This is not a play on words!
Many of us with Sephardic roots were unaware of the fact that our cuisine, in its attempt to economize, make do, and not be wasteful, has a strong tradition of preparing dishes that use the root of the same vegetable that appeared in a main dish. Therefore, when you make something like a Fritada de Espinaca (spinach pie), you can also make this dish to use your discarded spinach roots.
In front of us we have the stem of spinach plant; but instead of tossing it, our foremothers, in their infinite creativity and wisdom, devised a dish that would use these rabos or rabicos, little tails, as they called them, in a secondary dish.
Fast forward to early twenty-first century and suddenly there are multiple examples around the world about repurposing vegetables. In 2015, within a a matter of weeks, the media began shedding light on this issue. Take, for example, the recent article in the Wall Street Journal about the “new” trend of using all parts of the vegetable. “Save those stems,” the WSJ proclaimed (5/22/15). And a Brava! to the activist on the U.S.-Mexico border who prevents the less-than-perfect produce from getting thrown away; instead she makes sure it gets to people. In Britain, The Guardian, announced: “France to force big supermarkets to give unsold food to charities.” And in Australia, a pop-up cafe features food that would have been thrown away: “OzHarvest highlights food waste with Sydney pop-up cafe,” calling themselves a food rescue organization and “collecting food from supermarkets, farms and the hospitality industry” in order to redistribute it to organizations in need.
Social media blogs dedicated to food such as Kitchn or Food52 are also admonishing us to use all parts of the vegetable. “Save the bits in your freezer and make a stock,” one might tell us, “Peel and grate those broccoli stalks for salads or soups,” another could say.
It’s good to know that food is ending up in people’s mouths rather than in dumpsters.
In my various trips to Turkey, Sephardic home cooks in Istanbul and Izmir taught me the value of vegetable roots in their ancestral cuisine. “People were poor,” they said, “and you could not throw away anything, no part of the vegetable.” It was their ingenuity that raised this “redistribution” to an art form.
First, a few words about what is called “olive oil dishes” in Turkey. Before the main meal, there are hot and cold mezes, starters, appetizers. The cold starters were almost entirely vegetarian because they would not need refrigeration. These are dishes that are prepared ahead of time, perfect for those observing shabbat since no more preparation or heating is necessary.
There are many Turkish and Sephardic dishes that are prepared in olive oil, first stewed or braised, and then served at room temperature. The dish I offer here, rabicos, literally meaning “tails,” is one such Sephardic dish, comfort food for the family.
For American tastebuds, the amount of time greens are left to cook may shock or surprise us. I have experimented with some of these cook times in order to get a crunchier vegetable, but millions of people swear by very cooked greens served at room temperature in olive oil.
Ingredients:
Mix together (these measurements are very adjustable depending on what you have on hand:
1 bunch spinach stems (about 2 lbs)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 T salt
1 T sugar
black pepper
Preparation:
1/4 cup rice, add to mixture
1/4 cup of water
cook 15 minutes until rice is cooked
Serve at room temperature