This week was our first pick-up at our CSA, Anchor Run Farm, in Wrightstown. It’s spring, so the main theme is greens: bok choy, spinach, Swiss chard, escarole, Romaine lettuce, spring mix and arugula, as well as turnips with their greens attached. And there will be more where that comes from in the coming weeks.
The easiest way to fix greens is to sauté them with garlic and red pepper flakes. Last Saturday I added some of Purely Farm’s spicy Crazy Horse sausage made from pasture-raised pork, Kelchner’s horseradish, red pepper flakes, sun dried tomatoes and capers (you can find them at the Wrightstown Farmers’ Market) for a quick, simple supper.
I asked Mark if he wanted pasta too. He declined which is just as well, because neither of us needs the starch. But feel free to serve it with penne or a similar short pasta.
Simple Saturday* Supper:
Greens & Crazy Horse Sausage
- Take a bunch of greens (bok choy, chard, collards, spinach, turnip greens, beet greens or some combination thereof). Cut them up roughly and drop them in a big bowl of water. Swish them around and then let them alone. Any dirt will settle down to the bottom. Then pull handfuls out at a time, being careful not to disturb the water too much, and place them in a colander to drain. No need to get them really dry; the extra moisture will be welcome in the pan.
- Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic.
- Cut up 1 – 1 ½ lbs. of Crazy Horse sausage into bite-sized pieces and sauté in a medium pan, turning frequently until thoroughly cooked. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon into a separate dish.
- Add oil to the pan if necessary.
- Add chopped garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn.
- Add greens, stir, lower heat and cover for 3 – 5 minutes (how long it will take depends on the type of greens you are using and how “al dente” you like them)
- Add cooked sausage to pan and stir with greens. Add seasoning – salt, pepper or red pepper flakes, as you like.
- Serve on pasta, with cous cous or alone with a little grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
*Good on weeknights too!
We are very fortunate at our CSA to have Linda Dansbury. She is the recipe coordinator. She supplies pages of recipes for us, which is helpful when you are encountering a vegetable for the first time (mizuna?) or a lot of a particular kind of veggie. Here is her recipe for spring greens and eggs.
Spring Greens & Eggs
by Linda Dansbury
One of my favorites that makes an easy weeknight meal is to sauté up a mixed bunch of greens with garlic, onions and red pepper flakes.
- I add the greens to the pan in the order they will cook, so greens such as collards and kale will go in the pan way before spinach.
- When the greens are barely wilted, I make “holes” in the pan — the number of holes is the number of people you will serve.
- In each hole, crack an egg, then let the egg cook for a couple of minutes, not moving it. Cook for 2-3 minutes (you can put a lid on the pan) and then serve.
- Each portion will have an egg and a lot of greens. The yolk should still be runny — once you break it, it forms a sauce for all the greens.
Try this, you will be amazed at how rich, delicious and satisfying this dish is.
Thanks, Linda!
Simple Saturday Supper http://t.co/YGn1Ot05ok
Hi Lynne, Where do you get the Crazy Horse sausage? Do you have to go to the farm? Thanks.
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Hi Deborah,
You can buy the sausage at the Wrightstown Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings, at the Stockton Market on Sundays and at the Easton Farmers Market also on Saturdays.
Lynne
You can buy it at the Wrightstown Farmers Market on Sat mornings, also at the Easton Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Stockton Market on Sundays.
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