Try dark leafy greens
Food for Health: Cynthia Hochswender
June, 04, 2009
Everyone seems to be getting the flu lately, or getting laid low by intense, mucky allergies. One tip for avoiding the overload of mucus that accompanies summer colds or pollen exposure is to cut down on or eliminate dairy products. Of course, this also results in diminishing the amount of vitamin D in your system (although studies have shown that supplements are as good or better than milk as a D source); and the amount of calcium.
An excellent alternative solution is to increase your intake of dark green, leafy vegetables (including dandelion greens, which are annoyingly easy to find at this time of year) and sesame seeds. Both are good sources of calcium — and dark greens also provide plenty of immune-strengthening vitamin C.
There has been some scientific debate about whether the vitamin C in plants is destroyed by cooking. The latest theory seems to be that some of the C does leech out into the cooking medium but is not destroyed. Now that it’s summer, this indicates to me that it’s an excellent time to steam your greens, dress them with some broth and soy sauce, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and serve them with the cold Japanese buckwheat noodles that are called soba.
At some point, this column will do a study on sesame seeds and the many nutrients they supply. But you need to ingest at least a quarter cup of the seeds to really see any benefits. And this recipe calls for only about a teaspoon of them. Their greatest benefit of course is that they taste good, and add an understated extra layer of complexity to subtle foods such as Asian cold noodles.
To make this dish in the traditional fashion, you need to stock up on a lot of fairly obscure ingredients. I often buy the dreaded powdered soup bases, which taste generally fine (if a bit too salty and metallic). This adaptation might not be completely authentic, but it can be made with ingredients available at health food and gourmet stores in the area. Make it before you go out into the garden in the morning; when you come inside, after breathing in all that pollen, you’ll have a cold refreshing soup loaded with vitamin C (and some nice calcium for your aching knees and wrists). You can also toss it together quickly when you come in; it sounds like it takes a lot of work, but it’s really very easy.
This recipe can be adapted in many ways. I personally don’t like buckwheat noodles all that much; I prefer the smoother white somen noodles, but they’re harder to find (and not as healthy, to be honest). You can use almost any other dark green in this soup, including scallions.
Dandelion greens, as mentioned above, are not only easy to find, they’re also loaded with nutrients (perhaps the reason why they are able to dominate lawns and gardens). So, when you’re weeding, save the young greens of the dandelion plant — but only if you don’t use any chemical applications.
You can use black sesame seeds instead of the traditional white. And you can toast the white seeds first (this gives them more flavor) in a skillet or toaster oven — or sprinkle them on straight from the package if you’re tired or pressed for time.
Cold noodles with spinach and sesame
Makes two bowls of soup
4 loosely packed cups of spinach or other dark leafy greens
2 cups chicken broth (diluted broth, not dark stock)
2-3 slices of fresh ginger
1 scallion, cut into 1-inch lengths (save the white ends for garnish)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil for the soup; and 1 teaspoon for the greens
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 bundles somen or soba noodles
Fresh lemon juice
Boil water for the noodles in a saucepan and, when the water is rolling, unwrap your noodles and toss them into the water. When it reboils, turn off the heat and let the noodles sit in the hot water for one minute. Then drain the water (save the water!) and immediately plunge the noodles into an ice-water bath and toss the noodles with your fingers or long chopsticks until they’re cold.
Dip your greens into the still-hot noodle water (I dip it in with a strainer, so it’s easy to get in and out) and let them heat up just until they wilt (less than a minute). Press out as much liquid as you can and set aside. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top to keep them bright green. You don’t want a lot of liquid left on the noodles or the greens, though, or it will dilute the soup.
Bring the chicken broth, ginger and soy to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sesame oil and simmer until you’re ready to serve.
Heat the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil in a skillet and add the drained spinach. Cook briefly and then remove to a cutting board.Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet, or in a toaster oven, just until they begin to brown.
Turn off the heat under the broth.
Divide the noodles between two bowls. Arrange the scallions on top of one section of the noodles. Squeeze out the greens and break them into two bundles; chop them into one inch lengths. Arrange on top of the noodles, beside the scallions. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the greens.
Pour on the broth (the noodles will cool off the broth). Serve and eat.
Optional additional garnishes: toasted nori seaweed, cut into matchstick lengths (toast it lightly over the flame on a gas stove to crisp it up first); radishes cut into matchsticks; bits of cold chicken or pork; shiitake or other mushrooms.
© Copyright 2009 by TCExtra.com
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