Photos by Sarah Shatz

After a nice, long summer, we're starting to feel fall in the air, and dark, leafy greens are an excellent vegetable to experiment with as we make our way into the new season. These versatile veggies are packed with vitamins A and K, folic acid, and calcium, which make their earthy flavor all the more appealing.  

Two Groups of Leafy Greens

Most cooking greens can be divided into two categories: quick-cooking, tender greens and a tougher, longer-cooking variety. A good test to discover how your favorite greens are classified: Hold the leaf between both sets of thumbs and first fingers at opposing points. Give the leaf a little tug -- if it rips easily, it’s a tender green. If the leaf needs some extra muscle to tear open, you have a hearty green on your hands.

Tender Greens

Tender, quick-cooking greens include: spinach, Swiss chard, bok choy, beet greens, and young, smooth-leaved kale varieties. Our favorite type of tender kale is black kale (a.ka. lacinato, Tuscan, or dinosaur kale).

Cooking & Serving Tips

• Wash the greens and remove the stems, if necessary. 
• When very young, these greens can be thinly sliced or shredded and eaten raw in salads, slaws, or added to pastas as a finishing touch.
• To cook these greens, heat a few teaspoons of oil in a skillet or wok and sauté or stir-fry until tender.
• If the stems are a little more robust, finely chop the stems and sauté them first before adding the more delicate leaves.
• We love tender greens with crushed red pepper flakes or fried sage leaves for texture. 
• Another fun method is to quickly steam the greens with a big slice of lemon or orange peel.

Hearty Greens

Heartier, longer-cooking greens include: collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli rabe (or rapini), and mature, curly-leaved kale, such as Red Russian (sounds mysterious!).

Cooking & Serving Tips

• Wash the greens and remove the fibrous stem. The stems are best suited for the stockpot or compost pile, as they remain tough and stringy even after cooking. 
• The first method for cooking hearty greens is a two-step process that requires par-boiling the greens until yielding. Next, the greens are drained and squeezed to release excess moisture, then chopped and sautéed or stewed until perfectly soft. 
• The second method is the traditional method of slow-cooking the greens with a little bit of liquid (stock or water) and often a splash of olive oil or bacon drippings, until the greens are tender and silky. This second method may take longer but it only requires one pot -- always a bonus!
• In the South, these long-cooking greens are served with hot pepper-spiked vinegars and often prepared with ham hocks or tasso ham.

Here are some of our favorite recipes with dark, leafy greens:

Sautéed Greens with Garlic
Kale Salad with Apples and Hazelnuts (pictured above, left)
Broccoli Rabe, Potato and Rosemary Pizza (pictured above, right)
Roasted Swiss Chard and Potato Cake
Kale Chips
Southern-Style Baked Eggs with Grits and Collard Greens
Tangy Buttered Beets and Beet Greens with Dijon

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Wine pairings:

If you are eating dark greens unadorned in a salad, fried, or baked, you want a white wine with high acidity, a big body, and some savory characteristics. Austrian wines, both Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, are a good choice (don't confuse Austrian Riesling with its sweet cousin to the west in Germany; Austrian Rieslings are dry). I'm especially fond of the 2009 Heildler "Loss" Grüner Veltliner.

However, if you're going to be cooking your greens or adding elements to a dish such as pork (bacon, ham) or tomatoes, you'll want a red like Grenache, Pinot noir, or Barbera. They are medium-bodied and have a good balance of savory flavors and acidity. Wines with a lot of tannin like Cabernet or Nebbiolo can feel harsh against the bitter character of these greens. Try the 2009 Borsao Garnacha "Tres Picos" Campo de Borja.

- Jake Rosenbarger

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Like this post? Check out last week's From Scratch topic: Homemade Sprouts.