Kathy Gunst Thinks Fall Greens

Now that summer has turned to fall, we start bidding adieu to the summer corn and say hello to fall greens like Swiss chard and bok choy.

Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst brings us recipes for ramen with fall greens and stir fried bok choy.

"All of these greens are so nutritious," Gunst tells Robin Young. "We' re talking a lot of potassium and calcium, vitamins A, C, and K."

Kathy’s Note: Warming comfort food full of things that are good for you. Mustard greens (or chard or kale or collards or a combination) are sautéed briefly with fresh ginger and added to a big bowl of ramen noodles and a miso and ginger-flavored chicken broth. Top with thinly sliced radishes or add beans sprouts and hot pepper sauce.

Serves 2 very large bowls or 4 appetizers bowls.

Ingredients

For the broth and noodles:

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced fresh peeled ginger
1/4 cup fresh scallions, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons miso or white miso paste
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil or hot pepper sauce
4 ounces somen or udon noodles

For the fall greens:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1/2 pound mustard greens, kale, chard or collards, roughly chopped
Toppings
1/4 cup very thinly sliced scallions
2 radishes, very thinly sliced
1/3 cup bean sprouts, optional
Hot pepper sauce, optional

Instructions:

Bring the broth to a boil over high heat in a medium pot. Add the ginger and scallions and cook 3 minutes. Reduce the heat and whisk in the miso paste. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and let simmer overflow heat for about 10 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the ginger and cook 10 seconds, stirring. Add the greens and cook 3 minutes, strolling until just wilted and almost blackened. Remove from the heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook 3 minutes. Drain.

Divide the noodles into two big oversized soup bowl. Top with the broth and top with the cooked greens. Garnish with scallions and radishes and bean sprouts and hot pepper sauce if desired.

Kathy's Note: Looks for really fresh bok choy at a farmer’s market; the stalks should be appear plump and juicy. this dish take a little over ten minutes to make from start to finish; serve with brown or white rice.

Serves 2 to 4.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil (or sesame oil and a dash of hot pepper sauce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 scallions very thinly chopped
1 pound boy choy or pol choi, washed and thoroughly dried, and cut into 1-inch pieces
About 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

Instructions

Heat a wok or a very large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add the canola oil and heat. Add the hot sesame oil and add half the chopped and slices ginger. Add the boy choy and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until just wilted and tender; the stems will still be crunchy and juicy.

Add the remaining chopped and sliced ginger and the soy sauce and cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

Kathy's Note: This fall salad works best with the tender baby kale, now available at many farmer’s markets and in supermarkets labeled as “baby kale” – usually in the clear plastic boxes.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

For the salad:

4 cups baby kale, washed and dried, small stems removed
2 celery stalks
1 crisp red apple, organic if possible, since it won’t be peeled
1 lemon wedge
8 dried pitted dates (try to find soft, not dried out dates)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled*

For the balsamic vinaigrette:

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup or other sweetener
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Place the baby kale in a wide serving bowl or platter. Cut the dates, lengthwise, into very thin strips, and place in a small separate bowl. Peel the celery stalks and cut it in half lengthwise. With your knife at a diagonal angle, cut very thin, 1- to 2-inch pieces of celery. Add to the dates. Slice the sides off the apple and cut those pieces into very thin slices. Squeeze lemon juice over the apple slices, to keep them from browning.

In a small bowl, make the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, maple syrup, and olive oil. Season with 2 pinches of salt and a few grind of pepper.

Just before serving, pour most of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine; pour the rest over the celery and dates. Top with the celery, dates, apple slices, walnuts and feta cheese.

*Cook’s Note: Some feta cheese has little flavor, surprisingly. But the French sheep’s milk feta is usually flavorful, as is the Greek feta that is a combination of sheep and goat’s milk.

Excerpted from Kale, Glorious Kale © 2014 by Catherine Walthers. Photographs © 2014 by Alison Shaw. Reproduced by permission of Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients

1 pound trimmed, shaved brussel spouts
1 Honeycrisp apple
¼ cup champagne vinegar
½ walnut oil
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a serving bowl, toss together 1 pound trimmed, shaved brussels sprouts with 1 thinly sliced Honeycrisp apple, 1/4 cup champagne vinegar, 1/2 cup walnut oil, flaky sea salt, and a big grinding of black pepper.

© 2014 by Renee Erickson. All rights reserved. Excerpted from A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus by permission of Sasquatch Books.