Dark, Leafy Greens: What To Know
Dark, leafy greens are coming to your weekly Nextdoorganics food packages this winter. Here’s everything you need to know about leafy greens, to prepare you for the cold weather influx of kale, mustard greens and lettuces.
Related: Cooking With Pumpkin: What To Know
Overview: Leafy Greens
Don’t worry about getting bored with this winter’s abundance of leafy greens. The variety available is astounding - they’re everywhere! Dark, leafy greens can encompass:
- Kale
- Mustard greens
- Collard greens
- Cabbage
- Broccoli and broccolini
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Romaine
- Endive
- Arugula
- Carrot tops
- Beet tops
- Turnip tops
Nutrition
Dark, leafy greens are some of the most nutrient-dense vegetables you can eat. As such, try and consume at least a 1/2 cup a day.
They’re rich in minerals like iron, calcium and potassium and are packed with fiber. You can also turn to these vegetables for vitamins K, C, E and B.
Cooking Methods
You’ll find that leafy greens are incredibly versatile. As you familiarize yourself with your favorite dark, leafy greens, cook them different way:
- Raw, dressed well and tossed into a salad
- Sautéed in a pan with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes
- Wilted into sauces or soups
- Blended into smoothies
- Braised slowly with animal proteins and/or flavorful sauces
As you cook, you’ll learn that different greens favor different cooking methods. Kale and collards are tougher, but perfect braising ingredients. Mustard greens and root vegetable tops are more bitter, and favor sharp flavors like garlic and red pepper flakes. Arugula, romaine and endive all make for flavorful salads.
Get our weekly Nextdoorganics packages for your own influx of greens.
Recipes
Collard greens with bacon are a traditional Southern recipe.
Green Blender’s smoothie recipes with kale will help you add some green to your breakfast.
Jaime Oliver combines sweet and savory in his red cabbage braised with apples, bacon and balsamic vinegar.
This Kale BLT Panzanella, or “bread salad,” gets better the longer it sits.
Learn how to master sautéed greens without a recipe.
Martha Stewart’s white bean and mustard greens soup is a lightened-up comfort food.
