In season: choys

Thursday, April 9: Tucker Farmers Market. 4 – 8 p.m., https://www.facebook.com/tuckerfarmersmarket

FOR SALE

Just coming to market: collard and kale florets

Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, carrots, celery, chard, collards, endive, escarole, frisee, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, peanuts, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, spring onions, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash

From local reports

“Bok choy is not only delicious, but nutritious.”

So says Justin Aiello of Skylight Farm in Douglasville. He’s farming the historic Glover Family Farm, a property that serves as an incubator for local organic farmers. Aiello is in his third and final year as farm manager there. Next year, he and Skylight Farm will be in a new home.

In the meantime, the Skylight Farm booth can be found at the Heritage Sandy Springs Farmers Market opening April 11. He also sells to metro Atlanta restaurants and the hospital in Douglasville, and offers a community-supported agriculture program with pickups at the farm and in Atlanta.

Aiello is growing nearly 20 different winter vegetables including broccoli, kale, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, green garlic, scallions, carrots, beets, turnips and radishes. And lots of Asian greens, which are perhaps his favorite of the bunch.

“Asian greens can be intimidating because they not familiar. Some have funky names. But we live in a really great climate to grow a diverse range of Asian greens and they’re so versatile. And easy to cook,” says Aiello.

To encourage his customers to try them out, he makes sure he displays them well. “We pride ourselves on good presentation. If there are things I know people might be familiar with, I put them front and center in our booth. It encourages customers to ask the simple question, ‘What is this?’ and then we can talk about it. And suggest recipes.”

Out of the many varieties of choys, Skylight Farm grows three: “Black Summer” pac choi, a mini pac choi called “Mei Qing Choi” and “Joi Choi.”

“It’s good to grow a diversity of varieties in case one doesn’t do well on your land or with the weather. The Mei Qing Choi makes a beautiful full head that can weigh up to a pound. It’s juicy and tender. Black Summer makes a medium head, and I like to grow Joi Choi to harvest as loose leaves, which I mix into a bag we sell as braising mix.”

For choys he will sell as full-size heads, he starts by planting seeds in greenhouse trays, then transplanting the young plants to the fields. “We start new plants every few weeks so we won’t have a whole field of choys ready at once.”

He plants a 150-foot bed with three rows of choy about every two weeks, and then harvests the baby heads which are generally ready about 30 or 40 days after planting. Full-size heads can take up to 60 days.

For choys he will harvest as loose leaves, he direct-seeds the beds every two weeks or so. They can be ready for harvest in about 21 days, depending on the weather. He finds his field grown choys are frost tolerant, although not immune to being burned if they face a heavy frost.

The biggest pest for the choys is the flea beetle, a problem for many leafy greens in the mustard family. An infestation of flea beetles can ruin a crop in two or three days, says Aiello, and he uses a floating row cover to thwart the pesky insects.

As for how he eats the members of the choy family, Aiello likes to juice them, enjoying their mild flavor. And he likes to eat the baby heads raw in a salad or just as a snack. But he says his favorite preparation is a simple stir fry of a bunch of Asian greens with garlic.

Duane Nutter’s Bok Choy and Pea Saute

Duane Nutter, executive chef of One Flew South at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport demonstrated this dish at the Morningside Farmers Market. That day, he added mussels to the mix.

If fresh peas are not at your local farmers market, Nutter says it’s fine to substitute thawed frozen peas and if using frozen peas, you can skip the blanching step below.

The pickled ginger in this recipe is the type of ginger used to garnish sushi. It’s available at the DeKalb and Buford Highway farmers markets, most Asian groceries and many mainstream grocery stores. Nutter likes to garnish this dish with locally made Emily G’s fig jam.

1 (1-pound) package tofu

1 tomato

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 pound bok choy

4 cups fresh English peas (about 1 1/4 pounds)

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 shallots, cut into matchsticks

8 teaspoons pickled ginger, roughly chopped

1 cup vegetable stock or water

8 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

8 teaspoons roughly chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

Fig jam, for garnish

Make tofu marinade: Open the package of tofu and pour liquid from package into the jar of a blender. Add tomato, garlic, soy sauce, basil, salt and pepper to blender and puree mixture.

Cut tofu into eight squares and arrange in a pie plate or other non-reactive dish. Pour marinade over tofu, cover and refrigerate at least four hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, cut bottoms off bok choy stems. Separate boy choy leaves and stems. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Have a bowl of ice water available. Add peas and cook 1 minute. Drain peas from boiling water and immediately plunge into ice water. When cool, drain from ice water and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add bok choy stems, shallots and pickled ginger. After 2 minutes, add reserved bok choy leaves, blanched peas, vegetable stock, sesame seeds and cilantro. Stir occasionally until everything is heated through. Taste for seasoning.

Put a piece of marinated tofu in each of eight serving plates. Discard remaining marinade. Divide bok choy mixture between serving plates and garnish with fig jam, if desired. Serves: 8

Per serving: 198 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), 11 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 11 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 233 milligrams sodium.