RAW FAVORITES! Tatsoi This is the best exotic winter harvest green you can hope to eat! Unlike other leafy winter crops this one is mild, delicate and have a soft texture. You can find the leaves in mini to medium size depending on when they were harvested. Look for light to dark green leaves. Any yellow discoloration should be avoided. Toss these with other lettuce or eat alone. Their delicate flavor shouldn’t be covered up with heavy dressing. A simple lemon flax seed oil drizzle is the perfect accompaniment! Mizuna Another light Japanese green, Mizuna is grown in Spring and summer. It has a medium flavor and is paper thin but yields a slight crunch. It's often found in MESCLUN, a special salad-green mix. Baby Spinach Baby spinach leaves are a whole other world compared to their adult selves. These are medium flavor, thin and rounded. I prefer baby spinach raw so you can get the most out of its delicate structure and flavor. It also is easier the access the vitamins and minerals in the baby version. The mature spinach leaves must be slightly heated to open the cell walls to release their nutritious contents. I love Baby spinach leaves in salads with fresh or dried fruit, or tossed in freshly prepared fruit vinaigrettes such as pomegranate and raspberry. Chinese Cabbage aka Napa Cabbage This wonderful cabbage looks like a cross between green cabbage and romaine lettuce. It has long, crinkly leaves with thick middle veins. The leaves vary in color from white to pale green at the ends. These grow all year and are very hearty crops. Chinese cabbage is a good source of vitamin A, folic acid and potassium. I know many people like to use this for braised dishes, especially stuffed with meat, but I prefer it finely chopped and tossed in a sesame and orange juice dressing. It will absorb some of the dressing but still maintain its crunch! Sorrel I have been growing the same sorrel plant in my Venice beach garden for nearly 5 years! It is a true year round producer that stands up all the elements and very infrequent watering. It has slender leaves of a beautiful medium to dark green and a sharp bite. I love the leaves whole and mixed with other lettuces for a great salad. If you must cook them they are an amazing addition to every kind of soup! They are also high in vitamin A and contain calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and vitamin C. Arugula If I could only have 1 green for the rest of my life it would be Arugula! My favorite salad, pizza and pasta dish all contain arugula! It is available all over the US and most of Europe. You may also find it listed as rocket, roquette, rugula and rucola. Wild arugula has smaller leaves with defined edges and a sharp taste. The cultivated variety has longer, paler leaves with smooth curves and a milder taste. I love them both. Arugula is a rich source of iron as well as vitamins A and C. A simple dish of arugula and shaved parmesean with a drizzle of unfiltered olive oil is pretty much one of the best dishes you can ever eat! FAVORITES FOR COOKING Collard Greens Everyone in America has heard of Collard greens, yet many have never tried them. They are a southern food staple and a very hearty crop. They have thick, fiberous, light to dark green leaves and withstand long cooking times. Collards have higher nutritional value when cooked than when raw due to the tough cell structure. They have a hearty texture and flavor and can easily absorb whatever flavors they are cooked with to make any one pot meal healthier! I make a vegetarian version of the traditional collards. Click here for the recipe. Mustard Greens These greens are one of the original greens that ever existed! They have long, dark leaves with a spicy flavor. These are great finely chopped in raw dishes but I prefer them sauteed just a few minutes with thyme and olive oil. I love sauteed mustard greens as a base for almost every fish presentation. They are extremely high in Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Kale Kale is considered to be one of the most highly nutritious vegetables, with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti- inflammatory. Kale is very high in beta carotene, iron, calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin. Many varieties of kale are referred to as "flowering kales" and are grown mainly for their ornamental leaves, which are brilliant white, red, pink, lavender, blue or violet on the leaves in the center of the plant. Ornamental kale is every bit as edible as any other variety, provided it has not been treated with pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Kale shows up as a garnish for nearly every supermarket vegetable platter an dit is a shame people don’t eat that too along with the baby carrots! I love Kale when it is cooked just past the wilted stage - but not so that it loses its color - and drizzled with roasted garlic and lemon juice. Kale is great in soups too because it can hold up too wet cooking methods and absorb the tasty broth! Spinach Originating in the Middle East, spinach was being grown in Spain during the 8th century, and the Spaniards are the ones who eventually brought it to the United States. Spinach is rich in iron as well as of vitamins A and C. But because spinach contains oxalic acid — which inhibits the body's absorption of calcium and iron — the truth is that its nutritional value is somewhat diminished. Spinach leaves need to be heated, even slightly, to open the cell walls and release their nutrients for our body’s absorption. I love large spinach leaves blanched (cooked for just a few seconds) then stuffed with ricotta and baked like lasagna. Spinach doesn’t absorb the flavors it is cooked with as well as other greens so some kind dressing like olive oil or herb purees may be added to enhance your dish. À LA FLORENTINE listed on a menu means the dish has spinach in it. I am not a fan of creamed spinach or spinach with cream sauces of any kind because the dairy blocks the taste of the wonderful greens! Radicchio This red-leafed Italian CHICORY is most often used as a salad green, but my favorite way is grilled with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top. 2 version are available: Verona and Treviso . The radicchio di Verona has burgundy-red leaves with white ribs. It grows in a small, loose head similar to a tightly packed traditional round lettuce. The Treviso variety have long, narrow leaves and form tighter, more tapered heads. They also have white ribs but can range in color from pink to dark red. They both have a slightly sharp and delicate texture. I also love Radicchio in risotto with red wine, stock and shaved parmesean. Chard If Arugula is the one green I cannot live without, chard is second! I grow chard year round in my garden and even if I let everything else die off, I always tend to the chard. Chard is great raw and cooked and the stems are sometimes a spectacular element to certain dishes! Rainbow chard comes in brightly colored stems with deep leaves tinged with their stem colors. I love to separate the leaves from the stems, then chop the stems and saute them with previously coked root vegetables for a just a few minutes. The mild leaves are wonderful blanched and drizzled with a simple oil or quick sauteed with slivers of garlic and thyme. They are a good source of vitamins A and C, and iron. Dandelion The name dandelion comes from the French dent de lion , meaning "lion's tooth," a reference to the jagged-edged leaves of this noteworthy weed that grows both wild and cultivated. The bright green leaves have a slightly bitter, tangy flavor that adds interest to salads. They can also be cooked like spinach. Dandelion greens are an excellent source of vitamin A, iron and calcium. There are old recipes using dandelions for all kinds of culinary and medicinal uses. I prefer them wilted with hot water, hot broth or a quick saute with a few tablespoons of broth then drizzled with lemon flax seed oil! Yum! Beet Greens Beet greens contains a larger amount of nutrients than beet roots. The greens are richer in iron, calcium, Vitamins A and C, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B 6. These greens are a nice medium because the leaves are wide, slightly fiberous and sturdy but thin. They are wonderful blanched then stuffed, sauteed with broth or olive oil and sauteed then chopped and made into dumplings! Epazote This is a fun one! Epazote has cropped up in menus across the country, especially in Latin brunch dishes. It has slender, jagged leaves and is said to have anti-gas properties. It is too strong for me raw (kind of a fennel tasting cough syrup flavor) but wilted it becomes milder with a fresh ‘garden’ flavor and slight citrus and fennel undertones. It is a nice addition to all beans dishes, mixed with other sauteed greens for a flavor spike, and chopped and steamed with rice or couscous. |
| Greens! |
This is my favorite topic so far!
I love greens in all forms and flavors! Thick, mild and crunchy greens such as rainbow chard and kale to
slender, sharp and smooth such as arugula and sorrel.
Greens come from all over the world and were originally just “weeds.” During my years in the Umbrian
countryside I saw old women collecting field greens in their aprons every day all year round. They knew which
to pick and which to ignore. Anyone under the age of 50 can’t identify what’s edible - but it was certainly
amazing eating at the restaurants where “mama” cooks. Sauteed field greens with garlic, local olive oil and
fresh pasta is still one of my favorite meals!
Many fusion and California style restaurants have showcased exotic greens such as tatsoi, radicchio, and
mizuna alongside traditional meat and vegetarian dishes. Last year Italian restaurants showcased such dishes
as “gnudi” which are spinach and ricotta dumplings, and beet ravioli with their greens. These dishes have
been staples in Tucsany for years but only recently made their way west.
Here are a few favorites divided into what I like raw and what I like cooked. Keep in mind that all greens are
able to be eaten raw and cooked. Some greens do not release their iron and potassium until their cell walls are
slightly heated.
I love greens in all forms and flavors! Thick, mild and crunchy greens such as rainbow chard and kale to
slender, sharp and smooth such as arugula and sorrel.
Greens come from all over the world and were originally just “weeds.” During my years in the Umbrian
countryside I saw old women collecting field greens in their aprons every day all year round. They knew which
to pick and which to ignore. Anyone under the age of 50 can’t identify what’s edible - but it was certainly
amazing eating at the restaurants where “mama” cooks. Sauteed field greens with garlic, local olive oil and
fresh pasta is still one of my favorite meals!
Many fusion and California style restaurants have showcased exotic greens such as tatsoi, radicchio, and
mizuna alongside traditional meat and vegetarian dishes. Last year Italian restaurants showcased such dishes
as “gnudi” which are spinach and ricotta dumplings, and beet ravioli with their greens. These dishes have
been staples in Tucsany for years but only recently made their way west.
Here are a few favorites divided into what I like raw and what I like cooked. Keep in mind that all greens are
able to be eaten raw and cooked. Some greens do not release their iron and potassium until their cell walls are
slightly heated.