This year I'm thinking outside the typical garden box to find edibles that will stick around through the winter. One such veggie came highly recommended from a few different sources, so I got some seeds to try it out. New Zealand Spinach, have you heard of it?
I started my plants from seed--the instructions said to soak them 24 hours before planting. Some of them I soaked, some of them I didn't. They all sprouted, that is to say, each pod sprouted many many little seedlings. Needless to say, I have been giving away plants left and right.
The mature plants are kind of vine-y, kind of bushy. They sprawl across the ground but seem to want to keep their heads up, aimed at the sky. My plants are now about a foot long; well, actually "were" about a foot long because I chopped off about half of each vine for dinner last night.
I wasn't sure how to prepare it and briefly thought about following the blog Chocolate and Zucchini's way. Instead I just sauteed some onion, added a little fresh basil, salt and pepper, homegrown zucchini and about 2 cups of fresh New Zealand Spinach leaves pinched from the stalk. Sauteed everything until just cooked, still maintaining a bit of crunch, then I added a tablespoon of butter.
In the meantime I boiled some of Chef Joe Bonaparte's fava bean and cheese pasta that I bought from our local farmers market. When done, I strained the water off and added it to the vegetables and holy wow. What a divine dinner. New Zealand spinach, when cooked, is like regular spinach, but it holds up to heat with a nice firm crunch, even after a bit of time on the stove.
A "spinach" that's strong to the finish. Second helping please! Have you tried New Zealand spinach before? Any tips or recipes? Perhaps a Popeye reference or two?
Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.
Great info...our vegetables are starting to take off as we are finally see some summer weather...but where's kitty photo Friday??? I love your cats and it's something I look forward to every week.
Posted by: Carolyn | Jun 17, 2011 at 07:09 PM
This is confusing to me as I have never heard of New Zealand spinach and I am from New Zealand. I guess we just call several kinds spinach? Anyway, your pasta sounds delicious.
Posted by: Kate @ lovelornunicorn.com | Jun 21, 2011 at 04:24 AM
Kate--I think it's also called tetragon/tetragonia. Does that sound more familiar?
Posted by: renee | Jun 21, 2011 at 04:27 AM