Yesterday we (my husband is home on vacation this week) went to our CSA pick-up site for our weekly goodies. We arrived rather early, but this week was more organized than last week and they were ready and took us early. Our goodies this week are broccoli, arugula, green leaf lettuce, turnip greens, green garlic/scapes, bok choy, strawberries, and eggs.
Slow Cooker Citrus Fish with Wild Rice Pilaf and Turnip Greens with Mushrooms and Green Garlic/Scapes
As soon as we got home I put the goodies away and got to work on dinner. I had planned on making the Slow Cooker Citrus Fish by Leanne Ely of Saving Dinner over a week ago, but plans changed. If you listen in to Leanne’s weekly show and you are in chat, even if you aren’t chatting, a menu mailer is posted once they reach 100 listeners. The mailer that this recipe came from was from a few weeks back. I love all the recipe’s of Leanne’s that I’ve tried so far. When I chose to try this particular one, I was a bit hesitant. Fish in a slow cooker. It just didn’t sound natural to me. You fix soups, stews, whole chickens, and roasts in a slow cooker, not fish. I was still hesitant when I put everything in my slow cooker, but it was fast and easy. Plus, I could fix the rest of dinner without having to check on it constantly or worry about when to put it in the oven.
I had no idea what green garlic/scapes were, let alone what to do with them. Thanks to the internet I found lots of information on them. If I hadn’t been so focused on fixing dinner I would have taken pictures of them before I sliced them all up for later use. The link I provided are some Google images I found. Everything I read said that it is milder than garlic and can be sliced and used like green onions. Our CSA newsletter even came with a pesto recipe using them. I used some of them last night for dinner and the rest are sliced up ready for future use. While I was slicing, I kept tasting different parts of it. the lower stalk part of it really was mild. I found the darker parts really had no taste for me. The lighter the part, the more garlicky, and I love garlic.
I’ve never used turnip greens either. My husband, being a good ol’ Kentucky boy, knew what to do with them and I knew enough to ask him. All he had to say was to use it like I would spinach or kale. I knew immediately how to fix them and what I wanted to fix them with. I wanted something early to contrast the brightness of the citrus fish. I washed the bulk of what we got and chopped it up. I heated up a pan and added some olive oil, then tossed in a handful of the green garlic/scapes. After a minute, I added a couple of handfuls of sliced mushrooms. I let the mushrooms soak up the oil and then added the chopped turnip greens. I let them get nice and wilted before added salt, fresh ground pepper and about a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
Moment of truth. I discovered turnip greens taste just like kale. Considering it was my first time fixing them, I think I did a pretty good job and I wanted more. My husband usually nods and says it’s good when I ask how it is, which is what he did last night. So, he either liked it or he didn’t and isn’t saying anything. The fish. TO. DIE. FOR. The recipe called for it to cook for 1 1/2 hours. I let it go about 70 minutes before turning it off. I left it covered while the rest of dinner was finishing. It was tender, flaky, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I could have eaten the whole fish. I took leftovers to work with me today for lunch. Even after reheating it in the microwave, it was like I just took it out of the slow cooker. That never happens when I have leftover fish. I devoured it and found myself wanting more, again. I loved it so much I had to leave a comment for Leanne on her Facebook page. Yes, I’m a dork. But, this was the best fish I’ve had outside of Hawai`i.
Just goes to show, if you don’t try new things, you’ll never know if you’ll like them or not.
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