisins, reserving the liquid, and set aside to use for garnish. Add the liquid to the potatoes and stir until smooth.
Spread the mashed potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Press the potatoes with the tines of a fork to create a ridged texture, and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and the almonds. Bake 15 minutes, until a thin-bladed knife will come out clean.
To serve, scoop a portion of the potato mousse onto a dessert plate and top with a few of the plumped raisins. Set an edible flower alongside.
Per serving: 231 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 92 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Carbohydrate
MASHED SWEET POTATOES
Some plants contain many calories and great nutrients. Because of this, a smaller portion can provide great benefits. You’ll find this portion small but so delicious!
SERVES 4
4 small to medium orange sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into ½-inch slices (you should have about 2 cups). Cook in a steamer over boiling water about 16 minutes until tender. When they are very soft, tip into a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. Stir in the thyme, salt, and black pepper, and serve.
Per serving: 99 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 23 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 59 mg sodium. Exchanges: 1½ Starch
SPICY ROASTED SWEET POTATO WEDGES
SERVES 4
1 pound orange sweet potatoes
½ teaspoon olive oil or olive oil cooking spray
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon mild chili powder
Dusting of smoked paprika
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut in thin wedges lengthwise. Place in the prepared pan and brush or spray with oil.
Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top. Roast 30 minutes.
Per serving: 128 calories, 19 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 13 mg sodium. Exchanges: 1 Starch
Tomato
Lycopersicon esculentum
If anyone ever needed a reason to grow their own kitchen garden, it would surely be to get a tomato that tastes truly wonderful: a combined sweetness with a balanced acidity and a glorious just-picked aroma, somewhat like a geranium in full flower.
Tomatoes are perennials but grown, for the most part, as annuals. And in our part of the world, growing them at all can be a problem because rainfall can cause heavy blight in the fall. Mine did very well, at least from my perspective, which is colored by never having grown one before.
The fabled Brandywine plant produced only three fruits—one ugly and two picture perfect and delicious. (Although I asked our local experts why this might be, I did not get any kind of meaningful answer.)
By far the best tasting was an orange cherry tomato called Sun Gold, which flourished and bore lots of fruit. Meanwhile, the small lemon yellow pear-shaped variety, Yellow Pear, split early, its skin too tender for its rapid growth.
The fruit of the plants nearest the evening sun, Early Girl, were large, deeply colored, and abundant.
The other plant I liked, Russian Paste, is useful for Italian plum-style (Roma) tomato sauces and for drying.
My greenhouse varieties didn’t do as well as those set out in the raised beds with a sturdy trellis, where I warmed the soil using green plastic mulch. I let the greenhouse plants climb sticks and strings, but they quickly became home to hundreds of whiteflies, which I was told could be hosed off with a good pressure shower of fresh water. That technique worked for only a while and seemed to damage the lower leaves. Later I used diluted neem oil, which worked much better.
I had planted them too close to each other in the EarthBoxes and hadn’t tapped them each day to self-pollinate.
In the coming years, I’m going to focus on three varieties: Brandywine, Sun Gold cherry, and Russian Paste. The latter two I will bring indoors (the greenhouse) and let them grow up a coarse garden string. And this time I will do better with daily tapping close to the flowers to help self-pollination (done by the wind and insects outside) and will diligently remove the suckers that grow out of the crotch of each leaf stem. (My pals tell me to do this once a week without fail and in that way concentrate energy toward the fruit.)
The Numbers
For each 100 g (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 18 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber, 5 mg sodium
Tomato
Perennial/Annual
Water: 1-2 inches per week (light to moderate consistent drip irrigation)
Sun: Full (6 hours minimum)
Companion Planting:
PRO: Basil, cabbage family, garlic, onions
CON: Corn, dill, potatoes
Pests: Aphids, whiteflies, slugs, snails
Diseases: Alternaria, early blight; look out for resistance codes on seed packages or starts: V, Verticillium wilt; F, Fusarium wilt; N, nematodes; and/or T, tobacco virus
Soil: Light, loose, and with good drainage; add bonemeal to each planting hole
Fertilizer: High phosphorus, potassium; moderate nitrogen; fish emulsion every 3-4 weeks
pH: 5.5-6.8
Varieties: My picks for the home garden include Sun Gold (cherry tomato), Early Girl (for early harvest), Russian Paste (very dense flesh, few seeds good to make a paste), Viva Italia (blight-resistant hybrid, great for bottling and sauce making), and Brandywine (heirloom)
Zone: 3 and warmer
Planting: Seed ½ inch deep, indoors, allowing at least 12 inches for roots and around stem, 6-7 weeks before last frost, 18 inches apart; thin to 36 inches
Germinates: 5-7 days (best at 85ºF)
Harvest: From seed, 50-90 days
Rotation: Don’t follow potato, eggplant, pepper
Edible: Fruit
FRESH TOMATO SOUP
SERVES 4
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ large yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
8 Roma tomatoes, cored, blanched, skinned,
seeded, and chopped
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon sa
lt
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Sauté the onions, garlic, basil, and oregano for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Don’t sieve or puree; serve just as it is.
Per serving: 63 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 181 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Vegetable
GRILLED PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS WITH TOMATO JALAPEÑO SAUCE
This is one of my special-occasion side dishes, usually served with a red meat or game, but it could also become an appetizer with a watercress or arugula garnish.
SERVES 6
FOR THE MUSHROOMS
2 garlic cloves, bashed and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 medium portabella mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed
FOR THE SAUCE
½ teaspoon light olive oil
2 cups roughly chopped sweet onion
3 jalapeño chiles, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped
6 small (or 4 large) Italian plum tomatoes, such as Roma, quartered
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon arrowroot mixed with ½ cup
dealcoholized red wine or water (slurry)
Combine the garlic, cayenne, allspice, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice in a bowl. Place the mushrooms in a shallow dish and brush with the garlic mixture. Set aside while you make the sauce.
To make the sauce, warm the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions 3-5 minutes until slightly browned. Stir in the jalapeños, tomatoes, salt, allspice, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Press the tomato sauce through a sieve into a saucepan, discarding the pulp. Add the slurry to the sauce and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
Preheat the grill or broiler.
Grill or broil the mushrooms about 3 minutes per side. Cut the mushrooms into slices and fan out on 6 plates. Stir any juices from the broiler pan and cutting board into the tomato sauce. Spoon the sauce over the mushrooms.
Per serving: 90 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 17 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 5 g dietary fiber, 261 mg sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable
TOMATO AND SWEET CORN WITH BALSAMIC SAUCE
The classic salad uses tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese. I’ve used fresh sweet corn as a colorful flavorful alternative to the higher fat mozzarella.
SERVES 6
FOR THE SALAD
2-3 ears fresh corn, shucked
3 large ripe tomatoes
FOR THE SAUCE
¼ cup unsweetened apple juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¾ teaspoon arrowroot
FOR THE GARNISH
9 large basil leaves (to be sliced)
6 sprigs basil
To prepare the salad, drop the ears of corn into a pot of rapidly boiling water and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately immerse in ice water to chill. When cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cobs. Discard the cobs and refrigerate the kernels.
Core the tomatoes by cutting a shallow cone around the stem. Cut each tomato in half lengthwise, top to bottom, and lay the tomato halves, cut side down, on a cutting board. With a sharp knife held parallel to the cutting board, cut thin slices across each tomato from the blossom end toward the stem end, stopping just before you cut all the way through. Make about six slices, discarding the top slice, which is completely covered with skin. Repeat with all tomato halves and set aside until ready to serve.
To prepare the sauce, combine the apple juice, vinegar, and arrowroot in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. Set aside to cool.
To serve, scatter the corn on individual salad plates. Lay a tomato half in the center of each plate and press down gently to fan out the slices. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the sauce over each tomato. At the last minute, slice the basil leaves into thin strips and sprinkle over top of each plate. Lay a sprig of basil at the base of the tomato fan.
Per serving: 67 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 16 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 10 mg sodium. Exchanges: ½ Starch, 1 Vegetable
Turnip
Brassica rapa var. rapa
I’ve had great blessings in my professional life both on and off television. First has been Treena and her production skills, and second has been every one of my food assistants, from Barbara to Patricia to Anne to Robert and finally to Suzanne Butler, with whom I’ve made more than a thousand television shows.
I mention this because turnips were what brought Suzanne’s remarkable gifts to my attention!
I visited her small-town deli called Red Bread back in the early 1990s. She was reserved at first but then revealed the object of her unreserved enthusiasm: the first of the season’s young, tender turnips. I remember her face flushed with delight, and I was equally taken aback. I’d never considered a turnip as worthy of such unbridled praise!
Therefore, how could I have a kitchen garden without turnips?
Turnips can be started in early spring, when the soil is at least 40ºF. With 12-inch leaves and a 2- to 3-inch root in 30 days, you can easily go for a second and even third planting to coincide with the early winter frost, when they are at their very best and sweetened by their exposure to the cold.
After my first season, I discovered the sensational Tokyo Kobaku variety—those smooth, white, golf-ball-size orbs of flavor that are truly excellent.
Just one added note: when making a truly great vegetable stock, always add turnip, as its flavor makes a remarkable contribution to the stock.
The Numbers
For each 100 g boiled (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 20 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat; 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 29 mg sodium
Turnip
Biennial/Annual/Cool Season
Water: Moderate
Sun: Full to light shade
Companion Planting:
PRO: Bush beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers
CON: Potatoes
Pests: Cabbage root maggots, aphids
Diseases: Few and quite rare
Soil : Loamy soil with good drainage
Fertilizer: Compost with green manure; bonemeal/ phosphorus to increase yield; low nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium
pH: 5.5-6.8
Varieties: De Milan (early), Purple Top White Globe (heirloom/winter crop), Tokyo Kobaku (small white)
Zones: 3-12
Planting: Early spring, 4-6 weeks before first frost; seed ½ inch deep, 2 inches apart; thin to 8 inches
Germinates: 3-10 days
Harvest: From seed, 30-50 days; best when greens are 12 inches and the root 2-3 inches; can be kept in the ground at 35ºF-80ºF, but only those planted for winter crop; spring plants must be taken young (30-40 days)
Rotation: Don’t follow cabbage family
Edible: Root and leaves
PUREED ROASTED TURNIPS
Roasting gives turnips an extra sweetness (less moist). This is quite an unusual treat—especially with the smoked paprika and parsley for both color and flavor.
SERVES 4
6 medium turnips, peeled and cut in quarters
Salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley to taste
Dusting of smoked paprika
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Set the turnip wedges in a baking pan and coat lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Roast 30 minutes or until soft. You can season with a little salt and black pepper and serve them whole as a vegetable side dish. Or puree them and use as a thickener for a soup or stew. Whether serving whole or pureed, garnish with parsley and paprika.
Per serving:
33 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 78 mg sodium. Exchanges: 1 Vegetable
SCOTTISH IRISH VEGETABLE STEW
The traditional Scottish Irish stew is made with lamb but also features all of the vegetables that I’ve chosen to include in this version. When removing the meat, there is a great need for added robust flavor—and the turnip becomes essential.
SERVES 6
4 small (2-inch-diameter) turnips, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound parsnips, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
18 small boiling onions, blanched and peeled
½ cup pot barley
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
(see page 288)
18 whole white mushrooms, to match onion size
1 pound fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemmed
Sprinkle the turnips with the tamari; let set for 15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet over medium. Sauté the chopped onion 1 minute. Add the turnips, potatoes, carrots, boiling onions, and parsnips. Sauté 4 minutes; browning is not necessary. Add barley and black pepper, and pour in the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer 40 minutes, until carrots are tender. Stir in the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more.
Line 6 bowls with raw spinach leaves, pointed end up. Ladle the stew into the lined bowls and serve.
Per serving: 273 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 59 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 18 g dietary fiber, 200 mg sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable, 1 Starch
VEGETABLE PUREE
