It's always something. Our esteemed Granny mentioned in a recent post that she tasted it for the first time and was not that happy with the taste. I was quite surprised reading her comments, most of them agreed with her.
I LOVE arugula. It is the green I look forward to all winter. I am growing four varieties of it, and will most likely pick over a pound of it this weekend. Granny has 3 plants. I must have over 300!
My heritage is Sicilian. When it comes to greens the motto is "the more bitter the better!". Lettuce was for wimps. A good salad consisted of arugula, escarole, curled endive and catelognian (dandelion) chicory. Lettuce was used very sparingly.
You also must realize that also I grew up eating squid, conch and octopus. Maybe my palette is skewed, LOL!!!
If you want a truly nasty green, let's talk about radicchio...
I have never had Arugula, lettuce suits me just fine. :)
ReplyDeleteKris, I grow a lot lettuce. Truth be told, I enjoy growing it and looking at the different varieties more than eating it, but it does all get eaten.
DeleteOK I hate octopus and squid, though I have had some conch that I like. I hate a lot of the bitter things and as I grow older that bitter taste just gets worse. And I hate arugula. I think that is why I grow so many Asian greens. They have a nice bite, but in a different way. So I go a different way to spice up the salads.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I am trying the Asian greens this year. I should be able to pick enough to get a good tasting of the various types this weekend. I'm hoping they compliment the Italian greens.
DeleteEd do you grow endive. I just purchased seeds for the forst time and have never grown it before. I use endive or escarole in Italian Wedding Soup--the recipe is from my Italian grandmother and it is the best soup on earth.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Lisa, I've grown the frilled kind. It's very easy for me and lasts longer (takes longer to bolt,and has much less bug problems than lettuce, ditto escarole. My grandmother never made Italian Wedding Soup, but was always making escarole soup...Yum!
DeleteEd did your gandmother use chicken stock in her escarole soup? I am curious about the soup.
DeleteLisa
Lisa, she did use chicken stock. I have to get the recipe from my mother and will let you know exactly how it was made.
DeleteEd
DeleteI am going to post my Grandmother's Italian Wedding Soup recipe on my blog at TomatoThymes. Perhaps your grandmother's recipe is similar: chicken stock, egg mixed with parm cheese, shredded chicken, escarole or endive, and tiny meatballs.
I love arugula! I am a first year gardener and I am growing arugula mostly by accident (in a mesclun mix) but I love it! and radicchio too! What do you do when it started to boil? Just replacing them with younger ones?
ReplyDeleteSunnyBeach, glad to hear it! I make sowings of arugula every two weeks. When one patch starts to bolt, I have another one that's ready to harvest. Last summer I planted it under my tomates and it was a good month before it bolted in extreme heat. I also harvest the leaves until it begins to flower. The flavor does get much stronger at this point.
DeleteI LOVE arugula! At least the kind that I grow - Rocket. It's mild and doesn't have strong smell like regular arugula (round on top) but does have a bit of peppery taste which is what I really enjoy. I don't like salad by itself, for me it has to have different texture and taste to keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I'm glad to hear that you are another fan. Some of the newer strains are much milder, such as 'Even Star' and 'Ice Bred'. I love the peppery taste.
Delete".........squid, conch and octopus."
ReplyDeleteEwwwww!
Hey... they are phenomanal pickled. Of course I love squid breaded and fried. Would it help if I called them by their Italian names- calamari and scungili and...
ReplyDeleteI ordered calamari once, and it was tougher than old shoe leather. I couldn't even bite through it! Eastern Washington isn't noted for its fine seafood ;-)
DeleteSounds like my mothers pork chops, LOL!!
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ReplyDeleteArugula is simply wonderful. I had yet to try radicciho but I am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI love both arugula and radicchio. In Europe arugula is called rocket, which is so cool! I keep expecting my salad to take off and zoom around the room. :o)
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