An Alameda Garden: Who Knew You Could Eat the Leaves Too?

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Who Knew You Could Eat the Leaves Too?

I love plants that offer a two-fer. Like Amaranth--you can eat the leaves and the grain. Beets--roast the roots and saute the greens. Or grapes--eat the fruit, roll the leaves up into dolmas, and by all means drink the wine!

And this morning while reading the SF Chron online, I learned about another horticultural two-fer: fava beans. Not only are they great for the soil because they put nitrogen back into it, but it turns out you can eat both the beans and the greens. In fact, the greens are turning out to be one of the latest culinary trends in Bay Area restaurants. Move over, arugula!
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3 comments:

  1. Kathy3:19 PM

    Too cool! Of course, I didn't see this post until the day after I tore down my favas. But there's always next spring...

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  2. Yeah. They're nice. I pinch off the tips a few times to eat, seem to end up with bushy plants without affecting the bean production. I was never able to make pea shoots edible, but a bit of fava green mixed into things is nice. Haven't ever had them in a restaurant, though.

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  3. radish is another one of those: you can eat the root, the leaves and the immature seed pods. And the sprouts, of course.

    Recipe for Cream of Radish Leaf Soup on my blog at:
    http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/ldblog.php/2009/05/05/cream-of-radish-leaf-soup-and-homemade-farm-cheese/

    Love those multi-duty veg

    Sylvie
    http://www.LaughingDuckGardens.com/ldblog.php/

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