Greens

About Me: Many of the greens we grow can be harvested as a baby size or full grown (bunched). The full grown size greens are often thicker, hardier, and pack a more flavourful punch. These greens can be eaten raw or cooked. Most of them do very well when frozen and can be enjoyed all winter long in soups and stews.

The baby greens are more tender, better in salads or lightly cooked. Our baby greens come in compostable paper bags.

Arugula, or roquette, has a beautiful peppery flavor. Arugula is rich in vitamins A, K, and folate. Arugula is always grown as a baby green in order to maintain a nice flavour. Use in salads, in pesto, soups, on top of sandwiches, or pizzas. This is a tender green and is best used fresh or thrown in/on a dish at the very end, in order to wilt the greens.

Beet Greens are just the leaves of beets. They can be harvested as young baby greens which are more tender or grown out and develop into thicker leaf with a beautiful earthy flavour. Bunched beet greens are always best cooked.

Braising Mix can be a number of different greens we mix together but usually from the mustard family (Ex: Mizuna, Red Giant, etc.). Because the leaves are full grown they usually have a lot more spice to them and are thicker than the baby green version which is why we suggest cooking them.

Collards are a member of the brassica family and have large, smooth, paddle-shaped leaves. Collards are a great source of calcium, iron, fibre, and protein. The leaves are quite thick so most people like these leaves sautéed a little. Try them with some garlic and lemon juice. The leaves also make great raw wraps for a healthy alternative. Just remove the rib portion inside the leaf with a knife, add your filling and roll it up!

Green Mizuna/Ruby Streaks is a Japanese mustard and can be green or a purple colour - both having slightly different flavours and textures. They have long, serrated leaves and a hint of mustard flavour. Mizuna is loaded with vitamin C, A, B6, calcium, and potassium. We love to eat it raw in salads but it can definitely withstand being thrown in a stir-fry, or sautéed with some garlic. Mizuna is more tender compared to other bunched greens so we don’t recommend freezing it. Our absolute favourite way to eat it is throwing chopped mizuna in a coconut milk soup!

Kale is a member of the brassica family. Kale comes in a variety of textures and colours. The leafy part and the stem of the kale leaf can both be eaten, but the stems can be a little tough and are best when cooked. Kale is high in beta-carotene and vitamins A and E. It is rich in bioflavonoids that help protect against cancer. If using bunched kale in a raw salad try massaging the kale with a little oil first. It softens it up while still keeping a great crunch.

Red Giant is a mustard green and one of our favourites. Mustard greens are packed with energy-boosting, heart-healthy, disease-fighting nutrients. These greens are a delicious source of calcium, magnesium, folic acid and vitamin K, important for bone health. These guys (when large and bunched, not baby) can have a real spicy kick! They are the spiciest greens we grow at Catena Farm. The leaves are large but tender so you can definitely eat them raw but if you want to soften the spice you can tone them down mixed with a complimentary dressing or cook them down a bit. Our fave combo is coconut curry with greens...

Salad Mix is a restaurant style mix. It has different textures and crunch and is slightly more bitter than your average leaf. We recommend using a sweeter dressing with this green. Something like a honey, balsamic mix is always nice.

Swiss chard is a member of the beet family and has a beautiful earthy flavour. It comes in a variety of colours; white to all the colours of the rainbow. Swiss chard is high in potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin B. We recommend cooking chard if you are including the stems since they can be very bitter but loose the bitterness during cooking. The leaves alone (stems removed) are fine eating raw.

Sorrel is a perennial herb and has a beautiful, tart lemon flavour. Red sorrel contains high amounts of vitamin C and several B vitamins, in addition to calcium, potassium, magnesium, and a small amount of phosphorus. We recommend eating baby sorrel raw and not cooking it but it can also be juiced and makes a wonderful addition to smoothies. Sorrel packs a punch of flavour and a little goes a long way. Add it to a salad along with other greens for a nice compliment.

Spinach is a member of the amaranth family, native to central and western Asia. Spinach has small-medium leaves with thick stems. It can be served raw in salads or lightly cooked. Spinach is chalk full of vitamin A, beta-carotene, iron, potassium, and calcium. Spinach freezes well and can be used in soups and stews all winter long!

Tatsoi is a member of the brassica family and is a semi-hardy Asian green. Tatsoi is a good source of vitamins A, C and K, folate, calcium and potassium. Tatsoi is a little thicker than spinach so it can withstand being thrown into soups or a stir-fry, but it’s also really tasty when eaten raw in a salad. Tatsoi freezes well and can be used in soups and stews all winter long! This is a great spinach substitute.

Vivid Choi Pac Choy has green leaves tinged with purple and with purple veins. This crunchy and succulent green has a flavour similar to pac choy but with more leaf and less stem. It is a good amount of nutrients and is low in calories.

Baby green storage: Our baby greens come in a compostable paper bag. We DO NOT recommend that you store them in this bag by itself. It is meant as a environmentally friendly method of transport. Keep baby greens in a mesh cotton bag, or paper towel, and then place inside a reused plastic bag, or container inside your fridge crisper. You can also leave the greens in the paper bag and put that bag in an airtight container or used plastic bag. They will keep for about 1-2 weeks.

Bunched green storage: Put dry, unwashed bunched greens in a mesh bag, or paper towel, and then place inside a bag, or container inside your fridge crisper. They should last for about two weeks.

To freeze: Wash and cut leaves to desired thickness. Blanch washed greens for 2-3 minutes. Rinse in cold ice water to stop the cooking process, drain, and pack into airtight containers.

Recipes:

Indonesian Gado Gado (Kale)

Kale and Fennel Citrus Salad (Kale)

Citrus Collard and Turnip Pasta (Collards)

Twice Cooked Chard (Swiss Chard)

Kale and Turnip Gratin (Kale)

Winter Squash Wheat Berry Salad (kale)

Chickpea Coconut Curry (Tatsoi or mizuna)

Pumpkin Spinach Curry (Spinach)

Kale and Fennel Citrus Salad (Kale)

Pasta +Tomato Fennel Confit + Whipped Feta (Arugula)

Creamy Kale and Squash Lasagna (Kale)