Amaranth Leaves (aka Red Spinach)

[Steve Kroll]

Amaranth leaves, aka Red Spinach, aka African Spinach, aka Lin Choi. It seems to go by many names. I've never had it, but bought a HUGE bunch of it at the Farmers Market this morning.

Now what the heck do I do with it?

I'm thinking of a simple stir fry with olive oil and garlic, but if you've ever used it and have a favorite way to prepare it, please share...

 

[Snip 13]

I love amaranth! It's bloody delicious lol!
We call it morogo.
Either boil it with chopped onion and a bit of potato then mash with butter salt and pepper
or Fry an onion with some fresh chopped tomato and the amaranth. Season with salt, pepper and some paprika and a hint of chilli.
We often just eat it with pap. Make little balls of pap with your fingers and scoop up some of the morogo lol! Love it
You can use amaranth just as you would spinach, just not raw in salad the taste is too strong.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Excellent. Thank you Snip.

Always on the lookout for something new.

 

[Snip 13]

Pleasure! Hope you like it Always nice nice to find a new food!
We pick our morogo in the veld but I have started growing it in my garden.
We also use beetroot leaves as a spinach and cooked young healthy hubbard squash skins with potato and onion like we do the morogo

 

[DaveSoMD]

Wow, thanks Snip!! I have red amaranth growing all over my garden and I never knew what to do with it. Any other recipes????

 

[Snip 13]

Wow, thanks Snip!! I have red amaranth growing all over my garden and I never knew what to do with it. Any other recipes????

Pleasure is all mine Nice to hear about something I can help with!

1. Fry one large onion in a mix of light olive oil and butter till soft but not coloured, add one good teaspoon of curry paste (indian orange paste not green or red thai paste), cook for 2mins, add a big bunch of chopped amaranth and a handful of skinned unsalted peanuts. Cook till tender and stir in about 2 tbs of cream.

2. Saute amaranth with butter and garlic, add some cubes of feta cheese. Season with black pepper and salt if needed. Fill a few crepes with this mixture and pack into an oven proof dish, cover with a thick bechemel, top with grated cheese and grill till golden. Serve with fresh green salad.

3. Cook a large bunch of chopped amaranth with 1 potato and 1 onion chopped. Mash with a fork, season with aromat and cracked pepper and stir in a heaped tsp of peanut butter (this is a african traditional recipe)

4. Saute one large onion, one bunch of amaranth with one bunch of chopped
beetroot leaves in olive oil till tender. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne powder and a good squeeze of lemon juice. This dish is best served with grilled fish and fluffy rice.

 

[Snip 13]

5. Stir fry amaranth with julienned red bell peppers, carrot and finely sliced onion and ripe red firm tomatoes. Add some chopped spicy sausages, season well and serve with couscous or rice.

 

[DaveSoMD]

5. Stir fry amaranth with julienned red bell peppers, carrot and finely sliced onion and ripe red firm tomatoes. Add some chopped spicy sausages, season well and serve with couscous or rice.

Hmmmm I have green peppers and sweet peppers and tomatoes in the garden too... I think this may be dinner one night next week.

 

[Snip 13]

Hmmmm I have green peppers and sweet peppers and tomatoes in the garden too... I think this may be dinner one night next week.

You can add green pepper too, I just leave it out since I get terrible stomach ache from green peppers but not the red, yellow or orange.
I just look at a green pepper and bloat like a blimp
And try and go to an African restaurant, there is green pepper in bloody everything!

I am actually trying to grow a moringa tree now, we use the leaves for spinach too and it's a all round medicinal plant.
I'm going through a herb and edible weed phase at the moment (it's only lasted about 12 years so far) so let me go before I bore you to tears

 

[DaveSoMD]

I planted amaranth 5 or 6 years ago just because I thought it was a great looking plant. I have not had to plant it again, it keeps coming back every year on it's own.

 

[Snip 13]

I planted amaranth 5 or 6 years ago just because I thought it was a great looking plant. I have not had to plant it again, it keeps coming back every year on it's own.

Weeds are low maintenance
If you plant edible weeds you can just eat your garden clean!
Dandelion is another good weed you can add to foods and planting them under fruit trees will help the fruit ripen faster.
Nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible and the seeds taste like capers when pickled. Plus they look beautiful in the garden. Leaves are great in salad and the flowers too. Eating a fresh Nasturtium flowers or leaf every hour will help you recover from a cold and sooth a sore throat.
I'm starting to sound like GW now
No offense Weed

 

[DaveSoMD]

I have tried and tried but I cannot get nasturtiums to grow.

 

[Snip 13]

I have tried and tried but I cannot get nasturtiums to grow.

Try planting from seedlings instead of from seed. Nasturtium prefers a sunny position, sandy but well composted soil. Cultivate well and water every second day. They do go through growth stages and flourish in the colder months. They are good companion plants for tomatoes and cabbage.
If you over water they won't flower as much.
Once a nasturtium plant is settled in the soil it doesn't like being moved so leave the strong plants where they are once planted and they will grow well.

Rose scented geranium is another attractive plant that grows easily even from cuttings. Removing a stalk from the bottom of the plant that has a nodule on it just planted straight into the garden and kept moist will make new roots. I started with one geranium and made 15 plants from cuttings so far.
Rose scented geranium leaves can be made into a delicious tea and the leaves can be used to flavour cakes and desserts.