Vegetables
We have two types of vegetables grown directly from us: asparagus and potatoes.
Asparagus
There are many varieties of asparagus, and are distinguished by the color of their tops: white, green and purple; once you are caught you can store one day out of the refrigerator and from 4 to 7 days in the refrigerator, the ideal would be to wrap them in a damp cloth to extend a few more days storage.
The period from April to June is by definition the asparagus season: food very appreciated for many beneficial properties that should not be missing from our table, at least once a week.
If you want to be sure to buy fresh asparagus that are always observed their tops: they are perfectly closed and compact asparagus are fresh.
Asparagus is rich in fiber than other vegetables and can therefore be a food that can help us in case of slimming diets, since its intake increases quickly satiety.
Raw, steamed, boiled, fried, grilled, barbecued, gratins, stews, soups: the type of cooking can be chosen according to personal taste and the size of the vegetable. Combine well with the eggs. Our advice is to privilege consumption raw or steamed, the type of cooking that maintains the nutritional properties (and in any case favor short cooking).
The dietary intake ideal asparagus is to grate shoot tips raw and consume them with various salads; also excellent properties of its juice extracted by centrifugal electric.
For some years the asparagus has been awarded the IGP.
Potatoes
(source coltoemangiato.tv)
It is among the most used vegetables in the kitchen, among the most popular, there are undoubtedly potatoes.
They were the very first Spanish settlers in America to discover the potato (Solanum tuberosum) and bring it to our tables. It is a vegetable of the same family of the eggplant, and the part we eat is a tuber that grows underground.
Cooking uses are varied, from simple outline (fried, baked or boiled), use to make dumplings, to more complex mashed and foams, as well as additional ingredient of mixtures of buns or cakes, in the form of starch . Also, being gluten-free, but rich in carbohydrates, is a useful substitute for starchy foods in the diet.
Potatoes: sowing and reaping
In common with the eggplant potato has a lot, even with regard to the cultivation: does not like extreme climates (the ideal temperature is between 17 and 20 ° C) and the great variety can adapt even to regions and different terrain.
In Italy you prefer to grow potatoes in the Alps and Apennines, since the southern regions can not always ensure an adequate supply of water to the land.
For a vegetable garden do-it-yourself, potatoes are not the easiest vegetable to grow, since the soil needs to be dug and worked throughout the fall, and then proceed to bury the tubers from the end of ' winter and early spring, at a depth of at least 15 cm.
The timing of maturation varies depending on the type of potato, but also to the desire of those who cultivates if harvested early you will indeed delicious new potatoes, while, if you have more patience, tubers grow and consequently the amount of product final will be greater.
To know where the growth is, look at the flowers: the tubers are formed just before flowering, and are ready when the plant begins to dry out. (To August).
Potatoes: all varieties
White potato: floury and rich in starch, is used primarily for dough: from mashed to gnocchi and the casseroles, guarantees a result soft and light.
Yellow potato: is the typical fried potato to do, because compact and crisp; but also boiled or baked give good results, not surprisingly is the most prevalent in the markets and in the kitchen.
Red potato: the ideal is boiled it because, unlike the yellow one, keeps very well cooked and does not crumble. The slightly salty taste makes a potato for boards sought.
New Potato: is distinguished first of all for the much smaller size and is also called primaticcia for harvest early. The skin is so thin that it can be eaten along with the flesh, for baked or fried everything taste.