Basic Greens Cooking Instructions
One bunch of Greens chopped – use Kale, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens or whatever you can find at this time of the year. (A bunch should be about three-fourths of a pound after removing the toughest stems.) Boil 2 cups water in a large skillet with tight-fitting lid. Add the Kale and a bit of salt. Boil over high heat for 4 or 5 minutes. Drain.
(Boiling quickly like this stabilizes enzymes in the greens preserving the most nutrients. We have all been taught that steaming is the best way to preserve nutrients, but it also preserves the bitterness inherent in many greens. The quick boil method preserves most of the nutrients and allows you to pour off the bitterness.)
These cooked greens are now the base for any number of recipes:
- Drizzle cooked greens with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Use as a bed for grilled fish or chicken
- Drizzle with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.
- Saute garlic in olive oil and add the greens.
- Saute garlic in olive oil, add raisins and saute for a minute, then add the greens and finally garnish with roasted pine nuts, or walnuts.
Oh, there is always soup! Greens and especially kale go very well with potatoes. And what a nice comfort food for these last weeks of winter!
Potato Kale or Greens Soup
Saute some onions in the bottom of your soup pot (use butter and olive oil together). Add quart of water or more, 4 cubed potatoes, some fresh minced parsley-or dried, some carrots, celery stalks, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Then add the kale or greens you cooked above. You can remove the bay leaves and celery if you like. You can also puree some of the soup and add back to the pot.
–Hattie Allen