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looks like Spinach to me

Lightly boil it I think ???? as i dont grow it / like it

I think its chard which you can cook as Spinach.

thanks,the seed packet said it was spinach but my girlfriends dad said it was chard!

It looks to me like perpetual spinach, also known as spinach beet, also known as leaf beet. It's related to chard and spinach, but, unlike spinach, won't run quickly to seed in hot weather. Recipes for chard leaves should suit it well and it works well with onion and spices - Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. You can also boil or steam it and serve with butter, as a side vegetable, but perhaps that's a little dull.  :)

If you pick a few of the larger leaves on a regular basis, it will keep growing back, possibly offering a few pickings over the winter, before running to seed in its second year. 

All in all, a useful veg, but not very exciting!

:)

Such a very useful vegetable: try saag aloo, eggs florentine, spinach quiche to name just a few.  Just waiting for enough to try making spanakopita

My husband likes it this way -

Fry an onion in olive oil, add garlic if you like it.  Wash the leaves, chop them up and put into the onion pan.  Lower the heat and put a lid on the pan.  Check every few minutes to see if it is cooked.  Oh yes, add salt and pepper if you need to.

Yes, these ideas sound great. Perpetual spinach has the advantage over spinach that it doesn't turn watery when cooked, so performs better in some dishes.

Happy cooking!  :)

Had some in a stir fry lunchtime.chopped the stems in first and threw the leaves in at the end YUM

And even when it starts going to seed, it makes lots of tiny leaves, and if you pick them young they make nice salads

well I like it - but I seem to remember from our veg-we-hate thread that some people find it tastes like soil!  ;D

Lots of supermarkets sell dried seaweed, but if you look at the ingredients on the packaging it is spring greens. Spinach , spring cabbage and chard work really well. put leaves in blender to cut them really fine. add chillies and oil or cook in chilli oil , fry until crisp. Remove from frying pan to drain on kitchen paper and add raw prawns to the oil left in the pan cook for 30 seconds and add to the fried greens, Delicious.     

thanks everyone

Quote from: pigeonseed on June 22, 2010, 22:29:39


well I like it - but I seem to remember from our veg-we-hate thread that some people find it tastes like soil!  ;D

Oh & I love the stuff. The tougher outer leaves do taste somewhat 'Earthy' in the winter. Pick the younger leaves which are fine. It stands up to cold weather so is a good standby veg. & steam it - don't boil!

Looks like perpetual spinach. Just keep picking young leaves - they'll keep coming

Wash, shake off excess water, put in pan withknob of butter and let it wilt down over a low heat - about 2/3 mins. grate some nutmeg over it & serve with a poached egg on top. Delicious!

can it be picked and then frozen for later usage?

Yes but it doesn't store for more than about three months... plenty of time for new plants to grow...  :)