One year, when I was brand new to gardening, I planted broccoli that never created florets. It grew these huge gorgeous jungle leaves and never did anything else. I was so disappointed because broccoli takes up quite a bit of space in a small background garden and it’s, well duh, super delicious. So I googled “Can I eat broccoli leaves” and my whole world changed. Turns out the tops of a ton of popular veggies are not just edible, but delicious. Broccoli greens are now one of my favorite leafy green and I am forever experimenting with the often unused bits of other veggies.
How I like to use my greens:
- The easiest way to take your vitamins is to saute your greens, legit no matter what kind they are. Heat up some oil or butter in a skillet, add some garlic and onion until they are soft, add the greens. Sometimes I’ll add a little veggie broth and I know meat eaters who like to add in bacon. D-licious.
- Toss some greens into whatever soup or pasta you are making just a few minutes before it’s done. That leaves time for the greens to wilt without becoming mushy and gross. I especially love greens in chicken noodle soup and butter/parmesan covered noodles.
- Make this amazing soup! What you need:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 of a large onion, diced
- 3 small white potatoes
- 4 cups of whatever green you want to use – I’ve tried radish greens and carrot greens but I can’t wait to try it with my precious broccoli greens.
- 4 cups of veggie or chicken broth
- 1/3 cup of heavy cream
- red pepper flakes, salt, pepper to taste
- Green onion for garnish
- Heat up your butter in a large saucepan.
- Toss in your onion and stir it up so that it’s coated in butter. Cook until it’s tender and a little translucent.
- Mix in the potatoes and your greens. Immediately pour in your choice of broth.
- Bring to a boil and then continue simmering for 30 minutes. Turn off heat to allow to cool.
- Use a food processer to course blend. We aren’t looking for a campbell’s tomato soup consistency, we want some texture.
- Return to the saucepan, mix in your heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in some red pepper flakes to taste.
- Garnish with chopped fresh green onion. It adds a delicious fresh flavor and a little bit of an extra texture.
Let me know what you think or if you make any tweaks!
<3 Jessa