Usher in the New Year with Northwest’s Best Organic Winter Veg!
Whether spending the last days of 2020 cooking and dining over celebratory dishes or embracing healthy wholesome meals inspired by the New Year, shoppers can be sure that this winter’s Northwest-grown organic vegetables will be the star of any meal! From hearty roots to colorful chicories, check out a few of our top picks of the phenomenal winter vegetables our Oregon and Washington farmers are harvesting now!
Badger Flame Beets
Developed in 2018, this striking beet variety is quickly gaining a legion of loyal fans. With its sweet flavor and smooth texture, organic Badger Flames are as decidedly delectable eaten raw as they are roasted, boiled or steamed. Their stunning orange and yellow-veined interiors are a welcome sunny hue that will brighten darker winter days!
Purple Brussels Sprouts
Passion for purple vegetables is going strong and these little gems are perhaps one of the most outstanding in their field! Organic Purple Brussels Sprouts lend an unexpected shot of color alongside the same delicious attributes of their green counterparts. Crunchy, and versatile, Purple Brussels Sprouts add visual appeal to this season’s eating!
Royal Chantenay Carrots
Not all carrots are created equally, and there’s something truly special about organic Royal Chantenay carrots. These bunched carrots are crispy, crunchy, and tender. Fantastic for fresh eating, heat develops their natural sugars making Royal Chantenay the perfect pick for gooey, bubbly dishes of carrot gratin or simply diced and roasted alongside another favorite winter veg!
Kuroda Golden Carrots
Organic Kuroda Golden carrots, a refined Chantenay variety originally developed in Japan in the 1950s, are smooth and conical, averaging 6" in length. Crispy and juicy, Kurodas are great for juicing with a fine-grained texture that makes them lovely for snacking as well! Ideal for dipping, include Kuroda Golden carrots on cheese-boards for added color and crunch!
Sunchokes
Eaters looking to mix-up their root vegetable rotation can look to organic Sunchokes to replace potatoes, parsnips, or carrots in most baked, roasted or mashed applications! Mellow, nutty and nutrient-dense, Sunchokes have become a fast-favorite of farmers market shoppers and are now gaining notoriety in the produce section as well!
Kennebec Potatoes
This delicious white-fleshed variety boasts a long shelf-life making organic Kennebec potatoes the perfect potato to stock up on and store as shoppers continue to make fewer trips to the grocery store. With a notably nutty flavor and firm texture, Kennebecs are fantastic baked, roasted or fried!
Purple and Green Daikon
Eaters looking to add excitement to their creamy mashes, stir-fries and soups can look to Green and Purple Daikon this season for a fresh twist on familiar classics. Perfect for pickling, either variety is delicious sliced into matchsticks and preserved for use as a condiment for sandwiches or shredded fresh into salads. While both are mild in flavor with just a touch of the mellow heat associated with the radish family, Purple Daikon boasts a stunning ombre violet exterior with a pale-purple tinge to its flesh that adds a lovely touch of color to any dish!
Watercress
Peppery and pungent, organic Watercress is a dark leafy green that’s enjoying a popular resurgence as a superfood! As the base of a flavor-forward fresh salad, stirred into a creamy potato soup or sprinkled over the top of home-baked pizzas, Watercress is as versatile as it is nutrient-dense!
Radicchio- Amongst heavier winter fare, Radicchio provides eaters with a fresh and sturdy salad base that’s both flavor-forward and colorful! Perfect for pairing with nuts, cheeses, and other crunchy nibbles like thinly sliced apple, celery or fennel, Radicchios are a tasty departure from predictable salad greens. Delicious heads of Radicchio also boast a long-fridge life, so there’s no pressure to consume them immediately. Coming in an array of colors and flavor-intensities, now’s the time to enjoy these precious gems!
Rosalba Radicchio
Rosy-hued organic Rosalba is stunning with its soft-blushed leaves that are tender and smooth. Shopper’s salads will never be the same after trying Rosalba with their favorite creamy dressing!
Costarossa Radicchio
Costarossa’s magenta leaves and ribs are flamboyant show-stoppers. Delicious eaten raw, Costarossa is sturdy enough to stand up to grilling or roasting and pairs wonderfully with luscious cuts of meat and anything baked and bubbling with cheese!
Lusia Radicchio
Lusia’s variegated leaves splashed with dapples of maroon against a cream and light-green base make for a stunning visual presentation. Milder in flavor than many of its cousins in this category, Lusia is a fantastic variety for first-time-eaters looking to expand into the Radicchio category.
Whether finding new favorites or revisiting familiar but fantastic varieties, eaters will enjoy spending the final days of the year feasting, and those first days of 2021’s healthy eating with these incredible offerings from Northwest farmers! Encourage shoppers to stock up for seasonal eating with towering, colorful displays, and cheers to their good health!