Winter break in the Caribbean last year introduced me to leafy amaranth, a totally delicious cooked green.
The woman I bought it from (she had a small garden near our cottage in Dominica) called it spinach, but it's actually Amaranthus viridis, a leafy vegetable that's grown throughout the Caribbean and called callalo. It's a popular Asian vegetable, too.
I posted about it after returning -- it was such a remarkably tasty warm season spinach-like vegetable, I couldn't believe it wasn't more popular here in the Southeastern U.S. I tried to grow it this summer, but was thwarted by hungry critters, who yummed up the young seedlings. Presumably woodchucks or squirrels.
But I was noticing the volunteer plants in the Children's Garden that looked remarkably similar. They're Celosia, a large-plumed variety that's self-seeded abundantly for the last couple of years.
And sure enough, they're a relative of amaranth (in the same family), and have been used in a similar way in parts of Africa, and elsewhere, too.
Interesting! I'll have to harvest some young plants tomorrow for a second trial.
The older larger leaves that I cooked as a trial for lunch today were good, but it was hard to evaluate their taste, as I'd stir-fried them in sesame oil! They were quite tender, though, so promising.
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| Red amaranth (from Evergreen Seeds) |
I posted about it after returning -- it was such a remarkably tasty warm season spinach-like vegetable, I couldn't believe it wasn't more popular here in the Southeastern U.S. I tried to grow it this summer, but was thwarted by hungry critters, who yummed up the young seedlings. Presumably woodchucks or squirrels.
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| Celosia argentea |
And sure enough, they're a relative of amaranth (in the same family), and have been used in a similar way in parts of Africa, and elsewhere, too.
Interesting! I'll have to harvest some young plants tomorrow for a second trial.
The older larger leaves that I cooked as a trial for lunch today were good, but it was hard to evaluate their taste, as I'd stir-fried them in sesame oil! They were quite tender, though, so promising.