**Bumper crop of seasonal greens – Looking for new ways to eat them**
I have been blessed with a bumper crop of delicious, tender greens this spring. NE Texas, 8a. Both Asian greens and western greens. Have been eating some kind of leafy greens nearly every day since late February, and I also give a lot away.
It has been wonderful to have this bounty, but now I’m casting about for additional interesting ways to prepare them. I usually stir-fry them or add them to hearty soups. Sometimes I make them into a vegetable ragout and serve with pasta. Basically sautéed onions, previously-roasted tomatoes, greens on pasta. Usually finish cooking the pasta in the vegetables after starting it in boiling water.
Do you have some favorite methods?
Here’s the lineup: tatsoi, baby bok choi, chijimisai, Vates collards, Osaka hardy purple-leaf mustard, gailan, dwarf Siberian kale, broccoli rabe, rainbow Swiss chard, and probably one or two others that I am forgetting at the moment.
Some of these greens have root crops attached and then, of course, I eat the whole thing, not just the tops: French breakfast radishes, white icicle radishes, Hakurei salad turnips, Tokyo silk salad turnips.
Ideas? Thanks!
hoattzin
So jealous! Seasonal greens for me work a lot better in the fall, spring weather is too cold for to long and then quickly hot hot hot. Do you have any tips? I’m trying tatsoi for the first time this year
As for cooking, how about pesto? Or saag paneer? Any blended green sauce can be made with any leafy green.
You mention hearty soups but bok choy is tasty in light fragrant broths that are easier to choke down in the summer heat than stew/chili is. Pho time!
I don’t know if you’re a baker but how about on/in bread? Some grocery stores have pre-made pizza dough that work well
If you’re up for it/ have helpers, crunchy stems from Asian greens taste great along with meat or other fillings in dumplings
Happy cooking!
LeZombeee
Nice work yo! I like grilling broccoli raab, bok choi and turnips whole after tossing with a vinaigrette, then another dash of vinaigrette when they come off the grill. The collards, kale, and chard should all freeze well if chopped, then barely steamed/blanched, spread to cool, and vac sealed. Mustard greens also go well on pizzas. Then you can let some bolt and feed the bees!
SmallDarkThings
Palak paneer! It’s an indian spinach curry/soup but I’ve found other greens sub in easily for the spinach. It’s so good!
thoughtsofathot
They are so flavorful raw! I snack on them plain, dip them in hummus, put them on sandwiches, salads, wraps. My fav is a Mediterranean platter with flatbread, hummus, greens, and roasted veg 😋
1010lala1010lala
I love grilling or roasting sturdier greens like kale and broccoli raab.
jh937hfiu3hrhv9
Wilted spinach salad but with other greens
Hammeredcopper
Good food! If you like Indian food, you can make saag with any green. Use anything past it’s prime, or that has a strong flavour as Indian flavour can be as dominant as you want.
Good way to use a lot. I have to harvest it all at the same time to give room for peppers.
ForeverCanBe1Second
I grow spinach and New Zealand Spinach. What we don’t eat fresh, I clean, roll up the leaves and slice in ribbons, parboil, then freeze in individual muffin cups (about 3/4 cup worth – make sure you squeeze out the water before freezing). Once frozen, I store the individual spinach “muffins” in a gallon size ziploc and pull out the individual portions as needed for smoothies, stir-frys, soups, etc.
ExaminationPutrid626
What’s the plant in the first pic called? It’s so beautiful, I want to grow some
Fickle-Palpitation
I’ll sometimes stuff chicken or pork with greens, mushrooms, and feta. They’re also really good in savory oatmeal, omelettes, frittatas, butternut squash salad (with roasted squash, walnuts/pepitas, feta, caramelized onions, and greens), substitutes for cabbage in cabbage rolls, and in wraps or sauces. You can also bake kale to make kale chips to use with dips! Just be careful, they’re easy to over salt.
12 Comments
**Bumper crop of seasonal greens – Looking for new ways to eat them**
I have been blessed with a bumper crop of delicious, tender greens this spring. NE Texas, 8a. Both Asian greens and western greens. Have been eating some kind of leafy greens nearly every day since late February, and I also give a lot away.
It has been wonderful to have this bounty, but now I’m casting about for additional interesting ways to prepare them. I usually stir-fry them or add them to hearty soups. Sometimes I make them into a vegetable ragout and serve with pasta. Basically sautéed onions, previously-roasted tomatoes, greens on pasta. Usually finish cooking the pasta in the vegetables after starting it in boiling water.
Do you have some favorite methods?
Here’s the lineup: tatsoi, baby bok choi, chijimisai, Vates collards, Osaka hardy purple-leaf mustard, gailan, dwarf Siberian kale, broccoli rabe, rainbow Swiss chard, and probably one or two others that I am forgetting at the moment.
Some of these greens have root crops attached and then, of course, I eat the whole thing, not just the tops: French breakfast radishes, white icicle radishes, Hakurei salad turnips, Tokyo silk salad turnips.
Ideas? Thanks!
So jealous! Seasonal greens for me work a lot better in the fall, spring weather is too cold for to long and then quickly hot hot hot. Do you have any tips? I’m trying tatsoi for the first time this year
As for cooking, how about pesto? Or saag paneer? Any blended green sauce can be made with any leafy green.
You mention hearty soups but bok choy is tasty in light fragrant broths that are easier to choke down in the summer heat than stew/chili is. Pho time!
I don’t know if you’re a baker but how about on/in bread? Some grocery stores have pre-made pizza dough that work well
If you’re up for it/ have helpers, crunchy stems from Asian greens taste great along with meat or other fillings in dumplings
Happy cooking!
Nice work yo! I like grilling broccoli raab, bok choi and turnips whole after tossing with a vinaigrette, then another dash of vinaigrette when they come off the grill. The collards, kale, and chard should all freeze well if chopped, then barely steamed/blanched, spread to cool, and vac sealed. Mustard greens also go well on pizzas. Then you can let some bolt and feed the bees!
Palak paneer! It’s an indian spinach curry/soup but I’ve found other greens sub in easily for the spinach. It’s so good!
They are so flavorful raw! I snack on them plain, dip them in hummus, put them on sandwiches, salads, wraps. My fav is a Mediterranean platter with flatbread, hummus, greens, and roasted veg 😋
I love grilling or roasting sturdier greens like kale and broccoli raab.
Wilted spinach salad but with other greens
Good food! If you like Indian food, you can make saag with any green. Use anything past it’s prime, or that has a strong flavour as Indian flavour can be as dominant as you want.
I’m usually cooking this with my bok choy: [Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry – Omnivore’s Cookbook (omnivorescookbook.com)](https://omnivorescookbook.com/bok-choy-and-mushroom-stir-fry/#wprm-recipe-container-32005)
Good way to use a lot. I have to harvest it all at the same time to give room for peppers.
I grow spinach and New Zealand Spinach. What we don’t eat fresh, I clean, roll up the leaves and slice in ribbons, parboil, then freeze in individual muffin cups (about 3/4 cup worth – make sure you squeeze out the water before freezing). Once frozen, I store the individual spinach “muffins” in a gallon size ziploc and pull out the individual portions as needed for smoothies, stir-frys, soups, etc.
What’s the plant in the first pic called? It’s so beautiful, I want to grow some
I’ll sometimes stuff chicken or pork with greens, mushrooms, and feta. They’re also really good in savory oatmeal, omelettes, frittatas, butternut squash salad (with roasted squash, walnuts/pepitas, feta, caramelized onions, and greens), substitutes for cabbage in cabbage rolls, and in wraps or sauces. You can also bake kale to make kale chips to use with dips! Just be careful, they’re easy to over salt.