Leafy Greens

Want showstopping presentation? Make homemade dumpling wrappers to stuff with a filling of spinach, hearty tofu, vermicelli, and fruity Sichuan peppercorns.

These pillowy biscuits are stuffed with spinach and cheese, but they work equally well with any other vegetable you care to throw at them. Swap the spinach for up to a cup of roasted squash, charred poblanos, or other cooked vegetable, and sub the Gruyère with any other cheese you like (if you choose a more intense cheese like feta or blue cheese, use ¾ cup instead of the full cup). 

Cauliflower and cabbage meet up in this soufflelike casserole that's both warm and comforting while feeling light and virtuous.

Cooking cabbage wedges until very tender is one of the easiest, most delicious things we can think of. If the spiced tomato broth has reduced to the point where the pan starts getting dry and dark before the cabbage is ready, just add a splash of water to loosen it and keep going.

This super-flexible, all-purpose salad turns cabbage into luscious tangles of crisp leaves generously coated in a rich and bright dressing.

Precooked, compact, and way more flavorful than store-bought frozen spinach, these portioned greens are ready to be thrown into soups and stews straight from the freezer or thawed in the fridge and tossed into omelets and pastas. Even simple side dishes of garlicky greens become infinitely faster when virtually all the prep work is done ahead of time.

This vegetable fritter recipe calls for onions, cabbage, potato, and carrot, but you can use any combination of vegetables you have.

This isn’t your average Caesar salad. Here, the chicken gets smothered in Caesar dressing then roasts until the garlic, anchovies, and mustard become deeply caramelized and flavorful.

These turmeric-spiced pumpkin falafels come together in a food processor, then roast in the oven to golden-brown perfection. A punchy carrot slaw keeps things bright.

This turkey-based Sloppy Joe-inspired sauce uses carrots and deeply caramelized onions to add a bit of sweetness. Adding eggs and garlicky spinach turns it into a meal.

In this recipe, beets are cooked in two separate batches: One batch is used to make “beet water,” a kind of rich beet stock, and the other batch is cooked and grated. This two-step process gives the borscht its distinct taste and depth of flavor.

This reimagined chicken salad is lighter and leafier than your standard picnic lunch. Tender poached chicken, crisp greens, cukes, and scallions get tossed with a sesame dressing that takes its cues form gomae, a Japanese spinach salad.

Fresh salmon makes these ginger and scallion-laced burgers luscious and flavorful. Pile them high with peppery watercress, crunchy cucumber quick pickles, fragrant mint, and cilantro.

Tender lettuces get topped with juicy spiced chicken, ripe mangos, soft avocado, and cherry tomatoes. There's so much flavor and texture going on that there's barely a need for a dressing: just a hit of lime juice, salt, and EVOO, and dinner is done.

This is a light pasta dish, filled with ribbons of fresh chard and tossed with a little garlic-infused butter and balsamic vinegar.

This dish is all about assembly, not time at the stove. You’ll quickly sauté chickpeas and corn, then gather the supporting characters: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, feta, and lime.

This zesty dish sits between a stew and a soup and is flavored with garlic, cumin, chile flakes, and tons of fresh herbs. Serve it with rice or crusty bread for a hearty, comforting dinner.