Grow Your Own
Cultivate fresh microgreens in your kitchen so you’ll actually use them
PARTNER CONTENT
Who hasn’t spent a small fortune on micro greens only to have them turn slimy in the fridge before you have a chance to cook with them? Packed with nutrients and flavor and surprisingly easy to incorporate into most recipes, microgreens—the shoots of salad greens (like chard, arugula, root vegetables, mustards and more) picked early, just after the first leaves develop—are worth keeping around. And growing your own zero-mile food right in your kitchen is suddenly a whole lot easier with a cabinet-style grower like the Viking Herb Grower.
Simply set the Herb Grower’s growing cycle for your particular plants, and you can turn seeds to harvest-ready herbs and greens in as little as seven days.
“With the food not having to travel from where it is grown to a store and then to your kitchen, you are reducing the environmental impact from its transportation,” says Allison Fey, showroom manager at Bath & Kitchen Showplace, where Viking Herb Growers are sold. “Reduced food waste is a big component here, too,” she adds. Not only are you reducing farming and transportation pollution, you’re also less likely to throw the microgreens out. Trim what you want to use, when you want to use it.
With less wasted food, the in-kitchen Herb Grower saves the planet and saves you money. “This would provide a long-term cost savings for home consumers, and could have a larger potential in the restaurant and hospitality industries,” Allison says.
Plus, here are some yummy ways to use microgreens, including a pasta recipe.
4 Ways to Garnish
On top of grilled salmon, try micro mustard greens, or a simple salad microgreen mix- As a garnish on avocado toast or crostini, add flavor with zesty microgreens like arugula or basil or dense micro shoots like pea or sunflower
- For pizzas, add some arugula microgreens during the last half of cooking for crunch, then sprinkle more on top right before serving
- Cocktail hour: Add micro thyme to a mezcal grapefruit Paloma or a cranberry cosmopolitan, or swirl micro mint swigs into a pomegranate gin spritzer
Pasta with Peas and Microgreens
Serves 4-6
1 pound pasta (orecchiette, shells, orzo or similar)
Salt
2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
1 4-oz-package of pancetta, cut into small pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups microgreens (pea, arugula and/or mixed greens or similar), divided
In a large pot, cook pasta in heavily salted water according to package directions. Drain and set aside pasta, reserving 3/4 to 1 cup of cooking water.
In a skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat, adding pancetta and cooking until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the peas and toss to coat, then add pasta, reserved pasta water, black pepper and most of the grated cheese (reserve 2-3 tablespoons for garnish). Cook until the sauce thickens, then add one cup of microgreens and toss over medium heat for 30 seconds more to wilt slightly.
Garnish each serving with extra cheese and several generous pinches of the remaining fresh microgreens.
Learn more: Contact The Bath & Kitchen Showplace.
