Update: Some of my non native English speaking readers have noted that potato greens are poisonous, and THEY ARE! Please do not cook the leaves of potato plants. The Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) plant is completely unrelated to the potato plant. More info here.

Did you know that sweet potato greens are edible?

Sweet potatoes grow as very creepy viney things and they were taking over our porch from their raised bed so today they got a haircut. With the spring greens gone due to heat, and the fall greens not yet large enough to eat,  sweet potato greens are an August treat.

Unfortunately the Internet is filled with recipes for sweet potato greens that yield chewy, stringy dishes (and must not have every been tested in Real Life.)

After much experimentation, we have decided the best way we like to prepare them is as follows:

1) Trim the leaves off the stock, and compost the stock unless you feel motivated to chop the stocks in very this slivers. (With high canning season upon us, I am not motivated to spend time on the stocks.)

2) Rinse them well and chop as you would any greens.

3) Saute onions and garlic in olive oil.

4) Toss in the greens and add a touch of balsamic and salt - cook these as you would spinach until they are soft.

This dish goes well with steaks, mexican soups, fish, and just about anything else. I like to add a fistfull of these greens to a squash and okra saute, and they do well in summer stews.

What not to do? Please avoid boiling the CR@!! out of them (and ruining their flavor and vitamin content) to tenderize the stocks, sauteeing large hunks of stocks which will be stringy, or adding too many spices to them. These babies have a slightly nutty, soft flavor that is worth experiencing.