Broiled Greens and a Name I Can't Figure Out

I have 2 small gardens in Southampton and Old Westbury. They’re more experimental than productive. I’ll pick part of a section early, right on time, and leave the other to be harvested late, noting the difference. I like things to sprout and go wild. One of the most interesting examples of this was with some late-harvested arugula. The biggest difference was in the hardening of the stalks, and the extremely bitter flavor. The texture was closer to a young kale than an arugula, and the taste had an incredibly bitter finish. It was nicely chewy, but the bitterness was too much. It needed taming.

I knew I was going to have to cook it, but it is technically a lettuce so I had to be fast, in and out. I toasted some at high heat with light oil and salt. The stalks were great, but I lost the leaves. I was going for kale chips, but the leaves didn’t hold up. So I seasoned them the same way and ran them under the broiler using my OVERLAP technique you can read about in Big Ideas. But the leaves burned before the stalks got tender.

I decided to stack them about 4 high on a small tray, and put them under the broiler.

The top part started to color, so I turned the charred ones into the pile exposing a new layer to the broiler. After about 4 turns most of the arugula had color, the stalks were tender, and the bitterness was diminished. The water inside of the arugula pile had protected the leaves from getting scorched and shriveled.

A final squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil, and a slice in half.

I’m still searching for a name to call this dish. What do you call something picked too late? Elderly? Mature? Forgotten harvest? I think the technique should be called Composting, but how appetizing is that? I’m taking suggestions if you have any.

One last thing, balance the bitterness of this dish with the lemon juice I mentioned. Most recipes and cooks balance bitterness with sweetness, but I feel like it mutes the flavors. Balancing bitterness with acidity acts as an amplifier, and works great for bitter greens.