By: Esther Vasa
This is the very first time I tasted YAM GREENS. Will be surely using them regularly going forward. Be careful to pick greens that are edible as some potato greens aren't edible. To be on the safe side, get them from farmer's market or grocery stores. These greens are mostly found in Asian markets. It is popular in Africa too.
Yam Greens or Sweet potato greens are mildly flavored leaves and they look like pipal leaves, in my opinion. For the salad, you would need to tear each leaf in half, right along the midrib for them to be bite-sized. Make sure you remove the petioles or the little stems that extend from the leaf. The greens are a good source of vitamin K, vitamin A, and folate.
Ingredients:
For Salad
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| Yam Greens Separated from Stems |
Yam Greens - 1/2 bunch (see picture on the right) or you could use spinach if you can't get yam greens
Iceberg Lettuce or any lettuce - tear up the leaves (about 2 handfuls)
Carrot - 1
Dulse - Pick with five fingers and tear it into desired size
Pine nuts or crushed walnuts - 2 tbsp
Juice of half a lemon
For Balsamic Vinaigrette:
Balsamic Vinegar (white or regular) - 1/4th cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4th cup
Juice of half a lemon
Garlic Clove - 1 (crushed) or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Yellow Mustard - 1 tsp (optional)
Dried Basil - 1/2 tsp or you could use any herbs you prefer
Black Pepper to taste
Himalayan Salt to taste
Preparation:
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| Garden Salad with Yam Greens and Dulse |
- Firstly, in a mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients listed for Balsamic Vinaigrette.
- In a separate bowl, soak dulse in the juice of half a lemon for about 15-20 minutes. This soak process takes away the fishy smell if you can't take it.
- Next, we move onto putting together the salad. Separate the leaves from the stems of the Yam Greens bunch. You can see a picture of that right next to the ingredient list. Place the leaves in a salad bowl. You can use the stems for stir fries or simply juice them.
- Grate or spiralize the carrot. I ran it through the spiralizer. Add it to the yam greens in the salad bowl.
- Prepare the lettuce leaves and put them in the salad bowl.
- Add the soaked dulse strips to the salad bowl as well.
- Finally, pour the vinaigrette over the contents in the salad bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Transfer into a serving platter and top it off with any nuts or seeds of your choice. Enjoy right away!
