by Graham Kerr
1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock (see page 288) or ½ cup stock plus ½ cup dealcoholized dry white wine
1 pound fresh baby fava beans
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 cup egg substitute
8 sheets phyllo dough
1 (10-ounce) package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and pressed dry
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-high. Cook the onions for 1 minute, then toss in the mushrooms and lemon juice, and cook 3 minutes more. Stir in the zucchini, white pepper, salt, and oregano, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
Pour in the stock and bring to a vigorous boil to reduce by half. Pull the skillet off the heat and stir in the beans and Parmesan cheese. Combine the arrowroot with the egg substitute and pour over the mixture in the pan. Stir and let cool while you work on the crust.
Lay the stack of phyllo sheets on a clean work surface. Spray the top sheet with cooking spray, peel it off, and lay it (sprayed side up) in the prepared dish, allowing it to overlap the edges. (Don’t overwork the sheets; let gravity settle them to the bottom of the dish.) Spray the second sheet and set it squarely on top of the first one. Do the same thing to the third and fourth sheets, but lay them at a 90-degree angle to the first two. Cover the remaining phyllo sheets with plastic while you fill the pie.
Scatter half the spinach over the first layers of phyllo and spread half the mushroom mixture over it evenly. Make another layer of spinach and of mushroom mixture and fold in the overlapping phyllo sheets. (They will not cover the spinach and mushroom mixtures completely.)
From the remaining phyllo, spray another sheet and lay it on top. Spray and stack 3 more sheets as before. Trim the edges, cut through the top layer of phyllo so that it is marked out into its final four serving portions, and bake 35-40 minutes or until golden on top. To serve, cut all the way through the bottom of the pie and place on hot plates.
Per serving: 287 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat (3% calories from saturated fat), 41 g carbohydrate, 19 g 9protein, 8 g dietary fiber, 618 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Starch, 3 Vegetable, 2 Fat
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum
If you enjoy a subtle flavor of licorice or fresh basil, it will be a fairly good bet that fennel can fit into your kitchen-garden plans. Technically classified as an herb, it is also used as a vegetable, eaten raw or cooked.
Fennel looks like an overweight celery but with fine feathery fronds. It’s important not to let them grow any fatter in their exposed aboveground bulb than 2-3 inches; more than that and the outer stems can become tough and fibrous.
As with both celery and leeks, fennel can be treated to mulching that is heaped up the sides to keep the outer stems a very pale green to white, which also helps both taste and texture. You should start the mulch when the bulb is egg size. I found out that too vigorous weeding can damage fennel’s shallow roots. If this happens, the plants will bolt, so the mulch will do doubleduty in blanching and weed suppression!
If you pinch off the seed stalks, you will encourage greater bulb size.
My favorite method of cooking fennel borrows from the Italian cuisine in Venice, where we’ve spent some very happy and delicious days. Simply halve the bulb lengthwise (if it’s 2-3 inches in diameter) and cut off the shortened top branches (to use in stews, soups, etc.). Broil the bulb under radiant heat or over barbecue coals until nicely browned and crisp tender. Use a spritz of olive oil, a little sea salt, and freshly ground white pepper to season.
When served alongside a nice piece of freshly caught fish with a few newly dug fingerling potatoes, there can be little in this world to rival the experience.
The Numbers
For each 100 g raw (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 31 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 52 mg sodium
Fennel
Perennial/Summer Annual/Hardy
Water: Light
Sun: Full
Companion Planting:
PRO: Mint family
CON: Dill, coriander
Pests: Celery worms, parsley worms
Diseases: None
Soil: Sandy loam with good humus content, good drainage
Fertilizer: Moderate fertilizing; compost tea every 4-5 weeks
pH: 6.5-7.0
Varieties: Herald (for spring planting), Rudy, Trieste (large, aromatic bulbs)
Zones: 3-10
Planting: Early spring to midsummer, when soil temperature is 65ºF-75ºF; seeds to ¼ inch deep; space seedlings or thin plants to 10-12 inches apart, in rows 18-24 inches apart.
Germinate: 7-14 days
Harvest: 90-115 days
Rotation: Don’t follow carrot, parsnip
Edible: Swollen bulb (above the surface) and feathered leaves (fronds)
STEAMED AND BROILED FENNEL
This is a domestic problem: I love it, but Treena doesn’t care for the licorice flavor, no matter how subtle it may be. If it weren’t for that one fact, it would meet her need for very low calories with good visual portion size. So fennel in whatever incarnation is only an occasional solitary treat for me but could fill the plate for you!
SERVES 4
2 medium to large fennel bulbs
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Dusting of smoked paprika
Preheat the broiler.
Trim off the stems, fronds, and any discolored outside layers of the bulb. Chop and save a few of the fronds to scatter over the top of the finished dish. Cut the bulbs in half lengthwise.
Place the fennel slices in a steamer and steam over boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until crisp tender.
Season with salt and black pepper, brush lemon juice on both sides, and lay them in a single layer on a broiler pan. Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray, and dust with paprika. Broil about 3 inches from the heat source until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Divide among 4 hot plates and scatter the reserved fronds over the top.
Per serving: 38 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 4 g dietary fiber, 206 mg sodium. Exchanges: 1 Vegetable
BRAISED FENNEL IN SPICY TOMATO JUICE
For all the world this winds up looking like braised celery, and yet its flavor is quite distinctive. Accompanied with no more than 2 ounces (dry weight) of your favorite pasta, such as whole-grain angel hair, it does very well as a main dish.
SERVES 4
1 medium to large fennel bulb (about 1½ pounds)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 cup spicy tomato-vegetable juice
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Trim the fennel bulb, saving the stems to flavor soups or fish stews. Cut lengthwise into four slices.
Lay the bulb pieces in a 10-inch greased glass or ceramic baking dish. Scatter the fennel seeds over the top and pour in the juice until the fennel is half covered. Bake, covered, 45 minutes, basting with the pan juices 2-3 times, until a fine knife meets with only slight resistance.
Per serving: 65 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 15 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 6 g dietary fiber, 243 mg sodium. Exchanges: 4 Vegetable
FENNEL AND LEEK POËLE
Many great cuisines of the world serve up a main food item (such as good fresh fish) on a poële, or bed of vegetables. This is an excellent example of a perfect bed for salmon or for several overlapping slices of broiled eggplant (see page 142) or butternut squash.
SERVES 4
1 teaspoon nonaromatic olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 leek, white part only, sliced
>
2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed of stems and
fronds, cut in half
1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
(see page 288)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds
Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-high. Sauté the onion 2 minutes or until it starts to wilt. Add the leek and fennel, and stir to coat with the oil, about 1 minute. Pour in the stock, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until the fennel is tender. Stir in the chopped fronds and serve.
Per serving: 98 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 20 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 6 g dietary fiber, 275 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2 Vegetable
Garlic
Allium sativum
From all my reading, it’s been hard to come up with plants that have a longer history of cultivation (other than grains) than garlic. It has been cultivated since at least 3000 BCE!
Garlic loves a cool start during short days. As it grows, so should the length of the day and the temperature. It’s actually best to plant in late autumn, about 6 weeks before you anticipate your first frost. Failing this, you could keep the seed bulbs in your refrigerator at about 40ºF until the soil can be worked in early spring.
When the flowers form and the stems yellow, you’ll need to lodge them by bending the stalk right over, pointing to the ground. Do this carefully so as not to break it.
Harvest 2-3 weeks after lodging. Brush off soil and leave on shaded screens (for air circulation) to cure until the outside is dry and the neck tightly closed.
Garlic’s pronounced flavor has been enjoyed by billions and was an obvious choice for my first year in the kitchen garden—coupled, naturally, with its relative ease of farming and storage.
I grew up in the hotel business in Europe, where my parents were hoteliers. Our waitstaff was from northern Italy and Poland and thoroughly enjoyed their garlic—even to the extent of chewing whole cloves raw! This greatly troubled (nice way of saying infuriated) my dad, who couldn’t stand its aroma on a waiter’s breath. When a waiter would ask politely, “How is your meal, sir? Is everything satisfactory?” my dad would humph, “Yes—everything except your breath!”
The problem was solved by a stern rule: before each meal service, each garlic eater had to eat a small bunch of fresh parsley and then breathe on the maitre d’, who would also inspect their teeth for large green flecks. Today’s unions may not be so permissive!
For me, garlic in the right measure is an absolute essential. But it doesn’t have to be used as a blunt instrument. It should have a small but important walk-on part in the drama of great food.
To become such a fan, you could try it roasted, which makes it quite mild and sweet.
The Numbers
For every 100 g raw (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 149 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 33 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 17 mg sodium
Note: 1 garlic clove weighs about 3 g and translates to 4 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g carbohydrate, 0 g protein, 0 g dietary fiber, 1 mg sodium
Garlic
Perennial/Cool Season
Water: Low
Sun: Full
Companion Planting:
PRO: Beets, cabbage family, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries
CON: Beans, peas
Pests: Aphids, nematodes, thrips
Diseases: Botrytis rot, white rot
Soil: Good drainage; benefits from rich composting (if possible, keep onion discards out of the compost used for garlic)
Fertilizer: Moderate
pH: 4.5-8.3
Varieties: The small clove comes from the lily family; the elephant clove is related to the leek (Allium scorodoprasum ) and is, in my opinion, too mild to be called garlic; silverskin (soft neck for cool regions) is my favorite to date
Zones: 5-10
Planting: Late summer, autumn; cloves, 2 inches deep, 6 weeks before last frost; 4-8 inches apart
Germinate: 7-14 days (needs 55ºF for germination)
Harvest: 90-100 days
Rotation: Don’t follow onion crops
Edible: Cloves and scapes
Jerusalem Artichoke
Helianthus tuberosus
This interesting vegetable has absolutely nothing to do with either Jerusalem or artichokes and therefore should more authentically be called by its other name, sunchoke, since it’s part of the sunflower family that the French call girasole. Can you see how that might have morphed into Jerusalem?
There are, like many of today’s colorful plants, a number of different shades to the little nobbly tuber: white, yellow, red, and blue. They are a great addition to the outer reaches of the garden because in midsummer, they explode into a mass display of bright yellow daisylike blooms about 4 inches in diameter on top of a 6-foot stalk.
Well, so much for the colors—what about their habits? They are almost civic minded: Once planted, they’ll go as far as you let them but will stop at a barrier (preferably bricks) set about 2 feet deep. They suffer from no severe disease and attract only mites (which can be washed off with soapy water) and gophers. (Our underground visitors went away when we planted one of those sonar pegs).
So far, neither the deer nor the rabbits seem to be interested, so we’ve established a westsloping bed for the sunchokes outside our fence.
The tuber is best eaten as a late fall treat, as they gain sweetness when the soil chills. If kept cool and moist, they can be stored up to 6 months. They can produce an alarming amount of flatulence, especially if eaten raw, so steam them briefly—they turn to mush if overcooked.
Jerusalem artichokes contain inulin, which allows their carbohydrates to break down to fructose, which makes them a good choice for type 2 diabetes and weight loss.
The Numbers
For each 100 g raw (3.5 oz; ½ cup): 73 calories, 10 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 17 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g dietary fiber, 4 mg sodium
Jerusalem Artichoke
Perennial
Water: Moderate
Sun: Full
Companion Planting:
PRO: None, keep isolated
CON: None
Pests: Spray leaves in insecticidal soap for mites. Guard against gophers and voles, which love the tasty root.
Diseases: None
Soil : Humus-rich sandy loam; doesn’t grow well in clay, so add sand and compost
Fertilizer: Moderate nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
pH: 5.8-6.2
Varieties: Mamouth, Stampede (white), Boston Red (red, as in Sox), French White (very successful for home garden)
Zones: 4-10
Planting: Tubers, 4 inches deep, 6 inches apart; 4-6 weeks after last frost for fall harvest
Germination: 7-14 days
Harvest: 110-150 days
Rotation: Don’t rotate; create a permanent bed
Edible: Tuber
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE
Basic Preparation
If this is your first encounter with a Jerusalem artichoke, know that it has an unusual texture. When used raw, its texture is not unlike the crispness of jicama or water chestnuts. When cooked, it’s halfway between a potato and an eggplant.
Because its exterior is so knobby (and the skin so thin), it doesn’t pay to try to peel them; just lightly scrub them, and you’ll get a dark cream skin and an almost white interior.
Parboil Jerusalem artichokes in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes if mediumlarge (about 2 inches in diameter). Let them cool, and slice ¼-inch thick. They can be sautéed in a little olive oil well seasoned with salt and pepper. A dusting of fresh parsley or chives is a nice finishing touch.
They do not mash well, and personally, I don’t enjoy their texture when boiled and served whole. They can be roasted after being cut in quarters as you would any root vegetable.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE AND MUSHROOM SAUTÉ
Here we have a most unusual textur
al recipe, with great flavors and exceptionally low glycemic numbers in what appears to be a starchy dish.
SERVES 4
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
8 crimini brown-skinned butter mushrooms
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne
5 Swiss chard leaves, very finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Scrub the outsides of the Jerusalem artichokes and place them in boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes or until just tender. Cool and cut into ¼-inch-thin round slices. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the sliced artichokes, toss well for 2 minutes, and then add the mushrooms, lemon juice, and cayenne. Toss for about 2 minutes or until mushrooms are done. Stir in the Swiss chard, season with salt and black pepper, and serve.
Per serving: 125 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 26 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 426 mg sodium
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES WITH HOT BLACK BEAN SALSA
SERVES 4
1 (15-ounce) can reduced-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, bashed and chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeño chile, chopped (retain the seeds if you like it hot)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, boiled whole for 20 minutes, cooled and cut in half
Whiz half the beans with the garlic in a blender. Add a little water to get them going, if necessary.