Leafy greens Archives - The Fruitful Kitchen

Mekong fish soup with choko shoots

Bowl of Laos-style fish soup with rice vermicelli, choko (chayote) shoots, cabbage and herbs

Choko (chayote) shoots – sechium edule – illustration by Alex Hotchin

Chokos are on my mind, even entering my dreams! (Well, this happened once – I dreamed I was living in the country near a friend and a block of land came up for sale that stretched behind both our houses. We decided to buy it together so we could plant a choko vine that would grow in both directions, reaching each yard. Ha ha, it was a lovely idea and made me grin when I woke up.) … An actual choko grows over our Melbourne back fence, coming from the courtyard of our Indian neighbours, Roopa and Giri. We probably would never have met them had it not been for this plant straddling the palings, and also an old plum tree down the back of our yard (we met for the first time while I was clambering on a shed roof picking plums, and offered them some of the harvest). We don’t see each other much (the nature of back fence neighbours), but when it’s choko season I pop my head over and a little exchange begins consisting of chokos, lemons, herbs, chit chat and recipes, and sometimes even cups of chai. Continue reading Mekong fish soup with choko shoots

Grilled peach and haloumi salad

Every summer for a few years now, the season of our backyard Elberta peaches coincides with two very special people coming to stay. My husband’s cousin Julian and his wife Anya arrive, all set for a few days at the Australian Open. Their visit turns into an all-round tennis bender at our house – evenings watching tennis on TV, punctuated with rounds of totem tennis with the kids in the backyard, and the occasional board game. Eating peaches straight from the tree is a happy sideline. Continue reading Grilled peach and haloumi salad

Cheese souffle + best-dressed French salad

December cooking is the best, isn’t it? Christmas, obviously, plus all those extra get togethers with good friends and family … That feeling it’s the end of the year and time to mark and celebrate it in lots of ways, including through the food we eat. Some of the things that may happen in our house: Continue reading Cheese souffle + best-dressed French salad

Chipotle potato tacos, pepita salt

A pile of potatoes = money in the bank if you ask me (or any of the other small/large humans in my house). This is not the same as declaring love for quinoa or kimchi, is it? I’m pretty sure spuds have never been named a super food, but eating organic ones with the skin on might get them just a little closer …?? They make up for any shortfall with the delight they have to give in so many ways. Continue reading Chipotle potato tacos, pepita salt

Broccoli mallum

I fell for broccoli hard as a teenager, lusting after its crunchy, healthy greenness, which, when I moved out of home to go to uni, probably also had something to do with how easy broccoli was to cook and how dependable it was to find in the supermarket … But something happened along the way, and years later (okay, close to decades later) I notice that broccoli is virtually missing in action on this blog! I’m remedying this right now with a recipe that has made me love broccoli all over again. Continue reading Broccoli mallum

Japanese greens and walnut salad

We just got back from three weeks travelling around Japan, and we’re still doing that lovely thing – remembering what we were doing in increments from now. You know, ‘This time last week’, or ‘Two weeks ago today’: ‘We were walking around that amazing moss-covered cemetery in Koya San / at the giant Buddha in Kamakura with Shiro and Timoko / eating yakitori skewers for breakfast in Kochi / in our Airbnb in Kanazawa listening to the typhoon howling out our window!’ Continue reading Japanese greens and walnut salad

Kale, bean and breadcrumb salad

Kale is one of those ingredients that people do seem to love or hate. The haters might have tried kale once and thought it chewy or bitter or just better left as rabbit food. The lovers throw it in everything and anything – smoothies, pestoes, salads, stir-fries and soups. I’m somewhere in the middle with kale; still finding my way with it. Even though it looks a bit like silverbeet, I wouldn’t use it interchangeably. Continue reading Kale, bean and breadcrumb salad

Stir-fried zucchini and seasonal greens with soybean paste

We grew a great zucchini (courgette) in our garden this year – as soon as I saw its first baby fruits in pre-flower stage, like long curved pencils drooping downwards, I knew I liked this fellow a lot! It’s an Italian heirloom called Tromboncino and it appealed because it could climb up a trellis, and also because regular zucchini hasn’t worked for me in recent years … Continue reading Stir-fried zucchini and seasonal greens with soybean paste

Spring soup with green garlic

I’ve been watching a bird make a nest in our lemon tree through our kitchen window. First I made sure it wasn’t a nasty Indian myna (it turned out to be a more benign but still imported suburban blackbird), then thought to myself, this is going to be good viewing – a touch of David Attenborough in our own backyard. Continue reading Spring soup with green garlic

Beetroot salad with spinach, egg and dukkah croutons

We got a bag of beautiful organic baby beetroots in our Friday box of fruit and vegetables, and I set to thinking about all the things I love to do with beetroots. Sri Lankan beetroot curry and borsht are on the top of my list. But when it’s a matter of gorgeous baby beets, I think it’s best to keep it simple and do as little as possible, in what has become known in my head as ‘Italian-style beetroot’. Continue reading Beetroot salad with spinach, egg and dukkah croutons