Greens, glorious greens! They’re sprouting, growing and filling grocers’ bins, your garden and your ‘fridge. In fact, they seem to be multiplying faster than you can use them. Don’t let all that green goodness go to waste—check out a few of Vickers Restaurant’s favorite ideas for making the most of summer greens.
Vickers incorporates nature’s bounty into many of its dishes thanks to the Sankanac CSA—and you’ll find a lot more than just salad fixings. Over the summer Vickers will pick up Swiss chard, rainbow chard, lacinato kale, dandelion greens, lettuces (even bitter lettuces!) and so much more fresh from the earth.
When spying greens at the farm or in your garden, remember to think past the salad. Chards, kales and other greens make great sides—try a steaming them gently and finishing with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, or a give them a quick sauté in EVOO and garlic.
At Vickers, you’ll find greens included in many dishes—something you can easily do at home, too. Wilt whatever’s in season and pile high beside fish and seafood, like Vickers’ caramelized scallops. Roast asparagus and dust with parmesan, or go full out and wrap those in puff pastry with parmesan cream and crisp prosciutto, a Vickers favorite. You’ll discover greens sprouting up all over Vickers’ menu: in the soup du jour, sautéed in pasta and sitting pretty next to lobster tail, salmon, crispy chicken, seared duck breast and filet mignon. We repeat: do try this at home!
Still have greens to spare? You can make pesto out of most flavorful leafy greens: arugula, basil, parsley, kale and sorrel—choose your favorite! Here’s a simple and quick recipe from the Vickers kitchen that you can whip up fresh to go on pasta, fish or chicken:
Summer Greens Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw greens
- ½ cup nuts (walnuts or pine nuts are really the main nuts)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Garlic cloves (about 2 but more if you like garlic!)
- ½–1 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- It couldn’t be more simple: toss all in the food processor and voila!
Pro tip: Pestos can be frozen in ice cube trays and used all year long.
Find Vickers Restaurant at 192 E. Welsh Pool Rd. in Exton; phone: (610) 363-7998.
- Photography: Alexandra Whitney Photography
