Miniature veggies
Remember Thumbelina? That tiny girl who grew out of a barleycorn
flower, spurned the advances of a cockchafer and fell in love with a
flower-fairy prince as tiny as her. Little things seem adorable in fairy tales.
Don't they? But in real life? You sure wouldn't want to meet a thumb-sized prince,
but you could have thumbelina on the dinner plate. Yes, restaurants worldwide
are rustling scrumptious stuff with the raddest thumbelinas. Diminutive
versions of common vegetables are having their glorious restaurant moment.
Dwarfs. Midgets. Infants. Miniatures. Call them what you may, but these tiny
veggies that are loaded with nutrition, are lightning fast to cook and are here
to stay.
Cukes. Burpee White. Broccolini. Cherry Bomb. Cornlettes. Candle
Corn. Wait, before you jump to conclusion that the tiny vegetables are merely
younger, smaller versions of their big brothers. Not always. Cornlettes (baby
corns) are immature ears of ordinary corn plucked before the silks emerge.
True. But brocollini is a cross of broccoli and gailan (Chinese kale) while
tiny radishes can range from the redwhite mildly peppery French Breakfast to
spicier Cherry Bomb and whiteas-snow Burpee White. Baby turnips are not at all
related to their full-sized friends and cukes (tiny cucumbers) are crunchier
than the regular cucumbers. Tom Thumb lettuce has a head the size of a tennis
ball, gold nugget carrots are barely 2-3inches long, and yellow-flesh
ladyfinger is, well, not ladyfinger but an inch-wide waxy potato.
Baby vegetables might seem like a new culinary concept but it began
much earlier. By 1870s, Anglophones were talking of baby cucumbers and little,
tender, white baby onions. Soon came baby lettuce and baby cauliflower. All
this is fine but what can you cook with these tinies? Roast the baby carrots in
the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper or make a killer salad with crunchy
cukes. Cukes are great as snacks in their original form, especially if had with
a dip. Sliced tiny radishes could make a good sandwich filler while lightly
grilled small onions accompany well-grilled meat (even paneer!). Thumbelina
potatoes taste scrumptious when you roast just enough to turn the skin crispy
and flaky. Add herbs and a glut of olive oil when hot. If you want it cheesy,
throw the Parmesan as soon as the potatoes are pulled out of the oven. Try this
trick with baby cauliflower as well. Broccolini is bursting with vitamin C,
potassium, and vitamin A. Do not mess around too much with it. Saute with lots
of garlic and salt. Have it simple or toss with pasta. Works wonders both ways.
Not just veggies even the leafy greens are now caught young. These
micro greens are smaller than baby greens and harvested later than the sprouts.
Micro greens are typical ly 10-14 days old from germination to harvest and are
generally between 1 to 3 inches in length (including stalks). They are perfect
for soups, salads, sandwiches and garnishing. Mi crogreens not only look cute
but are also packed with nutrition. According to the USDA Agricultural Research
Service, mirogreens like red cabbage, cilantro, garnet amaranth, and green
daikon radish have the highest concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids,
vitamin K, and vitamin E, respectively. In general, microgreens contain
considerably higher levels of vitamins and carotenoids than their mature
counterparts.
DID YOU KNOW?
Micro greens are smaller than baby greens. They are typically
10-14 days old from germination to harvest and are between 1 to 3 inches in
length
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Preeti Verma Lal
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TL26APR15
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