![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hoppinjohns.net\/WP_Johns\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2014-05-19-001-001.jpg\" "\\"Grilling")
<\/a><\/strong>What do I miss here in China? Mediterranean foods! Hearty breads, okra, olives, fresh herbs, and salad greens. They just don\u2019t eat raw foods here. Even cucumbers are popped in the wok or steamer for a few seconds or minutes before they serve them in cold dishes. I\u2019m growing mesclun and arugula, basil and dill, oregano and marjoram, and parsley and thyme on my balcony. Plus my Bulgarian tomatoes. And I can buy\u00a0rosemary at the big German Costco-like Metro store, but it\u2019s on the other side of town. Cilantro is everywhere. I order limes from Yunnan province. I can find prosciutto and an occasional whole-grain baguette that isn\u2019t as fluffy as Wonderbread (though only once did I find such a baguette, in a French supermarket also on the other side of town). They wash everything in antibacterial soaps, even if it\u2019s to be peeled and cooked. I guess they\u2019ve learned their lessons after centuries of night soil. There is a big organic movement going on here, but just because the label says organic doesn\u2019t preclude night soil. I make do with what\u2019s available. <\/span><\/p>\n Chrysanthemum Greens <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Recently \u2013 I don\u2019t remember where \u2013 I had a salad of Chrysanthemum coronarium<\/em> leaves, simply dressed with mostly sesame oil. <\/span>Also known as Edible Crown Daisy, or, most simply, as <\/span><\/span>\u833c<\/span><\/span> (t\u00f3ng<\/em>) in Chinese<\/span><\/span>, these are NOT a flower-garden variety of Chrysanthemum<\/em>: don\u2019t go eating the leaves of your favorite mum or you will be sorely disappointed (and disgusted)! Chrysanthemum<\/em> is a vast, complicated genus of Asters, and most are now considered by botanists to be Dendranthema<\/em>. The so-called edible daisies are still classified as Chrysanthemum<\/em>. They are native to the Mediterranean and East Asia; here they are cultivated specifically as a food plant. Often called Japanese greens, they are also known as garland chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum greens, edible chrysanthemum, horseweed mugwort, and chop suey greens. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Chrysanthemum leaves wilt shortly after being picked; perhaps this is why they are invariably cooked, if even for a few seconds, before eating them. Bruce Cost wrote in Asian Ingredients<\/em>, \u201cWith a soft, spinach-like texture, a subtle musty-floral fragrance, and a slight astringency, these are a popular salad green, though not in the Western sense. Young and freshly picked, they\u2019re occasionally eaten raw in Japan, but the Japanese and Chinese usually parboil them briefly\u2026. In Japan this vegetable is also added, literally at the last minute, to soups and stews. In China it\u2019s also stir-fried with salt, sugar, and wine\u2026.Before using, any buds should be plucked and discarded, and the leaves should be rinsed thoroughly, as this may be the world\u2019s sandiest vegetable.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Even Elizabeth Schneider, my friend and possibly the world\u2019s authority on edible fruits and vegetables, says that their \u201cflavor is anything but soft-spoken. Complex and aromatic, they are prickly-pungent and intensely bitter.\u201d As for their use in salads, they \u201cadd punch\u2026provided they are used sparingly\u2026. For less intensity, cook the greens.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Consequently, nearly every recipe you will find in English, calls for at least a brief cooking of the greens. Bruce Cost suggests wilting them in boiling water for 20 seconds, then running them under cold water, squeezing them free of extra water, and chopping before combining with water chestnuts for a salad. [I tried the recipe. Meh.] Elizabeth adds them to a stir-fry for a salad with fris\u00e9e and tomatoes, and, at the last minute, to a simple shrimp soup.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Every source I\u2019ve found recommends blanching the leaves first, though there is nearly always the admission that, as Cost wrote, \u201cif you can get them fresh enough, the leaves can be plucked from the stem and tossed with other greens in a Western-style salad.\u201d Since they wilt in mere seconds in water, and since I had had a that lovely salad of bright, flavorful greens, I was determined to recreate it at home. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I found beautiful, just-picked greens from a nearby organic farm. They had almost no blemishes, either black or yellow. They weighed 360 grams (about 3\/4 pound). I figured that that would be enough for 4 people, but we were only two, and we were having a frittata alongside it. I had a feeling we\u2019d eat it all. (We did. See photo, left.) Salad of Edible Crown Daisy Leaves<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Cleaned of their stems and buds, the greens weighed 5 ounces. I sprinkled them heavily with salt and set them aside. I combined 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, \u00a0<\/span>and 1 teaspoon of sugar. In a small frying pan, I warmed a finely minced garlic clove in 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, letting the garlic sizzle, but not letting it brown. I combined the garlicky oil with the other ingredients, poured it on the greens, and tossed it well. I realized after tasting the salad, which was delicious, that the version I had had in the restaurant also included ginger; frankly, I liked mine better.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Grilling Fruits and Vegetables<\/strong> (from The New Southern Cook<\/a>)<\/a>
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