8 Ways to Use Greens
Whether you’re a loyal CSA subscriber, farm stand visitor or farmer’s market browser, this brief guide can provide insight into new ways to use greens and hopefully, inspire you to try new recipes!
Adapted from Main Street Farms blog
One of the best things about joining a CSA is all of the new vegetables you’ll get to try! This can also be the most confusing – opening your box and scratching your head trying to figure out what to do with these new veggies takes some time…. especially for the ones you’re unfamiliar with!
Though we offer a lot of unique vegetables, in this post we are shedding some light on greens. We grow a wide variety of greens which are available at various times throughout the season. Some of the greens we grow include arugula, chard, claytonia, kale, lettuce, mustard, mizuna, mache, purslane, sorrel, spinach and microgreens!
Consider these 8 ways to use your greens along with some of our personal recommendations!
Salad
Spinach, mizuna, mustard, mache, claytonia, sorrel, kale, lettuce, purslane…really all of our greens go great in a salad! Wash and chop them into bite size pieces. Mix various greens together and top with add-ins like radish slices, carrots, pickled onions, fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese, theme or meat and your favorite salad dressing (we recommend Drench, which are available at our farm stand). Try this Winter salad, Arugula & Beet salad or this fresh Mizuna salad!
Pasta
Greens like arugula, spinach, sorrel or mustard can be tossed with pasta and fresh parmesan. Boil noodles of your choice al dente. While the noodles are cooking sauté chopped your greens in olive oil with garlic. When the noodles are ready, drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Toss the noodles, parm, and a bit of the pasta water together in a skillet over low heat. Add more pasta water if the mixture looks dry. Serve with crushed red pepper and extra cheese! We recommend adding arugula to this delectable Roasted Cauliflower & Hazelnut Carbonara!
Risotto
Another Italian inspired use for greens! We recommend arugula, mizuna, spinach or kale. Try pairing with mushrooms for an earthy dish.
Stir-fry
Asian greens like mustard, mizuna, tatsoi and bok choy or a hardier green like kale are all perfect for stir-fry! Pair with any vegetables in your share, lots of garlic and ginger, and your protein of choice. Here’s a recipe to get you started.
Soup
Tender greens like baby kale, spinach, mache and mizuna go great in miso soup or toss them into any vegetable soup at the end of cooking. We love this Sausage & Kale soup. Looking for a puréed option? Try this Sorrel & Celeriac soup!
Stew
A low and slow broth asks for hardier greens like collards, chard and kale! Try this Vegan Lentil & Potato Stew with greens of your choice or try our Caramelized Fennel Swiss Chard & Chickpea Stew!
Grain Salads
Toss raw arugula, spinach, sorrel, mizuna mache, or claytonia with farro, quinoa, rice, barley, or any grain for fresh salad perfect for picnics and potlucks. Top with veggies, proteins and a dressing of your choice. This Mizuna Quinoa Salad with Lemon Scallion Vinaigrette is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Sautée
The simplest is last! Wash your greens (we recommend arugula, mustard, mizuna or kale) and then toss in a pan with garlic and olive oil. Check out our Sautéed Mustard Greens recipe!
A special note on Microgreens ~
Small but mighty, microgreens offer a wide range of health benefits and are a highly nutritious way to brighten up and add a splash of color to any dish. For spicier microgreens, choose radish or arugula. For a milder, vegetal taste, choose broccoli or cabbage. For an earthier flavor, we recommend beet microgreens and for a unique, herbal flavor, we recommend amaranth. Sprinkle microgreens on top of scrambled eggs, a salad, sandwich, burrito or as an aesthetic garnish over a puréed soup!
