I used to steam greens, until I came across the book Greens Glorious Greens! Authors Johnna Albi and Catherine Walthers propose there is a ‘better’ way to capture all the nutrients in greens – and it can be used on all sorts of greens, including weed greens (see below). Here’s a summary/paraphrase of their method and the reasons for it:

Steaming produces concentrated bitterness and gray-green color.
 Sautéing, stir-frying, quick-boiling, grilling all make softer, tastier greens.
 Assertive greens like mustard greens, broccoli rabe and collards, kale, turnip greens can be boiled or blanched – they taste and look better.

Leafy greens have acids that when heated, contact the plant’s chlorophyll and turn it gray. Adding lemon or vinegar makes it even more gray (army green). Steaming makes the acids in the leaf destroy its own color and concentrates bitterness. In a large pot of water, the acids are diluted and the veggies stay green, and the water also dilutes the bitterness.

The best way to preserve nutrients is to ‘shallow-blanch’ the greens in a small amount of water: 2 cups for one bunch up to one pound. Boils faster and only takes 3-10 minutes to soften the leaves (depending on type of green). Large wide skillet with tight lid is best; spreads out greens for quicker cooking. Fast and furious preserves nutrients, color and taste. Boil water before adding greens; the instant heat neutralizes enzymes that destroy pigments and vitamins which are active at low temps (120-160) but are destroyed by boiling.

Save pot water for other uses (‘green cocktail’ drinks, broths, etc.) – it has lots of not-water-soluble vitamins and minerals. You can cool the water and give it to your houseplants, they will love it!

Include greens under fish, atop pizza, in lasagna or other casseroles, and in soups and stews.

Greens Glorious Greens Tips

Johnna Albi and Catherine Walthers

Universal Greens Toppers -a little goes a long way!

• Lemon juice
• Sesame seeds
• Olives
• Raisins
• Garlic/Leek infused Olive oil
• Parmesan
• Cold-pressed sesame oil

Enhancing strong flavors of hot, spicy, sour:

Serve _____ with _____:

Broccoli Rabe             potatoes, pasta, beans, rice

Mustard Greens          potatoes, pasta, beans, rice, red lentils (to temper strong spiciness)

Think about color!

• Pale green Bibb with dark green watercress or kale
• Dark beet tops with lighter cabbage
• Spinach with mustard greens
• Kale and celery
• Parsley and dill with cabbage
• Watercress and corn chowder
• Radicchio

• Good color additions:  yellow or red pepper, carrots, corn, yellow squash, tomatoes.
• Fruit color adds:  oranges, apples, dried fruits
• Nuts and seeds:  sunflower, pine nuts, sesame (crunch and look great!)

WILD GREENS

Chickweed, lamb’s quarters, amaranth, curled dock all surpass conventional cousins in vitamins and minerals.

Lamb’s quarters is mild and soft, but packed with nutrition.  Cook like spinach and can be substituted for spinach in recipes.

Amaranth is a wild beet; tops can be cooked like beet greens or sauté.

Wild chicory and wild mustard greens – treat like mustard greens, chicory is mild in early spring and fall but is better in warm months.  Blanch spicier leaves.

Chickweed stems taste like corn – use like sprouts on sandwiches

Curled Dock is pleasingly sour, substitute for sorrel (way cheaper!)

Dandelion – best in early spring before flowers or in fall from new shoots after cut back. Great springtime ritual for cleansing.

Nettles are great in tea, harvest with gloves

Pokeweed is actually sold in supermarkets in the south.  The young shoots less than 1’ high is the only edible part, should be blanched in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, not eaten raw.  Rest of plant is toxic.

Purslane can be eaten raw; mild and tangy juicy addition.  Not super-flavorful; good in a mix.

Violet Leaves are mild, can be raw or cooked.  Flowers are fantastic in salad.

WILD FOOD REFERENCES:

• Peter Gail’s Dandelion Celebration
• Lee Allen Peterson’s A Field Guide to Eastern Edible Wild Plants
• Roger Philip’s Wild Food
• Euell Gibbons’ Stalking the Wild Asparagus
• Connie Green’s The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes
• Dina Falconi’s Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook