At this time of year, most of us don't expect to see even a hint of green poking through the icy ground or from beneath a blanket of snow. But you can put a touch of green — winter greens, that is — on your menu for a seasonal promotion that will have your cash register seeing green as well.

These leafy greens are versatile, easy to prepare, inexpensive and widely available throughout most of the year, but they are an especially good menu addition in the wintertime.

Turn over a new leaf

Leafy green vegetables are sometimes called winter greens because of their viability in cold-weather climates. Botanically speaking, they are a mixed bag of cabbages, turnips, mustards and lettuces. Although Southern cooks have used verdant leafy greens for generations, the rest of the country is finally catching on. From red chard, kale and dandelion greens to beet greens, broccoli rabe and collards, a plethora of hardy greens is gracing the nation's tables and perking up winter menus.

Unlike the delicate leaf lettuces found in salad bowls, this broad family of greens can be braised, steamed, simmered, sauteed or stewed. Whether served on the side or as a bed for an entree, winter greens work well with grilled or roasted chicken, strongly flavored fish, barbecued steaks and ribs, and vegetable medleys. Greens also enliven soups, pilafs, grain dishes, sauces and one-pot meals.

Leafy greens tend to be sturdy, crunchy and often have large leaves that require cooking prior to eating (although young, tender leaves can be added raw to salads). Some greens are the edible tops of root vegetables (turnip greens and beet greens); others grow in stalklike or tightly furled bunches (red and green chard, kale, and bok choy); still others are feathery and fernlike (dandelion greens and mizuna).

Perhaps the best known and most versatile leafy vegetable is spinach. When used raw, the dark-green crisp leaves add color and taste to mixed-green salads. Once cooked down to a wilted state through braising or sauteing, spinach becomes concentrated in flavor and loses much of its bulk. When properly seasoned, wilted spinach makes an appealing side dish, soup staple or nice bed for vegetarian dishes. Spinach enriches the taste of arroz verde (a Southwestern rice entree), vegetarian lasagna, omelets and poultry stuffing. It adds kick to lentil stews, pasta and chickpea dishes, and even pizza.

Chefs trying to include more healthful dishes in their repertoire will appreciate the nutritious aspects of leafy greens, such as spinach. These winter greens are loaded with vitamins A and C, beta carotene, antioxidants and iron. They are also naturally low in fat, calories and salt, and are cholesterol-free. Nutritionists frequently trumpet the heart-smart virtues of these greens, and operators can do so as well on their menus.

A braisen approach

Before cooking leafy greens, pluck out any wilted or discolored leaves and remove the thick fibrous stems. Place the greens in a colander and immerse in cold bath water (in a vegetable sink or a large bowl). Swish the greens around a bit and let sit for a few minutes, to allow sand and other debris to drift to the bottom. Drain the colander and shake off any excess liquid. After cleaning, greens can be coarsely chopped or cut into ribbonlike strips, called chiffonade by the French.

Braising — quickly cooking the greens in a small amount of liquid — is one of the simplest methods of preparing winter greens. The braising method wilts and tenderizes the greens without diluting essential flavors. A range of ingredients such as garlic, onions, white beans, chili peppers, chorizo (or other sausage), tomatoes and balsamic vinegar can be added to braised greens. Spritzing the braised greens with fresh lemon brings out the vegetables' mustardy flavor, while a pinch of salt at the finish brightens their green hue. These leafy greens can also be quickly steamed or blanched, like other green vegetables.

Although braised greens may be the quintessential side dish, in today's enlightened kitchens leafy-green cookery ventures well beyond traditional preparation methods. Winter greens are great fodder for soups, for instance. Kale, spinach, chard and bok choy add contrasting colors and flavors to soups such as black bean and chicken, minestrone, potato chowder, curried bisques, Provencal soupe au pistou, and other hearty tureens. Simply chop up the greens and then stir them into the pot about 10 to 15 minutes before the soup has finished simmering. Most greens — especially collards — hold up well in slow-cooked soups.

Leafy greens can also be sprinkled into pilafs, risottos, stews and one-pot grain dishes. Coarsely chop the greens and stir them into the pan when the dish has only 10 to 15 minutes more to cook. Add character to red sauces for pasta, lasagna, pasta primavera, stir-frys and saute dishes with winter greens, or consider shredding and stuffing greens into calzones, quiches, pot pies and savory turnovers.

Global greens

Greens have long played a prominent role in the world's cuisine. In Italian cooking, for example, escarole is a cherished vegetable. The vegetable is often braised with a little garlic, wine and olive oil, or added to robust soups and pasta dishes. The wide, furled leaves look vaguely like iceberg lettuce and have a mildly bitter flavor.

Rapini, or broccoli rabe, is another traditional Italian green that has come into vogue. The vegetable is related to broccoli and looks like a bouquet of turniplike leafy greens with miniature broccoli florets. This green has an assertive mustard flavor that comes close to tasting bitter. But when sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and served with creamy risotto, seafood alfredo or herb-roasted chicken, rapini adds just the right flavor. The sharpness of rapini is complemented by sharp cheeses such as Pecorino Romano and well-aged Parmesan.

Although kale has been widely appreciated by chefs throughout the world, it has been largely overlooked by American chefs. Too often in American cooking kale is given the role of a generic garnish, yet in other cultures the crinkly, olive-green leaves inspire classic meals. For example, Kale is used in caldo verde, a Portuguese soup of potatoes, greens, and white beans, and in Brazil, kale is braised and served with a smoky black-bean stew called feijoada. Kale can jazz up soups, stews, stir-frys, and pasta and rice dishes. Braised kale is a good accompaniment to grilled meats, roasted poultry and fish entrees. It is usually inexpensive and available year-round.

Red Russian kale has flat, purplish-green leaves shaped like overgrown oak leaves. Although red Russian kale has limited availability, it is worth the hunt to find it because Russian kale charges up soups, stews and one-pot dishes, and blends well with other greens.

Russian kale should not be confused with salad savoy — a kale impostor. Also called flowering kale or purple kale, salad savoy comes in tightly bunched heads (not loose bunches like kale) and is better suited for an ornamental garden than a kitchen. Although the leaves are beautifully colored in shades of white, green, purple and magenta, the flavor of the leaves is too bitter and the texture is too coarse for eating.

Chard is actually a beet variety that is prized for its succulent leafy tops. There are two kinds of chard-red and green. Red chard has beet-red veins running throughout the leaf, while green chard has white veins. Chard's crunchy texture and mild mustard flavor make it a versatile addition to soups and saute dishes. Chard is also called Swiss chard. Beet greens — the leafy tops of beet roots — are similar to red chard in appearance, have a slight mustardy, radishlike flavor and can be used like chard.

Frisee, also called French chicory, is a delicate, mildly flavored leaf with narrow, jagged leaves and a feathery texture. This green has a faintly bitter taste and is sometimes confused with Japanese mizuna. Frisee tastes best when served as a warm salad with white beans, caramelized onions and radicchio, and then drizzled with a vinaigrette. Frisee can also be braised and served as a side dish to a hearty cassoulet or legume stew.

Mizuna is growing in popularity and availability. The narrow, fernlike Japanese mustard green has a flavor like arugula and can be braised, steamed or eaten raw. Along with mizuna, there are a variety of Asian greens finding their way onto American menus.

Bok choy is one of the most popular Asian greens. It has floppy dark-green leaves with wide white stems and a mild cabbage flavor. Bok choy is typically cut into ribbonlike strips before cooking. Two similar greens, tat soi and pak choi, are making appearances on trendy menus. These greens-also called baby bok choy-are smaller bunches of tender leaves that can be found in Asian grocery stores or specialty-produce markets.

Another Asian staple, Chinese cabbage (also called napa), has large, tightly furled, crinkled leaves with a pale-green to white hue. Chinese cabbage is milder and thinner than the green cabbage of cole-slaw fame. It is best to shred or cut the cabbage into ribbons before adding to stir-frys, soups or salads.

Collard cuisine

In America, the South is at the epicenter of greens cuisine. Collards are perhaps the most famous Southern green, with their large, deep-green flat leaves that have a sturdy texture and an oblong shape.

Like most greens, collards should be cut into thin ribbons before braising, boiling or adding to long-simmering soups and stews. Collards must cook at least 20 minutes or more before becoming tender. Collard-greens soup, a Southern classic, is a mixture of onions, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and other herbs, and chicken stock.

Two other Southern staples, frilly mustard greens and fibrous turnip greens, make flavorful staples for soups and stews. They have earthy, sharp mustardy flavors and bitter nuances. Dandelion greens are also a Southern favorite and have a feathery texture and a less bitter flavor. For most cooking, those greens are interchangeable.

In fact, one of the beauties of greens cookery is that most of the vegetables can be substituted for one another or combined, allowing for a lot of culinary creativity. For example, mildly flavored chard can be blended with kale and turnip greens in soups or sautes; bok choy mixes well with Chinese cabbage and mizuna; the strong flavor of broccoli rabe can be toned down by adding red Russian kale or red chard. This mixing and matching brings out winter greens' well-rounded flavors and textures to offer some exciting possibilities for cold-weather menu promotions.

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