Move over kale, there's a new veg in town

Kale's days as the trendiest vegetable may be over. Photo / Michael Craig

First came kale, championed by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and used in everything from smoothies to crisps.

And while the trend for eating your greens shows no signs of slowing, supermarkets' latest offerings might raise a few eyebrows.

Waitrose in the United Kingdom is to start selling fresh seaweed, gathered from the sea off the coast of Cornwall, on its fish counters.

Meanwhile Asda is to stock bags of broccoli leaves - which would normally be thrown away. The chain says selling the "delicious" greens will help eliminate 4,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The Kombu variety of seaweed to be stocked in Waitrose is harvested by a small supplier called The Cornish Seaweed Company. It normally provides the leaves to top restaurants, but shoppers will now be able to try cooking with them at home.

Kombu can be deep-fried to create a crispy garnish or wrapped around fish. It can also be added to stocks and soups as it creates what is known as an "umami" flavour - a savoury taste popular in Japanese dishes.

Waitrose Product Developer, Simona Cohen Vida, said: "Seaweed is one of this year's biggest trends in veg which we're seeing on the menus of some of London' s top and most creative restaurants.

"Our customers like to experiment in the kitchen, so we predict that seaweed will be top of the shopping list this spring."