If there is one food that should be making a more regular appearance on my plate, it’s leafy greens. For only a meager amount of calories, greens provide countless nutritional benefits, including a punch of Vitamins A, C, and K, as well as Iron and Magnesium. Health benefits aside, they’re also a blank canvas when it comes to sprucing them up, raw or cooked.
In my kitchen, many a bunch (particularly of the kale and spinach variety) have passed through a pan hot with oil or a simple squeeze of lemon, and are all the better for it. But it’s time to mix things up. A healthy breakfast sets the tone of my food choices for the rest of the day, and Kemp’s Eggs on Toast with Dandelion Greens is the ideal balance of protein, whole grains, and vegetables to do just that. I like to dress my fanciest locally-grown greens with Warm Sherry Vinaigrette, allowing the heat from the dressing to tenderize and slightly infuse each leaf. For greens that are just starting to turn, or for using up those attached to beets and other root vegetables, purée them into Creamy Fennel and Greens Soup.
How do you like to prepare fresh greens?
I love greens! I start to crave spinach, chard and kale after a few days without. This time of year I’m excited about the small, fresh bright spring greens. We have an extremely small garden, and we decided to give the soil a break from growing tomatoes this year, so we’re growing lot of little greens and herbs. I’m enamored of chervil at the moment (or is that an herb, rather than a green?) I put it in a tart with ramps and lemon, and in a sort of deconstructed tapenade with castelvetrano olives and french feta and tarragon.
I like to make a soup I call Soup Meagre. Basically, it’s every green thing I can find (herbs and greens), mixed into a velvety bisque, with a handful of lentils or split peas for texture. It’s nice because it’s different every season of the year. In winter, it’s hearty with kale and spinach, in fall, it’s got a little bite with the bitter fall greens, and in spring, it’s lovely and light and bright and sweet! It’s the most delicious tonic!
Oh, I agree! I’m always looking for new recipes for green leafy things. I’m currently obsessed with stir-frying — I wok everything, including greens. It gives a little twist to the usual dinner greens (plus, it’s super fast and easy).