Since I started eating healthier food a while ago, I’ve been incorporating leafy greens into my diet more. At the moment, I’ve been adding spinach to my chili (frozen spinach is cheap, and chili is a “toss a bunch of random stuff in the pot” kind of dish anyway) and I’ve developed a fondness of mustard greens in my tofu stir fry (but I’m fond of strong flavors, so mustard greens and excessive amounts of chili paste, garlic, five spice, and soy sauce go very well together as far as my unrefined palate is concerned). I’m at least familiar in passing with most of the major greens, but I imagine Dopers with more culinary experience than I know the strengths and weaknesses of the various greens. And I wouldn’t mind seeing some new ideas to incorporate greens into my cooking, and which ones go well in what applications and why.
So: Romaine, spinach, mustard, turnip, collard, kale, chard, bok choy, kai-lan, the various cabbages, etc. What subtle differences make them more or less suitable for particular dishes, in either cooked or raw form? Also, side (and rhetorical) question: Why is is it that kimchi is so delicious yet doesn’t sit well with my stomach, while I have no problem with any other foods?
I guess there are the tender vs. tough greens, then the mild vs. bitter ones. I like to sautee cabbage, and I like the extra flavor that comes with Savoy cabbage, but I have to remember to cook it longer or dinnertime isn’t a happy time.
All collards need is to be boiled up with a ham hock or smoked turkey leg, then hit with pepper vinegar after plopping a mess of them on your plate. Tham’s good eatin’!
Curried lamb and spinach is about the most delicious meal I make. I’ve played around with various recipes over the years, but being able to buy packaged, blended, moist curry spice has resulted in a dramatic improvement in taste and uniformity.
Merits: Apparently leafy greens help fend off macular degeneration. Another reason to make a batch of curry!
Swiss chard has the sweetest flavor of any of the greens you mentioned. It’s actually a kind of beet that’s bred to produce big leaves instead of a big root. Another way that chard differs from other greens is that it has big midribs that take longer to cook than the “leafy” parts of the leaves do.
A simple way to cook chard is to cut out the midribs and chop them into bite-sized pieces, then cook them in the microwave. Then chop up the remaining parts of the leaves and saute them briefly in olive oil. When the leaves have wilted, add the cooked midribs and season with salt and lemon juice.
I cook collard greans by sauteing them with a dash of red pepper flakes and bacon. Then I simer them in chicken broth for about 45 in. Collard greens need to cook a lot more than most greens, plus don’t forget to strip out the stems.
I add spinach to a lot of what I cook. Frozen for anything actually cooked, fresh for salads. But my primary salad green is romaine. I also love bok choy stalks, much tastier than celery.
Oh, and if you grow beets or radishes in your garden, the greens are great… but cook them. They’re pretty spiky and sharp when raw. Sautee with garlic and they’re a treat.
I just made a meatball and escarole soup. I made small Italian meatballs and dropped then into simmering chicken stock, and added lots of chopped escarole. It’s in the endive family and makes a terrific soup green, as it’s mild and tasty.
Other endive varieties are tasty in salads, and can be bitter or nutty or sweet depending on type. I like the frizzy endive made into a salad with bacon bits and croutons and a diced hard-boiled egg.