Take THAT, Malabar Spinach

Herbed Malabar Spinach Flans Topped with Sweet-n-Spicy Roast Peanuts

Ingredients:

1/3 c. shredded Malabar spinach, well packed

1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves

¼ tsp. fresh thyme

1 garlic clove, pressed

Pinch salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. whole milk

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. heavy cream

¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Handful shelled peanuts

Pinch dried cayenne

Drizzle honey

Salt-n-pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Smash the hell out of the Malabar spinach with a mortar and pestle until its insides bleed out and it is purged of all its un-spinach-like evil. Add the parsley, thyme, garlic, and salt and do it AGAIN, just to make sure its dead. Let sit for about 15-20 minutes at room temperature; partially to let the flavors mingle, and partially to be sure that the spinach has learned its freaking lesson.

Beat the egg, milk, cream, and parm together. Add the spinach goop and beat again. And again. And again.

Grease or spray two individual-serving-sized casserole dishes or oven-safe molds. Pour in mixture and bake 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Wait ten minutes for the flans to cool. Meanwhile, toss the peanuts well with salt, pepper, cayenne, and honey. Stick them in the oven while the flans are cooling. When the flans are cool, remove the peanuts from the oven and carefully overturn the flans onto serving plates. Top with hot peanuts. Shout maniacally, “Bwa-ha-ha, Malabar spinach! You thought you were so tough, didn’t you? Well, look who’s laughing NOW!!”, then serve. Makes two flans (Aww…)

Thanks a million to Citron et Vanille, who reminded me that savory flans exist.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Farm-Fresh Malabar Spinach With Broccoli and Red Onions in Garlic Cream Sauce

I was disappointed to learn that, even lightly steamed and served in an "Ow! Sweet merciful Dionysus, my arteries!" sauce, Malabar spinach has the same texture as sinus-infection lougies. Major bummer, being that the rest of this side dish was THE BOMB. Next time I'll steam the hell out of it, despite my compulsive wariness of overcooking.

Farm-Fresh Malabar Spinach With Broccoli and Red Onions in Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 c. broccoli florets

½ red onion, sliced thin or diced large

Approx. 2 c. well-packed Malabar spinach (why, oh, why don’t I have a kitchen scale yet? And don’t give me any of that “because your grocery bill is too high as it is” nonsense!)

3 Tbsp. chicken drippings or clarified butter

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp. flour

½ c. milk

½ c. heavy cream

Salt-n-pepper

Directions

Steam the veggies separately, then combine (the onion can be steamed with the broccoli if desired, but the spinach will take a much shorter time).

Meanwhile, heat the drippings or butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until soft. Whisk in the flour. Continue whisking until you’ve made a roux the color of brown sugar. Add the milk and cream. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

While they’re still hot, salt and pepper the veggies to taste. Add the sauce to the veggies slowly, stirring as you go (you will probably have leftover sauce.) Serves 4 as a side dish.

Any extra sauce will keep for a few days in the fridge; and in fact, like many garlicky sauces, it’s better as a leftover. It’s good with chicken, root veggies, pasta, rice… the list goes on. Stir well before serving.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

The Chickenless Chick: Volunteer Farmer

The non-wussiest place that I get food is Green Flamingo Organics. In order to grow this parsley and many of my fridge's other contents, two chickenless ladies named Liz and Mary toil daily in the Florida sun, surrounded by Florida bugs, sacrificing Florida indoor plumbing, to achieve their dream of a sustainable farm life. As of a few weeks ago, so do I, as a volunteer; and I encourage every cook to seek out a similar experience. I could extoll the benefits of supporting local agriculture, but my husband talks many of your ears off about this on a daily basis. So here's a motive that has more to do with the theme of this blog: You'll develop a new appreciation for weird food. Allow me to demonstrate.

Do you know what this is?

It's Malabar spinach. That's right, spinach. I had no idea spinach grew on a vine like that. Now, when I got it home, I learned that this particular type releases a gelatin-textured substance into your mouth when you chew it. A few weeks ago, I would have been grossed out. But because I worked on this spinach myself, crushing the berries in my hands and scattering the seeds on the ground, I wanted to like it. I pictured how idyllic it was out there on the farm, how the landscape would have missed it if it were gone. So yesterday I brought home more. And if I don't like what I do with it this week, I'm going to bring home more still.

Palette-expanding, no? I'm rather proud.

I believe that creamed spinach or another more gelatin-textured dish may be in order. If you have any ideas, feel free to let me know. And be sure to visit Doveland Farm for more pics of Green Flamingo.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.