Veggie Chic

Three vegetables my grandmother taught me to love

by Jul on February 22nd, 2007

My grandmother was the daughter of Italian immigrants, which basically tells you that our family life was based around food. When I was little we’d often go over to my grandparents’ house for meals that lasted for hours, meals that followed a strict order of presentation and contained more courses than you can count on one hand. The food was always delicious and elaborate, and usually incorporated veggies fresh from the garden in their backyard. I encountered foods at their house that I never had anywhere else, and many of them I learned to love so much that I make them for myself still today.

1. Escarole - This leafy green vegetable always appeared in simple soups at my grandmother’s house. I’m pretty sure her recipe contained some kind of meat, but I often make escarole soup with vegetable broth, garlic, and cannellini beans. It’s also delicious sautéed with some garlic and olive oil.
2. Fennel - I was actually quite old before I learned the English word for this veggie, which was called fenuke in our family (from a southern Italian dialect). Fennel has a texture similar to celery and tastes like licorice. It made an appearance towards the end of almost every meal, served raw and cut into quarters. It supposedly aided our digestion.
3. Zucchini flowers - If you grow zucchini in your garden, you have to use some of the flowers to make this next time they’re in bloom: wash the flowers carefully (also check inside for bugs). Dip the flowers in egg and then flour (with a little salt and pepper), and then pan-fry them in hot olive oil, cooking each side until it’s lightly brown. Soooooo good. Man I wish I had a garden, and that it was zucchini flower season…

Of course zucchini flowers are nowhere to be found at this time of year, but tonight’s dinner is going to start with escarole soup and end with some fenuke. In fact, that just might be the whole dinner. It’s my little way of honoring my grandmother. She passed away on Saturday.

I miss you, Nani.

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POSTED IN: Food, Fun, Recipes, Thoughts, Vegetables