Greens How to...

This time of year, the harvest is ever changing and not truly known until it is time to harvest due to the fluctuating (and particularly adverse) weather conditions.

Derek tells me he is certain about some crops, so here are a couple of tips on greens:

Green tops - don't throw away the radish, turnip, beet and kohrabi tops! They can be sautéed or stir fried by themselves or along with the other greens we receive, added to soups or frozen to add to homemade vegetable broth. A simple way to blanch prior to freezing is to boil a large pot of water. Place the greens you want to blanch in a large colander set over a larger pot or over the sink. Boil water and then slowly pour over the greens. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much of the water as you can, make balls out of the greens, place in freezer bags (label) and freeze. Later, when making broth, soups you want to add greens, or stews, just take the greens out of freezer as needed and use. This method is also great if you just don't have time to use all the greens we receive at this time of the year. In addition, if the chard stems are not used in a recipe, freeze for adding to vegetable broth.

Greens are in many cases interchangeable in recipes - for example, the leaves of Swiss chard may be used instead of spinach in most cooked recipes. Too much kale? Make kale pesto - experiment with individual greens or a mixture. In our June 2nd Workshop called "Now What", Gia along with attending members will exchange ideas of how to both enjoy the greens when you first bring them home and how to preserve them, making pesto/pistou, and freezing, plus many other techniques. Even long-timers always learn new tricks and recipes, so be sure to attend this fun event!

It is best to cut the tops from the roots when you get them home to preserve both flavor and freshness of both parts of the crop.

There are also recipes on this site that incorporate both the root and the greens. Try Roasted Beets and Beet Green Risotto. I recommend this dish every year - it is delicious and the color is spectacular! It is sure to please even people who claim to not like beets. Also try Asian Turnip and Turnip Green Saute - a very simple and tasty dish.