Micro herbs and leafy greens don’t get the love they deserve, in my opinion. After all, we come across them far more often than we realise.
The versatile superfoods can transform a dish and are packed with nutrition. Not only that, but they also provide an extra pop of flavour to soups, curries, risotto, pizzas, and more.
But I must confess, I have never gone out of my way to purchase micro herbs or leafy greens in my local shop. It tends to be whilst dining out that I enjoy them.
Unbeknown to me at the time, I have without a doubt enjoyed greens grown by Newburgh vertical farm Vertegrow at some point recently.
Why is that? Because they are distributed to various restaurants and wholesalers around the north-east and Scotland, such as zero-waste shop Bare and The Gaff.
Vertegrow
Vertegrow grows fresh, nutritious, flavourful, and healthy crops vertically and indoors, minimising energy and using harvested rainwater.
Examples of greens they produce include rocket, basil, pea shoots, and micro coriander.
Intrigued to not only sample the microgreens in a dish at home but also take a look at the business’ premises for myself, I secured a Vertegrow Too Good To Go bag the other week.
After following a short dirt track road, I spotted a large green shed – along with a member of the team who knew I was there for a bag from the get-go.
The pair of us made our way inside the vertical farm. The smell was incredible and like nothing I had come across before.
I thanked them for the bag and made my way home.
What I got my hands on…
Greens are never going to be heavy, so after I received the bag I had no idea how much or how little would be inside. Thankfully, it was a great amount.
There were seven packages in total, some carrying the same product. And yes for the purpose of this, I tried the items on their own and as a garnish.
Two of the containers were filled with vibrant micro-red amaranth, which was more purple in colour than it was red, but tasty nonetheless. As expected, it had an earthy flavour and a delicate texture.
It contrasted a fair bit with the rocket – my favourite out of the bunch. Rocket is always a winner for me when used as a garnish. Again, there were two containers containing this.
Slightly spicy and peppery, I sprinkled it lightly over my supper that evening, a chicken and vegetable stir fry. The pairing couldn’t have been better given that the stir fry itself was more on the mild side.
However, I also popped some of the garnish mix across the dish. This was the earthiest of the greens, in my opinion.
The remaining product was mint, which we decided to save for a later date – perhaps when a craving for a mojito or mint tea crops up.
According to my Too Good To Go app, the micro herbs and leafy greens had been reduced to £5 from £15. Therefore, the overall saving was £10.
Was it worth it?
The ethos of Vertegrow is fantastic and I would urge you to take a look at their social media pages or website if you aren’t yet familiar with the brand.
The collection was swift and the products still looked and tasted incredibly fresh. They without a doubt enhanced several of my family’s dishes after I secured the bag.
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