Leafy Greens Cooking Tips and Savory Recipes - The Holistic Chef (2024)

FAQs

How do you make leafy greens taste better? ›

For sweet, you might go for a balsamic glaze. For sour, you could use lemon juice. Salty is, well, salt, but you could also try anchovies or a bit of bacon, says Devonshire. And parmesan is an umami king for greens, he says.

Research has shown that sautéing vegetables in olive oil, including leafy greens, is recommended over boiling or deep frying to preserve nutrients in vegetables without adding too many calories.

The vinegar and salt will help loosen & remove any dirt, grit and bring out any bugs hiding in the greens. Drain the water and soak again in plain water (1-2 times) if the water is dirty and gritty.

Baking soda is an alkali salt possessing the tenderizing and flavor-enhancing properties of regular salt. As an alkaline ingredient, it will make boiling water alkaline, effectively protecting the chlorophyll in green vegetables from breaking down.

Blanch the greens first.

The next time, when I made the same dish and blanched the broccoli rabe in salted water first, it was delicious. Blanching helps to leach out some of the bitterness and works best with hardier greens.

In 2021, a study concluded that eating 1 cup of leafy greens a day lowers your risk of heart disease. Eating 1 serving of leafy green vegetables has also been associated with slower cognitive decline and increased muscle strength.

The green leaves turn dark green during this long cooking process, and the cooking water will be greatly reduced. Unfortunately, nutrients are leached out into the cooking liquid that many people pour down the drain. This cooking liquid or "pot likker," as it is called in southern states, is full on valuable nutrients.

Some of the most nutritious greens include spinach, kale, romaine, watercress, and arugula (see "Salad greens by the numbers"). They are rich in a combination of vitamins A, C, and K; several B vitamins (including folate); and potassium. But some greens aren't nutrient powerhouses.

What greens have the best flavor? ›

Mustard greens and arugula are spicy -- a little bit goes a long way in salads or soups. Spinach is very mellow and is delicious either raw or cooked. Kale, collard greens, and chard are tougher than other greens, which makes them tastier when cooked, though there are ways to make them delicious when raw too.

Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish. Firstly, it balances against bitterness.

Pairing bitter greens with naturally sweet ingredients, instead of sugar, is a delicious idea. That's why bitter greens get along famously with apples, dates, figs, oranges, raisins and dried fruit. Chicory, endive, frisee and radicchio are ideal for robust salads.

For washing collard greens is easy. Soak them for five minutes in water with salt and white vinegar. I let them sit in that mixture for five minutes before straining.