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Dishing Up: Potato Salad with Sunflower Greens

Upgrde your potato salad with sunflower greens!

Potato salad with sunflower greens.

It’s a little odd don’t ya think?

I mean, it’s almost the end of May I haven’t even mentioned…FARMERS MARKET!!!

Well, okay. I have to admit I’ve been a little lax on my farmers market visitations so far this season. But hey, it’s just the beginning right? I’ve got time – there are many months ahead of farmers market strolling.

So with that being said – have you ever heard of sunflower greens? Yes, that’s right – I said sunflower greens not sunflower seeds. Have you ever heard of them? No? Yeah, well me neither! So you know of course I had to have them.

Okay, so what are sunflower greens anyway? Well, they are a type of microgreen. So what the heck is a microgreen you ask? Well, they’re sort of what they sound like – they’re tiny, delicate young greens. They add color and texture to dishes as well as a pop of flavor. They sort of look like bean sprouts but they’re not. And you know what – that’s important. Why? Well sprouts sort of have a bad rap because they have a higher risk of carrying a foodborne illnesses due to their growing conditions. Now, don’t get me wrong, any type of produce can harbor bacteria, so it’s important to wash and dry all produce before consuming.

Anyway – back to microgreens and in particular sunflower greens. These greens are harvested before they grow into full-grown sunflowers. Both the stem and leaves are edible and have a slightly nutty flavor. And you’ll want to eat them raw because they’re so delicate. Hmm, I know, the big question ” is what do I do with microgreens?” Yeah, well that’s a good question. You can add them to sandwiches, use as a garnish or, the most obvious, make a microgreen salad. What did I do with my sunflower greens? I used them to upgrade a mayo-free potato salad. Here I used teeny potatoes to make this potato salad but you can use any size you like. Oh and can’t find sunflower greens? No worries, any microgreen will do.

Oh and the other “big question” just how nutritious are they? You might think because they are harvested young, they may not have developed their full nutrition potential right? (Okay, maybe you hadn’t thought about that but I did!). Well guess what? Research indicates that microgreens contain four to forty times as much nutrients than the mature greens. Now that’s a lot of nutrition!

Have you tired sunflower greens or any other type of microgreen?

Microgreens Potato Salad

This potato salad is a great addition to any party or picnic. It's olive oil-based so you don't need to worry about it spoiling.

Servings 4 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the salad base:

1 lb mini potatoes (can use any small potatoes)
5 oz microgreens (any kind)
1 green onion sliced thin

For the dressing:

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a bowl, drizzle potatoes with olive oil to coat lightly and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheets. Once oven is preheated, put potatoes in oven and roast for about 15 minutes. Timing may differ depending on size of potatoes. You want them to be crispy on the outside and tender. When the potatoes are cooked, set aside to cool. Meanwhile, mix dressing ingredients together in small bowl. Once potatoes have cooled a bit, place in large bowl with green onion and microgreens. Drizzle dressing over and stir to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.