Kristen Rasmussen de Vasquez, MS, RD – Food & Nutrition Magazine https://foodandnutrition.org Award-winning magazine published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Tue, 20 Jul 2021 16:59:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://foodandnutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-Favicon-32x32.png Kristen Rasmussen de Vasquez, MS, RD – Food & Nutrition Magazine https://foodandnutrition.org 32 32 End “Radish Greens Remorse” https://foodandnutrition.org/blogs/stone-soup/end-radish-greens-remorse/ Sat, 10 Sep 2016 00:28:16 +0000 https://foodandnutrition.org/?p=859 ]]> Do you feel "radish greens remorse" when you toss out radish tops? Good news: Tweet this It doesn't have to be this way!

The green leafy tops of radishes (and many other vegetables such as turnips or beets) are perfectly edible and are, in fact, delicious. You can use them as you would other green leafy vegetables — though radish greens, in particular, can be a little fuzzy and benefit from a bit of chopping, blending, sautéing, the addition of an acid or turning into a green sauce! 

There are a lot of different words for green sauces — chimichurri, salsa verde, gremolata and chermoula — and I deliberated over what to call this green sauce made with radish tops. After consideration, I settled on chimichurri, as it has a similar combination of ingredients as the traditional South American condiment, only with radish tops in place of parsley and oregano.

I've made it with radish greens, but you can substitute pretty much any edible green that would otherwise be discarded. It can be adapted in numerous other ways, as well: try adding cilantro or tarragon for more bright herbaceous notes or increase the amount of garlic if that's your jam. The sauce works great on almost anything from grilled vegetables and meat to white beans or breakfast tacos. I know that every time I make it, I end up adding it to all my meals for a few days.  

Radish Greens Chimichurri Tweet this

Recipe by Kristen Rasmussen de Vasquez, MS, RD

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 loosely packed cups chopped radish greens, washed
  • 2 tablespoons diced shallot (about 1 medium shallot)
  • 2 teaspoons diced garlic (about 1 clove)
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions

  1. Heat about ½ cup water in small saucepan until simmering. Add radish greens. Toss to coat and cook until softened and dark green, about 30 seconds. Turn off heat, remove greens and squeeze out excess water.
  2. Using a blender or food processor, blend cooked greens with shallot, garlic, rice vinegar, salt and olive oil until combined, but still coarse. Drain excess liquid if desired, and keep chilled up to 4 days until ready to use. Makes ⅔ cup.

Cooking Note

  • Try a "root to leaves" dish: On a piece of rye toast, spread avocado, sliced radish and a drizzle of Radish Green Chimichurri.
]]> Foraged Food Trend Is Part Epicurean, Part Environmental https://foodandnutrition.org/july-august-2016/foraged-food-trend-part-epicurean-part-environmental/ Sat, 02 Jul 2016 00:16:57 +0000 https://foodandnutrition.org/?p=6583 ]]> There’s a growing interest in wild foods. With edible weeds suited to thrive in nearly every environment across the country, to the trained eye, gastronomically exciting vegetation is abundant. Enter the burgeoning trend of food foraging. Its impetus is part epicurean (think sautéed fiddlehead ferns, stuffed nasturtium flowers and dandelion greens pesto) and part environmental.

These wild plants are largely drought-resistant — requiring no water beyond what nature provides — and are found in rural, suburban and urban locales alike, including food deserts.

The term “forage” may bring to mind mushroom hunting and its associated risks (mushrooms can be difficult to identify in the wild and can be toxic), but there are a number of other wild plants that are much easier to locate and identify. Some well-known varieties include dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), while others may go unnoticed by the untrained eye, such as sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) and bristly ox-tongue (Helminthoteca echioides).

Unlike agricultural plants that, by definition, are cultivated and tended, wild edibles have had to survive entirely on their own — developing defense mechanisms that make them robust enough to endure harsh conditions. In fact, some of the very characteristics that make these plants prolific as “weeds” are why they are nutrient-dense and flavorful. Phytonutrients, bioactive compounds that protect plants from germs, fungi and other threats, may help reduce human risk of certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Is Foraging Safe?

While becoming an adept forager is not difficult, it does take time to become familiar with edible (and non-edible) wild plants. A great way to get started is to take a class with a local expert.

While online resources certainly can be helpful, face-to-face guidance is ideal because plant identification requires all of your senses — not just sight.

Because it is extremely important to never eat a wild plant unless you can identify it with absolute certainty, foragers discourage the use of common names alone in plant identification. After all, “Queen Anne’s Lace” may refer to either an edible wild carrot (Daucus carota) or poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) — not a mistake worth risking. Therefore, botanical names are included to eliminate potentially dangerous confusion.

Another common food safety concern centers on environmental toxins, particularly since some of the richest urban foraging territories are in industrialized areas. The Berkeley Open Source Food (a University of California, Berkeley, project) studies the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in wild edibles in urban East Bay food deserts. Research is ongoing, but so far, results have shown undetectable levels of pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, in six wild plant species — even when soils tested positive for certain metals.

Additionally, preliminary nutritional panels indicate these plants are high in fiber and vitamin A, with specific species displaying additional benefits. For example, a ½-cup sample of mallow (Malva sylvestris) contained 200 milligrams of calcium — even more than ½ cup of milk — making mallow an excellent source of this under-consumed nutrient.

And what about the “dog pee factor”? While it is true that man’s best friend may “water the plants” during a stroll, many organic crops are fertilized with animal manure and compost, while conventional farms use synthetic fertilizers and pesticide. In any case, whether your food is from farm or forage, it is advisable to wash plants before consumption.

Depending on where you live, the legalities of foraging may be confusing or vague. In many municipalities, the only truly legal place to forage is on your own private property or that of a willing neighbor. Yet many wild mushroom varieties are harvested from (often public) forests before being sold to markets, and restaurants that promote wild foods on their menus are generally left alone by government bodies.

In addition to respecting governmental regulations, it is important to be environmentally responsible when foraging by familiarizing yourself with natural habitats, focusing on invasive species and only harvesting noninvasive and/or protected species with nature conservation in mind.

When practiced responsibly, foraging can be a great activity for adults and kids alike — supporting an interest in different foods and encouraging physical activity. And wild foods offer a host of culinary possibilities, Foraged Food Trend Is Part Epicurean, Part Environmental - potentially offering an opportunity to help redefine the American plate.

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