Have you ever seen those delicate little green garnish on your plate at a fancy restaurant, and wondered how to bring that magic into your kitchen? We're about to dive into the wonderful world of microgreens and nature's confetti that's taking home cooking to the next level. As we embark on this journey, we will discover they are not just visual embellishments, but nutritional treasure troves, transforming the mundane everyday meal into a walking (or Instagram stalking) feast. It doesn't matter whether you're a curious home cook or a professional chef, these ingredients are about to be your new secret weapon.
What Makes Microgreens Special?
Before jumping into garnish and delicious recipes, let’s get a hang of what makes these mini greens so powerful. Microgreens are seedling vegetables, where the whole is harvested at the seedling stage - after the emergence of the first "true" leaves, that is, 7-14 days post germination. Although diminutive, studies by the USDA indicate that microgreens may carry up to 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts From spicy radish to nutty sunflower, these microgreens boast the flavor and are capable of livening up even the most neutral dish.
It is not only a process of emergence, the developing shoots are usually grown under a homogeneous, controlled environment, optimizing their nutrigenomics. Some of the more frequent ones are arugula, basil, beet, cilantro, and pea shoots, all of which can be incorporated into your food to provide its flavor profile and nutritional hit.
15 Delicious Ways to Use Microgreens
Breakfast Champions
1. Avocado Toast Makeover
Add a spoon of extra virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes on the side to season, which gives each piece from the avocado toast a good bite. In order to intensify the flavors even more, sprinkle a handful of microgreens for a green, peppery taste, which goes well with the avocado's creaminess. This mild addition not solely improves the taste, but also replenishes vitamins and antioxidants.
2. Power-Packed Smoothies
Combine banana, mango, coconut water, and pea shoot microgreens (microgreens with superpowers) for a cool and tropical sensation. Microgreens give a very mild earthy flavour and also another helping of vitamins, and so this smoothie is ideal to eat after training, as a post workout snack. In order to achieve a more homogenous texture, banana and mango are frozen in advance to achieve a chilled, creamy composition.
3. Gourmet Omelets
Fold tender microgreens into your omelet just before serving. To transport them, residual heat dries them, but at the same time, it does not alter their nutritional qualities so that every mouthful provides flavor and health as well. Add a dash of feta, or drizzle of balsamic glaze to give a sense of gourmet, and breakfast becomes a culinary experience.
Lunch & Dinner Stars
4. Elevated Salads and Bowls
Amplify the salad experience by combining colorful microgreens with common greens to reach a delicious climax. The magnificent palates of microgreens demonstrate that even just a little of this can be an indelible experience.
Just the Greens mix from Planted Detroit is a thoughtfully chosen mix of golden frill, grey dwarf pea shoots, Paris Island romaine, red Russian kale and ruby pak choy. This green mix is well matched with the Pearled Couscous Salad bowl which has a refreshing dress of Cindy's Kitchen Barcelona vinaigrette,
5. Sandwich and Wrap Transformations
Replace traditional lettuce with a handful of microgreens. Sunflower microgreens have a nutty crunch and corn shoots have a sugary character. The added height and texture make ordinary sandwiches extraordinary.
6. Pizza and Pasta Enhancement
Lightly sprinkle microgreens onto warm pizza or noodles immediately before serving. Using heat they briefly wilt but still retain crispness. Pasta with basil microgreens, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.
7. Taco Tuesday Upgrade
Super your tacos with hot microgreens instead of shredded lettuce. The intense flavors complement Mexican dishes perfectly. Cilantro microgreens, in particular, are ideal as they provide a strong but invigorating cilantro flavor that does not overwhelm the overall flavor.
Kitchen Creativity
8. Homemade Microgreen Pesto
Combine basil microgreens, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan into a supercharged pesto that will revolutionize your pasta. The concentrated flavor means you'll need less basil than traditional recipes, making it perfect for small-batch cooking.
9. Soup Garnishing
Float tender microgreens decorating cream soups, in order to achieve a gourmet restaurant ambiance. They add both visual appeal and textural contrast. It would be interesting to try meta-culinary modulations by adding carrot microgreens to carrot soup or by adding pea shoots to potato leek soup.
10. Stuffed Vegetables
Mix microgreens into your recipe of choice to provide nutritional and flavor nuance. Stuffed mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini boats, and microgreens lift the plate with a fresh flavor that elevates the whole dinner.
11. Grain Bowl Artistry
Wrap layer microgreens over hot grains to offer a temperature and texture contrast that transforms the mundane into amazing dishes from everyday bowls. The heat from the grains gradually thaws the greens and releases them into the food and their flavors which they transfer to the recipe.
Special Occasions
12. Cocktail Garnishes
Add visual flair to cocktails with carefully placed microgreens. They are strikingly nice when poured over clean drinks, for example, mixing gin and tonic or vodka soda. Herbs (e.g., basil or cilantro) can be further incorporated into the flavor profile to personalize the cocktail, for instance.
13. Brighten Your Dishes with Edible Flowers
Let us bring some beauty and taste to our food with Planted Detroit's Edible Flower mix for eating. Our mixes comprise vibrant types such as Viola, Snapdragon, Dianthus, Calendula, Bachelor Button and Begonia, which, when being added to our food, desserts and drinks, really add to the experience.
Cultivated indoors through the entire year without the use of herbicides or pesticides, our flowers are green, clean, and all ready to be used.
14. Gourmet Burger Builds
SurroundLayer microgreens with the look and feel of classic burger toppings that are real and high quality. Just put it all together with a different mix in mind that will have a layered flavor in every mouthful.
15. Party Platter Arrangements
Microgreens are a perfect way to add some color and sparkle to cheese boards and appetizers. They can also be deployed to fill the void for a presentation to add a visual augmentation with a textural one to the party.
Making it Practical
Storage Tips : For microgreens to last up to a week
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Store them unwashed in a container lined with paper towels.
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Keep in the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C)
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Wash just before use
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Avoid crushing or compressing.
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Check daily and remove any yellowing leaves.
Buying Guide
Look for:
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Bright, even coloring
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Clean, crisp stems
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No signs of wilting or yellowing
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Fresh, sweet aroma
Local Connection: Planted Detroit
At Planted Detroit we are happy to deliver sustainably produced microgreens throughout the year to our neighbors. Under our cutting-edge vertical farming system, we cultivate flavor, nutrition, and freshness in our microgreens in ways that are both consistently great and indoor-grown.
We are dedicated to local agriculture and that is why you can savor fresh, flavorful microgreens, all while helping to create a healthier, more sustainable future for our local community. Also, our unique techniques take up to 95% less water than conventional agriculture, so every mouthful is not only good for you, but also good for the environment.
Try it yourself— Detroit microgreens, fresh from Detroit, just for you.
Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs
Join our community of microgreen enthusiasts! Show us what you've been growing with #DetroitMicrogreens and tag @PlantedDetroit and maybe you'll be featured on our social channels. Together we can, by example, inspire people to take small steps of green living and work towards more sustainable local food production and agriculture.