For the love of Produce...

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    Chestnut mushrooms are quite common in UK supermarkets. I use them the same way I would use common white button mushrooms. They have an earthier taste though.

    I'm pretty sure there are multiple things common-named "Chestnut Mushrooms", but don't know which these are. Maybe @mtaratoot knows?

    When I looked them up on the web, some sources said that they are Agaricus bisporus, like the commercially common white button mushrooms and cremini/portobello (the latter spelled variously). Some web photos of "Chestnut mushrooms" do look very much like those other mushroom types.

    However, other sources say Pholiota adiposa are also called "Chestnut mushrooms". Those look a little different, with sort of scale-like edges, apparently in a group commonly called "scaly top mushrooms". Some Hypholoma sp. are also called "Chestnut mushroom" (as well as Kuritake) in some sources. There may be others.

    Finally, I pulled myself out of the web-search rabbit hole, and (because I completely trust the outfit that sold them) simply sauteed and ate them in that pasta dish. If I see them again at the market, and remember to ask, I'll ask the vendor for their botanical name.

    I'm used to this messy confusion and repetition in messy common names, vs. more precise (usually!) botanical names, in vegetables, fruit, flowers and whatnot. But I don't know enough about fungi to sort out exactly what these are - need to know the key features that distinguish between genuses, and I don't, for fungus.

    They don't look like the "Chestnut mushrooms" that are labeled as Agaricus bisporus, don't have that texture when raw as I trimmed them, didn't appear to release liquid (liquor) as they cooked in the same way (though I could've been insufficiently attentive), and absolutely, positively did not have anything like the texture of Agaricus bisporus after cooking.

    I think they're not Agaricus bisporus, but I'm not sure what they are. They look closer to web photos of some Hypholoma sp., but perhaps not exact, and not very much at all like Pholiota adiposa (though they do have the joined base).

    As an aside, they did have an earthy, sort of generically mushroom-y, earthy, rich flavor. The texture, though was . . . different from many other fungi I've eaten. 🤷‍♀️
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I still have quite a bit of potato leek soup left, but I had to cook. I had a cauliflower that needed to be cooked, and I had soaked some garbanzo beans on Friday. They were just about to sprout. So I decided to put them together. I found a recipe to modify.

    I tossed the cauliflower and some carrots with a bunch of spices most of which are in curry powders and a little EVOO. I roasted them in a hot oven until almost done while I sautéed some onions and celery in the cast iron Dutch oven. I had a knob of ginger that I needed to use, so I grated that up. I added a lot more garlic than the recipe called for. Then I added most of the garbanzo beans, some of the liquid, some crushed tomatoes, and some seasonings. I let it simmer, covered, on very low heat until done.

    It’s really good. I am glad I avoided the temptation to add some barley or other grain. It will be good ON some grain, but it doesn’t need it as an ingredient. Warm spices, and just a few hundred calories per serving.

    It doesn’t look that good in this picture, but it feels good in my belly and tastes so delicious on my tongue. Lots of ginger and garlic. Mmmmm.

    Isn’t it great when those ‘toss it all together’ recipes work out?
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    @acpgee that all looks so good!!!
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    I can’t wait to be able to post photos again, I have some produce fun I want to share! :s
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    Any suggestions on what to do with some pale green peppers from a bargain box of assorted peppers from the Turkish greengrocer? They are a little smaller than normal capsicums and taste as sweet as green peppers, but not as sweet as yellow or red. We have had Di San Xian twice this week, so want to try something new.
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    Any suggestions on what to do with some pale green peppers from a bargain box of assorted peppers from the Turkish greengrocer? They are a little smaller than normal capsicums and taste as sweet as green peppers, but not as sweet as yellow or red. We have had Di San Xian twice this week, so want to try something new.

    Did you ever figure out what to make? I’m curious, even though I didn’t have any good ideas :D
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 451 Member
    I just bought my first ever papaya. I don't think I've ever even tasted one before, but I remember papaya scented lip balm smelling yummy when I was like 13 so what the heck... let's try one. I'm planning to experiment with it in my smoothies. First though... (real question, don't laugh)... how do I tell if it's ripe?
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    @o0Firekeeper0o
    I quartered, roasted in the air fryer skin side up and peeled. There wasn't quit enough for a side so I mixed them with some jarred roasted paprika to bulk it up. Although cutting and de-seeding before peeling blackened peppers is less work, you get less of the delicious juice for dressing the dish. So next time I will blacken the skins leaving peppers whole, which involves turning, and the messy job of removing seeds without rinsing (to preserve the juice) while peeling.

    @SuzanneC1l9zz
    It has been a while since I bought a fresh papaya, but they should feel soft and smell sweet. If you cut into it, the ripe flesh should be similar to cantalope, only a little softer and redder. If you open it up and discover it is unripe, google recipes for Som Tam (Thai green papaya salad).
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 451 Member
    edited March 2022
    Awesome, thanks @acpgee!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    I watched episode 1 (Naples) of Stanley Tucci: In Search of Italy and had to try the courgette pasta he was obsessing about.
    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/285205/that-zucchini-spaghetti-stanley-tucci-loves-spaghetti-alla-nerano/
    Really good for 5 ingredients (courgette, spaghetti, butter, basil and cheese - if you don't count salt, pepper and oil for frying). I used the air fryer in batches after coating the courgette slices in oil instead of deep frying. Really good but not life changing (Stanley Tucci's description). Because it requires quite a lot of courgette good for dealing with a zucchini glut, for people who grow it in their gardens.
    8m3f695pzm4x.jpg
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,717 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    I watched episode 1 (Naples) of Stanley Tucci: In Search of Italy and had to try the courgette pasta he was obsessing about.
    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/285205/that-zucchini-spaghetti-stanley-tucci-loves-spaghetti-alla-nerano/
    Really good for 5 ingredients (courgette, spaghetti, butter, basil and cheese - if you don't count salt, pepper and oil for frying). I used the air fryer in batches after coating the courgette slices in oil instead of deep frying. Really good but not life changing (Stanley Tucci's description). Because it requires quite a lot of courgette good for dealing with a zucchini glut, for people who grow it in their gardens.
    8m3f695pzm4x.jpg
    acpgee wrote: »
    I watched episode 1 (Naples) of Stanley Tucci: In Search of Italy and had to try the courgette pasta he was obsessing about.
    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/285205/that-zucchini-spaghetti-stanley-tucci-loves-spaghetti-alla-nerano/
    Really good for 5 ingredients (courgette, spaghetti, butter, basil and cheese - if you don't count salt, pepper and oil for frying). I used the air fryer in batches after coating the courgette slices in oil instead of deep frying. Really good but not life changing (Stanley Tucci's description). Because it requires quite a lot of courgette good for dealing with a zucchini glut, for people who grow it in their gardens.
    8m3f695pzm4x.jpg

    I don't have a recipe, but another fun thing a friend of mine made to use zucchini (courgette) aplenty was a pasta topping (or mix in?) that involved combining quite a quantity of finely-grated raw squash with olive oil, seasonings of choice (probably some garlic, salt pepper, maybe herbs, onions, whatever, even a bit of good vinegar wouldn't be deadly).

    I wouldn't use super-chilled squash, but the idea was just to drain the pasta, then toss the raw topping with the hot pasta in the hot pan to warm, not cook it. It was tasty.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    Whats your favourite thing to do with haricots vert? We have some in the fridge and want ti do a side to go with steak for a dinner party tonight.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    Whats your favourite thing to do with haricots vert? We have some in the fridge and want ti do a side to go with steak for a dinner party tonight.

    I love all of the various green beans and, in my opinion, they’re at their best just lightly steamed or lightly boiled. I like a healthy dose of Lemon Pepper stirred through them once drained.

    Other than that I think they lend themselves well to an ‘A La Grecque’ treatment or tossed in a little bit of flavourful Italian Tomato Sauce. I’d be tempted to top them with a little pangrattato in either of the last two cases.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    Thanks for the ideas @BarbaraHelen2013. I happen to have some pangrattato flavoured with garlic and anchovy leftover from a spaghetti con bottarga earlier this week.
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 451 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    Whats your favourite thing to do with haricots vert? We have some in the fridge and want ti do a side to go with steak for a dinner party tonight.

    Our favourite is beans almondine. We add sauteed mushroom and onions, cut fine, and a bit of lemon juice.