Chicory
This is grownup lettuce, about as far from iceberg as you can get, and probably one of my favorite vegetables of all time. In the same family as lettuce, but belonging to a different genus, chicory displays much more complexity of flavor and coloration than lettuce. And stays crunchy and crispy for weeks in the fridge, unlike most lettuce that goes flaccid once it leaves the grocery store.
The most common forms you will see are endive and radicchio. Endive is probably the most mild of the bunch with a crisp refreshing bite to it, a beginners chicory you could say. Radicchio is my favorite. Used in a salad or even quickly grilled or seared it yields itself to many applications. I recently put some, that I had quickly charred in a pan, in the middle of a gouda grilled cheese sandwich. Then there is escarole, which is commonly cooked with beans in a stew, but also works well in a salad. The most interesting of the bunch is puntarelle (if you can find it), which grows similarly to Brussel sprouts in that a main stem produces tiny little heads. Super bitter and flavorful this classically gets an anchovy dressing.
The bitterness of chicories makes them so versatile. They can be cooked or served raw, can take lots of salt and sweet while still holding their own. A simple seasonal salad I would make is radicchio, apples, and hard cheese. Add olives or pickles or both to this, radishes, maybe chopped anchovies, nuts or pumpkin seeds, then a strong balsamic vinaigrette or just lemon and olive oil! Enough to make a salad a dinner in December.
Radishes
Radishes get a bad rap, but they’re one of my favorite vegetables. These crunchy root vegetables are more than just a garnish and deserve their own space at the table.
Available for a huge growing season (we’ll come back to these guys in the early spring) there are two main types; big and little. The big ones are similar to the Asian daikon, but now markets sell a wider variety of large radishes in a huge range of colors from green, to red, to purple, to black! I love the green and purple ones. The purple tend to be sweet when the green can be spicy (like black pepper). These radishes are great raw in a salad, adding color, flavor and crunch all at once. Black radishes, if you see them, are more like a turnip and need to be cooked. Not a favorite, but I really haven’t cooked much with them. Don’t try it in a salad, you’ll probably be disappointed (or do and prove me wrong).
The smaller radishes, which are commonly red on the outside (but sometimes purple) and bright white inside, can be eaten raw or cooked. I love these cooked (especially the long narrow ones known as french breakfast radishes). Cut them in half, cook in butter on a medium high heat, so they get a little sear and the butter browns, and serve with scrambled eggs, and a nice piece of toast. Such a good breakfast! Radishes greens are also totally edible (them being brassicas), and are similar to mustard greens. It’s probably too late to have any worth saving, as the cold quickly deteriorates them. But if you find nice crisp ones they too can quickly be sautéed in a number of dishes, and make a good green addition to the above breakfast.
Winter Squash
The harbinger of fall, the seasonally incorrectly named winter squashes are a personal favorite! Whether used as decoration in the form of a gourd, baked into a pumpkin pie, or cooked into a savory dish, winter squash are omnipotent.
The diversity of varieties available today is amazing! A local grocery store will often carry at least; pumpkins, butternut squash, kabocha squash, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and delicata squash. A farm stand will carry many more, and most of those “decorative” gourds and pumpkins are also edible and delicious when cooked properly. Recently I have been learned to love and cook with kabocha, a favorite in Asian cuisine, particularly Japanese. Butternut makes amazing soup! I have played around with butternut squash soup a lot this season. Usually I make one with lots of garlic, ginger, onion and chile flakes. But this year I’ve played with tomato and miso butternut squash soup as well as coconut milk and curry powder. The tiny squash that packs the most flavor is honeynut, which can be found at farmers markets and speciality stores. Looking like a tiny butternut, sometimes with green stripes, these have a flavor on steroids. If you want to take the time to cut and clean them, they are totally worth it!
Note, all squash skin IS edible but not all squash skin is worth eating. I recommend peeling any that are tough and waxy before cooking, or scooping the flesh away from it after the squash is cooked.
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