Unique Vegetables to Spice Up your Homemade Dishes

Look out for these particular vegetables in your local grocers and farmers markets (once the pandemic slows down) to provide savor and excitement to your meals

Spring 2020 Feature

Fiddleheads

The young curled leaf of the ostrich fern (type of plant) makes for a delicious springlike flavor with a hint of nuttiness. Many are not familiar with this vegetable since it's only cultivated during the month of May. Fiddleheads are best prepared by steaming and adding a bit of butter and lemon juice.

Broccolini

Broccolini was created as a hybrid of both Japanese broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Broccolini is similar to broccoli except with smaller florets and longer think stalks. Compared to broccoli, broccolini has a sweet, earthy taste. Broccolini is best prepared by sauteing it and serving it as a side dish.

Collard Greens

A staple of the soul food culture, popularized in the Southern part of the United States, this side dish isn't as prominent in Canada. This vegetable is a dark leafy green and a close relative to swiss chard. This side dish is best prepared by sauteing it with a bit a butter and some lemon juice

Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes are the stalks that grow from the bulbs of the hardneck garlic plant. Garlic scapes are mostly found at farmer's markets and are harvested in the late spring and early summer. Their taste is usually milder than garlic and have a fresher "greener taste''. Garlic scapes are best prepared by sauteing them and served as a side dish with your choice of protein.

Caulilini

A new vegetable that hasn't yet infiltrated to the masses but expect it to make a splash in the next decade as kale just did. It is a type of a "hybrid" publicized as cauliflower-meets-broccolini. Although currently not available in Canada in large quantities, expect it to become more popular in the next few years.