Photo by Paige Green of a mustard green curry and tofu recipe by chef Bryant Terry of Oakland found in his 2014 cookbook Afro-Vegan.
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November 19, the farm share from Glade Road Growing is slated to include watermelon radish, lettuce mix, tetsukabuki squash, red mustard greens, garlic and green peppers.
Since Bryant Terry is an advocate of farm fresh food, I thought I'd modify one of his recipes this week to use the squash, mustard greens, garlic and green peppers. His mentor, Alice Walker, has said of him that “Bryant Terry knows that good food should be an everyday right and not a privilege.” He is a 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner who is currrently the inaugural Chef in Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco. Maybe some of my lucky friends in that area were able to get a ticket for the (sold-out) November 15 reception and panel he is convening with Toni Tipton Martin, Gail Myers, Nicole Taylor, Caroline Randall Williams and moderator Psyche Williams-Forson to discuss the role that Black women have played historically and contemporarily in the production, distribution, and consumption of food.
Here's an interview with Chef Terry in the Washington Post and a video about his work as Chef in Residence.
By the way, when I was looking at food photos for inspiration, I found a tempting recipe by Emma D'Alessandro for a warm kale, citrus and watermelon radish salad, which for which you could substitute the mustard greens.
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Serves 6
1. The night or at least two hours before cook 1 pound of garbanzo beans. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, cover the beans with 3 cups water, and and bring to a boil. Rinse. Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt and bring again to a boil again. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand over night or for at least one hour. Rinse a second time. Add two cups of water and bring to a boil again and simmer on low heat until soft, about 1 hour with 2 bay leaves.
2. I like to serve this over brown rice cooked with tumeric and olive oil, so at the same time you start the beans. In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom and a tight-fitting lid, combine 2 cups brown rice , 4 cups water, and and bring to a boil. Rinse. Return to pot, add ½ teaspoon sea salt, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric and bring again to a boil again. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and leave for 40 minutes until water is absorbed.
3. While the rice is absorbing the water, roast the squash. Unless you are using a countertop convection oven, as I do, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Cut the tetsukabuki squash in half and scoop out seeds. You can reserve them to roast separately. Invert upside down on a parchment covered cook sheet. Roast for half an-hour and then let cook long enough so that you can cut it into cubes. I leave the skin on and it will get tender, unlike butternut squash. If you prefer, you can remove the skin. Set the squash aside.
If you don't have this type of squash, the recipe will work with any roasted winter squash or even roasted sweet potatoes.
3. While the squash is roasting, peel and chop one large onion or more to make about 1 cup. Mince a piece of fresh ginger to make 1 tablespoon. Smash, peel and mince a similar amount of fresh garlic cloves. Remove the seeds from a green pepper and finely chop.
4. Grind a cup of roasted peanuts in a heavy duty blender or food processor. You will use 2 tablespoons for this recipe. You can store the rest in a covered jar in the fridge. You can substitute fresh ground peanut butter from the store. The jars of peanut butter really are NOT a sufficient substitute, but if you need to, you could used about 4 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter with no additives (avoid the "no-stir" versions.)
4. In a oiled cast iron skillet, add 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until they pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Add more oil to coat, add the onion and sauté until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add more oil and add the green pepper and sauté until soft about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, fresh ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seads, 1/2 half teaspoon of cardomon, 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and cook until fragant.
5. In a large saucepan with a tight lid, 3 cups of water, one can of diced unsalted tomatoes, 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground roasted peanuts, the vegetable/spice mixture and the cooked garbanzo beans. Stir. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. While the mixture is cooking, cut the mustard greens into bite-sized pieces. After the first twenty minutes, add to the saucepan, along with the roasted squash and cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve garnished with cilantro over the cooked brown rice.
BTW, Chef Terry follows the Southern tradition and cooks the greens for the whole thirty minutes. Mine will be brighter than pictured.
