Champ with Mooli Greens
Lots of the roots and stem vegetables that we grow (radish, kohlrabi & mooli for example) for our veg boxes have edible leaves, and so, we like to give them to our members. And although the leaves are edible - sometime they wouldn’t be my first choice in terms of texture! (There are always so many green leaves around the farm for me to eat at any moment - I can be fussy). So, it’s great to have Claire write up this delicious and really flexible recipe that makes the most of those random mooli leaves that are too good to throw away but too rough to put in a salad! Enjoy. And thank you Claire…
Serves 6
1 kg floury potatoes
The leaves from 3 moolis (aka daikon, or large white radish)
4 fat cloves garlic, finely sliced.
1tbps oil
250ml full fat milk, warmed
150g butter, cubed + a generous knob for the top, room temp
Seasoning
Fill a deep saucepan with water, add in tsp salt.
Wash, peel and chop your potatoes.
Pop them straight into the saucepan, and bring to the boil.
Boil until a knife cuts into the potato smoothly. Drain off into a colander. Give the spuds a good shake and get as dry as you can. Then pop the potatoes back into your hot dry pot. I like to leave them in the colander, but if your colander isn't metal it wouldn't be a great idea! Put the lid back on and set to the side.
Meanwhile, carefully wash your mooli leaves, dry off and cut out the centre stem if it is large.
Stack all the leaves on top of one another, roll them up, like a cigar, the chop into thin strips.
Heat a deep saucepan to a high heat.
Once the pan is hot, put in the mooli greens and pour the oil over. Once the greens start to sweat down, add in your garlic and season generously to taste.
You are looking for the greens not to be prickly anymore!
Back to the mashed potatoes… Dot the cubed butter over the potatoes, season generously with salt and pepper, potatoes can take a lot of salt, and most of your warmed milk.
(The reason the milk is better warmed is two fold. It absorbs more efficiently into the potatoes and it doesn't cool them down.)
Mash your potatoes, adding more milk if you feel they need it to loosen.
Stir through your sweated greens, spoon into your serving bowl and place a couple of generous knobs on top and press firmly into potatoes to create wells of melted butter. I like to sprinkle with flakey salt and serve.