RJ Kessler, farm manager for Planted Rock Farm in Chattahoochee Hills, spends his Saturday mornings at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market fielding questions from customers. Some of his offerings are familiar, but others require a little discussion.
Kessler particularly enjoys introducing his customers to unusual Asian greens such as komatsuna, sometimes called Japanese mustard green. “So far, the customer reaction has been more questions than, ‘Oh, man, this is komatsuna!’ ” Kessler said.
Komatsuna is a brassica, part of that big family of cabbages, broccoli, mustards, turnips and more. Its bright green leaves are smooth textured and grow on a succulent stem. Duane Marcus of the Decatur Farmers Market recommends using the stems as a substitute for celery.
Kessler has had komatsuna available since April and expects he’ll be able to offer it until we have a frost. He’s been seeding 250 feet of it every two weeks. The plants grow for four weeks, and then they’re ready for harvest. Besides selling at the market, he puts komatsuna in the boxes of the farm’s community-supported agriculture program. Kessler also provides his komatsuna to local restaurants, where chefs are impressed with the flavor and its ability to stand up to a braise or a quick sauté.
There are several reasons komatsuna fills a need for Atlanta-area farmers. Customers are eager to add greens to their vegetable plate during a summer of tomatoes, okra and corn. “The germination percentage for most of the Asian greens is really high, so they’re a great way to quickly get greens to market for the period between summer and fall crops,” Kessler said.
Komatsuna also can be harvested at any stage. Baby greens go into a mesclun mix; larger greens go into a braising mix or are sold alone. “Unlike American mustard greens that can turn really spicy or bitter, komatsuna has a more mellow flavor,” Kessler said.
Floataway Café’s executive chef Christopher Schmidt values the little bit of bitterness in komatsuna that it brings to the table. “I really like the mustards and the way they balance with sweet things like roasted squash,” he said.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. Chef Seth Freedman of Forage and Flame. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. Chef Billy Allin from Cakes and Ale. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. Author Sheri Castle. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
11:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 7. Jennifer Booker. Grant Park Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.grantparkmarket.org
For sale
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: African squash, apples, arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli raab, butternut squash, chard, chestnuts, collards, corn, cucumbers, dandelion, eggplant, field peas, garlic, ginger, green and yellow beans, herbs, kale, komatsuna, lettuce, Malabar spinach, muscadine grapes, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, pea shoots, pears, peppers, popcorn, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, sorrel, spaghetti squash, spinach, sweet potato greens, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and turnip greens, watermelon, winter squash, yellow squash, zucchini
From local reports
Floataway Café’s Komatsuna Cappelletti
Hands on: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Makes: 72 cappelletti
Making your own homemade pasta is not difficult, although it is time-consuming. But it’s so worth it. This recipe comes from Floataway Café executive chef Christopher Schmidt. He uses a fluted cutter for his cappelletti, resulting in charming scalloped edges. For the photo and in the restaurant, he’s garnished the cappelletti with cubes of roasted squash, toasted squash seeds, fried sage leaves and charred petals of baby Vidalia onions that he gets from D & A Farm, but for this recipe, we’re offering a simpler option. This cappelletti has appeared as a special at Floataway Café, where there is always a fresh filled pasta on the menu.
1 1/4 cups Italian 00 or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 egg yolks, more if needed
1 teaspoon water, if needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small shallot, minced
2 minced cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 pound komatsuna, coarse stems discarded, rinsed and coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Semolina or fine cornmeal, for dusting baking sheet
All-purpose flour, for dusting work surface
Brown butter, sautéed sage and toasted pecans, for garnish if desired
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour and salt to combine. With the processor running, add egg and olive oil through the chute. Add egg yolks, one by one. Add more egg yolks or water if needed to make a dough that just begins to form very small clumps. Remove dough from food processor and lightly knead. Divide dough into four balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Let sit on cool counter or in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While dough is resting, make filling. In a large sauté pan, melt butter and sauté shallots, garlic and pepper flakes until shallots are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add komatsuna and sauté until greens have reduced in size and lost most of their moisture, about 10 minutes. You may need to add komatsuna in batches. When komatsuna is cooked, move it to a bowl and taste for seasoning. Allow to cool and then add ricotta and lemon zest. Taste for seasoning again. Store filling in refrigerator until ready to use. May be made up to 1 day ahead.
When ready to make cappelletti, sprinkle semolina or cornmeal on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle work surface with all-purpose flour.
Remove dough from refrigerator. Working with one round at a time, use a hand-cranked pasta machine to roll out dough. Starting with the widest setting, gradually reduce the thickness until the dough is very thin and just becoming translucent. Lay out the pasta on a floured work service. Using a pastry brush, brush pasta very lightly with water.
Using a 2 1/2-inch ring cutter and cutting as close together as possible, cut out circles of dough. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon filling into the center of each circle. Fold in half to make a half moon shape and pinch edges closed. Then pinch two ends together to make a little cap shape. Arrange each cappelletti on prepared baking sheet, being sure to keep them separate and that there is semolina or cornmeal underneath each cappelletti. Gather together pasta scraps and set aside.
Repeat with each round of dough. When all rounds are done, reroll pasta scraps and continue to make cappelletti until all filling is used.
Cappelletti can be made ahead to this point, wrapped securely in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.
When ready to cook, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drop in cappelletti a few at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot. Cook cappelletti until pasta is tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and serve immediately, garnished with brown butter, sautéed sage and toasted pecans if desired.
Per cappelletti: 21 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 1 gram protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat), 14 milligrams cholesterol, 18 milligrams sodium.
