Surprising greens for summer salads - includes recipe for Summer Greens Salad by Linda Lau Anusasananan

Sunset, Spring-Summer, 1996 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

These tasty greens thrive in hot weather

Succulent leafy greens needn't vanish from the vegetable garden with the onset of warm weather. A number of unexpected greens that thrive in summer heat make delicious additions to salads and cooked dishes.

The different greens described here vary substantially in flavor and texture, and not all of them appeal to every taste. The young leaves of all the greens we list can be used in salads. The mature leaves of amaranth, chard, orach, and perpetual spinach taste best when cooked. Certain greens, particularly Malabar climbing spinach, win rave reviews from cooks. Experiment, using different greens in different ways, until you find the ones that you like best.

Order seeds as soon as possible for planting after the last hard frost in your area; seed sources are listed on page 96.

SPINACH SUBSTITUTES

The toughest, most heat-tolerant of the group are amaranth, Malabar climbing spinach, and New Zealand spinach. They are often sold in catalogs as warm-season substitutes for spinach, and can be used wilted, to replace other greens in recipes and in stir-fries, or fresh in salads.

Amaranth may be familiar to some gardeners as a 3-foot-tall ornamental plant, but it is also a tasty green. Leaves may be brilliant scarlet, plain green, or mottled red, green, and yellow. Choose leaf varieties, not grain-producing types. Harvest leaves before plants flower.

Cooked amaranth is less watery and more flavorful than spinach, although not as smooth. Tender young leaves add a colorful touch to salads.

Malabar climbing spinach is a fast-growing vine that can be trained on a trellis or fence. Fresh leaves are succulent and mild. As wilted greens, they are somewhat slippery like okra, but they give good flavor and body to soups.

New Zealand spinach is a spreading plant that grows 6 to 8 inches tall. In mild-winter climates, it's perennial. Pluck off the top 3 inches of tender stems and leaves. Raw leaves are mild, slightly salty, succulent, and fleshy. Cooked, they taste like spinach.

Orach (also sold as mountain spinach) grows 3 feet tall if leaves are pinched off regularly; otherwise, it can reach up to 9 feet. Red- or green-leaf types are available. Leaves are smaller when orach is grown in summer rather than in spring or fall. The young, tender leaves can be eaten raw in salads. Cooked orach tastes like spinach.

GREENS YOU CAN GROW ALMOST YEAR-ROUND

Chard and perpetual spinach are commonly thought of as cool-season greens, but they thrive during the summer in most areas (except the deserts), and are less likely than regular spinach to bolt (go to seed). Harvest outer leaves; new leaves grow from the center. 'Rhubarb' ('Ruby Red') chard has red stems. Perpetual spinach, a type of chard, has smaller ribs than other types of chard. Use them in soups, stir-fries, and lasagna, or as bundle wrappers.

Mache (often sold as corn salad) is a small-leafed green that's popular in France for its mild nutty flavor in salads. It's often grown in the cool season, but does well in summer if seeds are sown before soil temperatures go above 65 [degrees]. Choose either 'A Grosse Graine' or 'Piedmont', large-seeded types that tolerate heat better than the small-seeded kinds. Harvest individual leaves, or cut the head 1 inch above ground (it will resprout).

Nasturtium is often grown just for its blooms, but both the leaves and the flowers can be used in flavorful appetizers and make tasty additions to salads. Mix the peppery leaves and flowers with mild greens for interesting flavor contrasts. You can buy seeds of mixed flower colors, individual colors (apricot, cherry, mahogany, gold, yellow, and red), and one with variegated leaves ('Alaska').

Summer lettuce is best grown by broadcasting seeds and then harvesting at the baby stage. When kept evenly moist and harvested very early, lettuce won't turn bitter - as it is likely to do if left to mature. Mix seed with sand so you can broadcast it evenly and not too thickly. As plants grow, thin some seedlings and use them in salads. Harvest when leaves are 3 to 4 inches long.

GROWING TIPS

Start seeds of all but the lettuce and nasturtiums in containers, or sow all seeds directly in prepared garden soil. Once seedlings are established, mulch the soil to conserve water. Water regularly to keep the soil moist, and feed plants once every week or so with fish emulsion or other fertilizer, following label directions.

Train Malabar climbing spinach on a trellis.

Begin harvesting summer greens when plants can yield enough for a meal. Pick amaranth and orach regularly to control growth.

RELATED ARTICLE: FROM GARDEN TO KITCHEN

Summer Greens Salad

* 3 quarts (3/4 to 1 lb.) bite-size pieces baby leaf lettuce, New Zealand spinach, Malabar climbing spinach, nasturtium leaves, small tender orach, perpetual spinach, or 'Rhubarb' chard leaves (use 1 kind or a mixture), rinsed and crisped

* Mustard-tarragon vinaigrette (recipe follows)

* Salt and pepper

* Nasturtium flowers (optional)

In a large bowl, combine greens and vinaigrette; mix, and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with flowers. Makes 6 to 8 servings.