Leafy Vegetables
Includes chicories and leafy greens.
This is a big ass group that includes chicories and leafy greens!
Think kale, microgreens, collard greens, spinach, lettuces, chicories, swiss chard, arugula, cabbage, fennel, celery.
Common denominator of this list of veggies is that they’re grown or harvested primarily for the consumption of their leafy parts (raw or cooked). And they tend to be nutritional powerhouses – yaya!
Let’s chat chicories - closely related to lettuces, but heartier and with a bitter edge. Their crunchy fresh leafy vegies that us through the winter – such as Belgian endive, curly endive, escarole, and radicchio. These cool weather crops come in marvelous shades of purple and green, their raw bitterness is best paired with something sweet and/or rich and they transform into an entirely new veggie when cooked. The heat tempers the bitterness, giving way to something sweeter, earthier, nuttier, and downright succulent.
Season: peak season is fall to winter, leafy vegetables can be found year round.
Prep: raw, roasted, seared, braised, grilled.
* Not to get too confusing but yes, some leafy veggies are also brassicas.
