Sweet Potato Greens

Fresh sweet potato greens

Until we got sweet potato greens in our farm basket last week, I had not even considered whether or not they were edible. My loss it turns out, because they are delicious! A quick google search turned up this great recipe which we followed fairly closely.

We didn't eat the stems this time, mostly because the process of making this moved along so quickly. Next time, we'll include them.

Sweet Potato Greens

from The Bitten Word

Ingredients:
1 large bunch sweet potato greens (about half a pound)
1/3 large white onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 Tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:
Remove sweet potato leaves from stems and set aside. Remove smaller stems from the larger, tougher stems. Discard the larger stems and roughly chop the smaller stems.

Heat olive oil in medium-sized pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté until just softened, about 3-5 minutes.

Add stem pieces and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and maple syrup. Sauté until leaves are wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Serve.

The finished product - yum!

Compared with other greens, sweet potato greens are closer in texture to spinach than they are to kale or chard. No need to strip the center veins to cook them longer. They really do wilt in just a few minutes. The difference between these greens and spinach is they are a lot sweeter. It just takes a little touch of maple syrup to accent that characteristic.