What to do with leafy greens
Tuesday, 2nd April 2019 by Rachel Dring
red russian kale

As a member of the veg scheme you'll be exposed to a great array of leafy green things - from Hackney salad, to spring greens, kale, chard and spinach to the lesser-known collard greens, tatsoi and sorrel. While it's great to try lots of new greens, it can sometimes be hard to think of what to do with them. So here's some ideas for diverse and creative ways to jazz up your greens.

 

Get saucy

Herbs as well as spinach and kale can be whizzed up into a sauce or pesto with relative ease. All you need is a food processor, a good old-fashioned mortar and pestle or a sharp knife and a bit of elbow grease. As a  general rule, if in doubt, make pesto! We have a lot of different pesto recipes on the website - great as a dip, stirred into pasta or as a sandwich spread. You can make any soft herb into a pesto, but spinach and kale can also be pestoised and even carrot or fennel tops!

wild garlic pesto

Try our Wild garlic pestoSorrel pesto or Kale pesto

 

Green pasta sauce

Similar to a pesto but the greens are cooked first before blending

spinach pasta sauce

Spinach pasta sauce

Kale pasta sauce

 

Green Salsa

Punchy, zingy salsas are a great way to jazz up many a meal - drizzle over salads, boiled new potatoes, roasted vegetables or grilled fish.

Salsa verde

Herby spring salsa

 

Dressed greens

anna jones seasonal greens tahini

Sauteed greens pair very well with garlic, chilli and citrus. Combine those with oil and salt and you're onto a winner. These two recipes below involve dressings which will work with all kinds of combinations of greens. Sprinkle over some toasted nuts or seeds and you have yourself a very pleasing plate.

Anna Jones' Seasonal greens with tahini dressing

Asian greens with sesame dressing

Green noodles

Indonesian greens with peanut sauce

Greens with peanut butter, walnuts and dates

 

Pies and tarts

cabbage leek potato tart

Greens and feta pie 

Leeks, cabbage & potato pie (vegan) 

 

Fritters

spinach pakoras

Spinach pakoras

Leftover greens fritters with crumbled cheese

 

 

Author name: 
Rachel Dring