A Weed of the People
We find vegetable gardening is a little difficult when we can’t water. This is why you need to grow ARUGULA in your garden. It is actually a weed that doesn’t need much water, it grows wild in many parts of Europe, especially Mediterranean areas and it will grow wild in your garden, too. People in Europe pick it wild and throw it in their salads. Arugula is a weed of the people.
And it’s good for you, high in vitamin A, folic acid, iron, potassium, calcium. It’s a veritable miracle. The small, young leaves are our salad of choice (see previous recipe for Freitasalad), but as the leaves grow larger and stronger in flavor, sauté them like spinach and they lose their bite and take on an entirely different flavor and texture, not as slimy as spinach can be.
ARUGULA SAUTE
1 T olive oil
½ LB mixed wild and cultivated mushrooms
1 small red onion, slivered
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 c dry vermouth
¼ t coarse sea salt
A pinch of red pepper flakes
8 c washed, dried arugula
parmigiano
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and add mushrooms , onions and garlic for about 4 minutes. Add vermouth and continue to sauté until liquid is mostly absorbed. Add salt, red pepper flakes and arugula and stir until the arugula is wilted, about 3 additional minutes. Sprinkle with a little cheese and never eat spinach again.
Image Credit:
Arugula – Creative Commons, Mushrooms with arugula by yosoynuts is licensed under CC by 2.0
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