This post is part of Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade, and The Bare Cupboard blog carnival.

th_foodrenegadefist_150This is the second installment of an occasional series featuring seasonal foods available at your farmer’s market or grocer.

Chicory



Washed chicory greens
Originally uploaded by horsepj

Chicory grows wild by roadsides all over North America, Europe and Australia. Included in the general category of chicory are Radicchio, Sugar Loaf and Belgian Endive. It has a rather bitter flavor, although the whiter the leaf, the less bitter it will taste. Chicories are delicious when added to a salad composed of other greens as a main ingredient. The bitter flavor has often been called an appetite stimulant, and ancient cultures would use them as de-wormers and anti-parasites treatments.

Dark green chicory is high in vitamins A, C, E, K as well as Calcium, Iron and Potassium. To get the most out of this vegetable, it should be served with a small amount of animal fat at the same meal.

Of all the chicories, I find Belgian Endive to be the least bitter and best accepted by my family. Our favorite way to eat Belgian Endive is stuffed with egg salad:

6 pastured eggs, hard-cooked then cooled and peeled
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup cocomayo
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh organic dill
1 head organic Belgian endive, separated into leaves

Mash the eggs with a fork and add all the other ingredients except the leaves. Spoon the salad into the center of the leaf. To eat it, roll it up and eat with your fingers!

Leeks



Leek Stalks
Originally uploaded by LollyKnit

Leeks look like giant green onions and come from the same family. As they grow, soil is piled up around the bulb to keep it white. The green parts can turn woody later in the season, so fresh, early spring leeks are best. If allowed to go to flower, they make a beautiful white globe of flowers.

Boiling leeks will make them soft and more delicate-flavored, frying keeps the onion-y flavor and turns the greens crispy. The earliest leeks are tender enough to be eaten raw in salads or as a meat garnish. Raw leeks are high in vitamins A, C and K, Folate and Manganese and have a very complete amino acid profile, making them a good source of vegetable protein.

Leeks help the body dispose of uric acid, so if you suffer from gout or kidney stones, adding leeks to your diet might help you. They are a relative of the onion, and as such, help normalize your cholesterol levels and could provide some cancer protection. (Research is ongoing.)

Potato and Leek soup is a staple of French cuisine, this simple and inexpensive recipe is warming, soothing and filling.

8 organic potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups chicken stock
1 pound nitrite/nitrate-free bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 organic leeks, sliced
1 cup heavy raw cream

Plunge the leeks into a sinkful of water with a splash of vinegar and let them soak 10 minutes. Rinse well with water. In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring potatoes and chicken stock to a boil and skim. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of grease and set aside. Saute the leeks in the frying pan with the reserved bacon grease 8 to 10 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, stir in the fried leeks, heavy cream and bacon. Stir to blend and remove from heat. Serve hot.