Recipes: Armaranth Greens Chips

Beautiful Red Amaranth Greens!

The other day after teaching a class at Sports Basement in the Presidio, I walked towards home along the marina- so beautiful! Then I saw the Fort Mason Farmers Market, which I had never been to, and a bundle of these beautiful 'greens' on a table next to kale and chards. I had no idea what they were, so asked and was told they were Amaranth greens: too cool! I love amaranth seeds (the 'grain') as a hot cereal in the mornings with a little ground flax and was so excited to see the other parts of the plant. I bought the bunch and joyfully brought it home. I made a beautiful soba noodle pasta with it first, then I used the rest for these most delicious chips. If you take the time to make them right, they really do become crunchy- just like chips but much better for you! Like all bitter greens, it's excellent for cleansing excess pitta or excess heat in the body and can be useful if you find yourself congested as it also alleviates excess kapha. In terms of western nutrition, you can find high levels of Vitamins A & C, calcium, iron, niacin, zinc and folic acid. If you're not sure you're ready to try something new, think of it like spinach; it's very similar. *The amaranth season is very short, so I recommend getting to a Farmers Market asap and looking for some to use tonight! :)

AMARANTH GREENS CHIPS (also works for kale and chard, any bitter green)

amaranth greens, just the leaves, stalks removed

olive oil 

good quality salt (pink, black or good sea)

Preheat oven to 375. On a large baking pan, drizzle olive oil. Rub/toss greens so that they have a very light coating of oil on either sides. Lie out each green flat on the pan. Sprinkle a very small amount of salt on top. Bake for 7 minutes or until desired cripy-ness is reached. Beware: these go from perfect to burnt in the blink of an eye, so check them often! 

• Vata: Bake as above, then crumble and sprinkle on a vata-pacifying soup. 
• Pitta: Use minimal amounts of salt. Even better, use a combination of coriander, fennel and cumin powders with a little black Salt. Black salt does not aggravate pitta. You can find it at Indian stores by the name Sindav Salt. (btw, it's not actually black)
• Kapha: Use minimal amounts of salt. Can sprinkle with dry ginger, black pepper too. 

the finished product, yum!!