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Fresh Spigariello Storage: Remove any twisty ties/rubber bands and give a nice drink. Store in a plastic bag. No coldest drawer. If the greens are larger than the bag you have, then trim the stems if you can to fit it in the bag. Keeps about a week.

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from Chef Jonathan:

I think of spigarello as broccoli "leaves" - same great nutritional profile and appealing flavor. Kids love it, and its name is fun to say.
It wilts quickly like chard, but keeps a firmer tooth, though not as firm as kale or collards. Great for soups and stir fries, and just lovely with beans - in fact, I feel it is made to combine with beans (see the ribollito recipe in today's newsletter for an italian soup with cranberry beans and spigarello).
I can give you several bean recipes for it if you like.
Spigarello is also great as a substitution for spinach in a spinach lasagne.
Try also with lentils - delicious!

from Julia: Spigariello is a hearty Italian cooking green that mostly reminds me of lacinato kale. The chefs we sell to in SF love it. For cooking you can use it nearly interchangeably with kale in recipes, in my opinion. It is a member of the brassica family.

Spigariello Skillet Pies from Chef Jonathan

This is Mediterranean take on a fried, vegetarian empanada. There are a few steps involved, but each one is simple, even the dough, so it's worth making. You can make these any size, so don't feel like you have to go as large as these are. Also, feel free to substitute a different green for this - chard or rapini from your box this week will both do nicely. The herb combination is a simple one made up of herbs I see in the market all the time. Feel free to modify these however you like. I think even using one herb would work. I love marjoram and parsley together in this if you can find marjoram.

2 1/4 c flour
olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly
1 large bunch spigariello, chopped
1 bunch dill, chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves only, chopped
leaves from 8 sprigs oregano, chopped
4 oz feta, crumbled
Parmesan
1 egg
grapeseed oil (or canola)

Combine the flour with a teaspoon of salt and mix well. Add 3/4 c water, 1/4 c olive oil, and the vinegar to the flour/salt mixture and mix well. The dough should be a little sticky. Knead on a floured board until the dough is silky smooth, then allow it to chill in the fridge for about an hour (or overnight is fine).

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and add the scallions and cook just until soft, a couple of minutes, then add the spigariello and wilt the spigariello, maybe 5-8 minutes. Add the herbs for the last minute, then transfer everything to a colander and allow to cool. Squeeze the cooked greens and herbs so you extract most of the water. Combine those greens with feta, a few tablespoons of parmesan and an egg, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper and taste to make sure you like it.

Quarter the dough, and roll each piece out into a very thin disk, about 8 inches or so in diameter. Fill each round with a quarter of the greens filling and fold the dough over it into half moon shapes. Crimp the edges to seal.

In a very large skillet, heat some grapeseed oil until very hot, then add 1-2 pies (depending on the size of your skillet) and pan-fry them in the hot oil until deeply colored. Flip, and fry the other side until deeply brown. Do the other pies the same way and serve warm.

Here's a nice preparation from Local Roots Farm:

Cut the stemmy parts into small bits, reserving the leaves. Put the stems in a pan with some olive oil, crushed garlic, and maybe a little water. Cook until softened, turning up the heat a little if you want a little browning. When the stems have slightly softened, roughly chop the leaves and add them to the pan. Cook until done to your liking. In Italy, they might then toss the spigariello with sausage and some red chili flakes and perhaps then add it all to pasta.

Kale Recipes

Cooking Greens Recipes
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