GREENS!

[I_call_the_duck]

Mainly stir-fried. Growing up in a Chinese household, I love my veggies crispy. Favorite methods of preparation:

Broccoli is blanched then stir-fried with garlic, oyster sauce and a bit of sesame oil. I do this with (wilted) bok choy, collard greens, and Chinese broccoli as well.

I never could understand why broccoli crowns were sold separately and snatched up since the stalks are what really makes the vegetable...  The crowns are sort of the chicken breast of the plant while stalks are the thighs.

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Pontormo, my dad used to throw out the broccoli crowns. I was in college by the time I realized that you could eat them.

Spinach is wilted, and I add fu yee (fermented tofu), sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar. I also do this with blanched string beans. My fav.

Cauliflower gets a brown bean sauce. Also good on long beans.

Cabbage is sauteed with dried baby shrimp. Works well with green squash too.

When my lettuce is wilted, I boil it, and add either soy sauce and sesame oil, or the fu yee combo that I use on spinach.

When I'm not cooking greens Chinese-style, it's usually spinach or broccoli that is sauteed with garlic and EVOO. Squash gets sauteed with onions and EVOO,and a bit of butter is added at the end for more flavor.

[purplewiz]

Kale with garlic, sundried tomatoes, chicken stock, and feta cheese. This is what convinced my husband that greens could indeed be good.

Swiss Chard gratin. Stems cooked a little longer than leaves, drained, a little cream, some parmesan. Eat it just that way, or stick it all in a dish, top with a little more parmesan, and broil if you want to gild the lily.

Marcia.

[Carrot Top]

Wilted baby spinach salad with thick chunky bacon bits, softened red onions, and quickly browned sliced portobellos in a deglazed pan raspberry vinaigrette.

Sigh.

[annachan]

Wilted baby spinach salad with thick chunky bacon bits, softened red onions, and quickly browned sliced portobellos in a deglazed pan raspberry vinaigrette.

Sigh.

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yummmmmm........I wouldn't mind topping that with a soft poached egg

[dknywbg]

I'm a huge fan of kale braised with lots of garlic, or tossing handfuls of greens into a soup at the very end--just did this last night with some leftover (uncooked) escarole, which went into a farro & white bean soup.

That escarole was extra from this dish, braised escarole and white beans:

It's in Molly Stevens' All About Braising. Fabulous cookbook. More details, including the recipe, on my blog if you're curious.

[annecros]

Wow, how did I miss this thread?

Lot's of great tips here I'll have to try. I loves me some greens, folks! They got everything a body needs - vitamins, minerals, fibre, add some fat and protein and a slice of cornbread and you got it all in one bowl!

I love all the southern style greens, cooked southern style with hocks or side meat, in all the combinations - turnips and mustard, collards, straight up turnips or mustard, cabbage, etc. but I do like to get quirky with my greens too.

Spinach is sometimes creamed, but my favorite is in a saute. Dice bacon, brown it off with some onion, toss in the spinach at the end, wilt it down and let the edges brown, and dress with lots of craked black pepper and maybe half a tablespoon of butter, maybe a dash or two of vinegar if I am feeling spunky. Yum. Mustard greens, Chard and Kale can work for this as well. I think I have tried them all this way, but the spinach works so well.

Deep fried cabbage. Shredded cabbage, egg batter, deep fried with salt and pepper. I've shredded this really fine, used two fryer baskets to mold it, and made little "nests" for braised pork or pork tenderloin.

Can't always find them, but young rhutabagas with the greens on top are fantastic prepared southern style, just like turnips, with the roots cut in at the end.

Rapini sauted in olive oil and garlic, shoved into a crusty hard roll, with a grilled sweet Italian sausage plopped on top. We do the same with kraut (brown some chopped bacon and add kraut) and grilled brats, with the addition of a good coarse mustard and boiled potatoes on the side. Even better with my sister's collard kraut. She makes it by the (brand new) garbage can full!

Yep, I loves me some greens.

[Copsey]

Made a lovely soup last night from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Year. Liquidize some chicken stock with cooked chestnuts until it is slightly thick, simmer some shredded kale/cabbage in this, add some coarsely chopped chestnuts and fried bits of bacon. The chestnut flavour is delicious.

[vkn]

Made a lovely soup last night from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Year. Liquidize some chicken stock with cooked chestnuts until it is slightly thick, simmer some shredded kale/cabbage in this, add some coarsely chopped chestnuts and fried bits of bacon. The chestnut flavour is delicious.

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Copsey - thank you very much for this delightful soup recipe. I recently started loving chestnuts and trying it in different forms. A must try.

[Copsey]

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[Hest88]

I'm Chinese too, so yeah, I like my greens stir-fried and still crunchy. Just about everything from traditional Chinese greens to kale and rapini get thrown in a wok. The only greens I can stand eating boiled are watercress, which I throw in boiling water for less than a minute and mix with soy sauce and sesame oil.

[I_call_the_duck]

Hest88, watercress was the only greens that Dad boiled the life out of, so I never developed a taste for them until I got older. I'll have to pick some up the next time I'm at the grocer's.

[vkn]

Folks - need help!

I have some fresh, large, dark-green, juicy Spinach preserved to prepare something new. Does anyone know how to make Spinach-Chicken? Or any other suggestions to use Spinach and Chicken? Really appreciate your help on this.

[Hest88]

Hest88, watercress was the only greens that Dad boiled the life out of, so I never developed a taste for them until I got older. I'll have to pick some up the next time I'm at the grocer's.

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Yeah, my mother used to make soup with them too, which I think is a waste of good vegetable! Watercress is so easy, because you can swish it around the sink, and then throw it into a few inches of boiling water. I just sort of let it sit in the water for 3 seconds, flip it over to get the watercress at the top cooked, let it cook for maybe 10-15 seconds or so more depending on how it's looking, and then take it out of the pot.

[purplewiz]

You didn't mention what kind of chicken you have - whole, parts, etc.

My favorite spinach/chicken dish is to take chicken breasts and pound them flat (1/4"). Saute the spinach in a little olive oil and garlic, just until flavored/wilted. Then put some of the spinach with some flavorful cheese (goat cheese, feta) in the flattened chicken breasts and roll them up. Season with salt and pepper and bake until chicken is cooked through (what, about 25 minutes at 375F?)

Top with diced tomatoes.

Sometimes I also add a piece of bacon or pancetta or prosciutto or any thinly sliced flavorful meat to the stuffing in the roll.

Marcia.

[vkn]

You didn't mention what kind of chicken you have - whole, parts, etc.

My favorite spinach/chicken dish is to take chicken breasts and pound them flat (1/4"). Saute the spinach in a little olive oil and garlic, just until flavored/wilted. Then put some of the spinach with some flavorful cheese (goat cheese, feta) in the flattened chicken breasts and roll them up. Season with salt and pepper and bake until chicken is cooked through (what, about 25 minutes at 375F?)

Top with diced tomatoes.

Sometimes I also add a piece of bacon or pancetta or prosciutto or any thinly sliced flavorful meat to the stuffing in the roll.

Marcia.

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I have a whole chicken Marcia. I am going to try this today and will let you know how it turned out. Thanks a ton pal.

[stevea]

For broccoli, I think Bittman's stir-fried broccoli (from How to Cook Everything) is terrific. There's nothing in it but broccoli (about 1-1/2 lbs), 2 Tbs peanut oil, a teaspoon of sugar, salt to taste, and a cup of stock. Break the broccoli into florettes and thinly slice the stalk (I agree, the best part). Then saute in oil for five minutes, with the sugar and salt, add the stock and cook uncovered until the stock has evaporated.

Tonight I'm making a white bean gratin, to which I'm adding kale and broccoli spigarello that have amazingly survived the winter so far (it's Oregon, so no big freezes yet, but unending rain).

[pork]

Up here in virginia we like 'em with our famous country hamhocks, a ton of garlic, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and a little cider vinegar. Serve with hotsauce.

[nocturnalsunshine]

I normally have spinach two or three times a week for lunch in salad.

Spinach, tuna, black olives, toasted and salted walnuts and mozzarella or smoked goat cheese. Or if i think about it, ground turkey or ground beef seasoned with red pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin and garlic.

Recently ive had Arugala, shredded jicama, shreeded carrot and vinnagrette with lemon juice, apple cider vinager and oil and feta cheese.

Of course growing up weekly collard greens cooked into oblivion with ham hocks and hot water cornbread and when mom wasnt looking...sugar.

[Bill Miller]

I can't believe nobody has posted my method----mustard greens or if you can find them, tender greens-washed several times--drain but do not dry--leave some water on the leaves.

Fry some salt pork (fatback) in a large pot until crisp --remove and leave the grease and salt in the pot- Add the greens to the pot and cover--cook until wilted but still with a little crispness. Sprinkle with crumbled salt pork and hot pepper vinegar--- serve with cornbread and blackeye peas. Happy New Year (or any other time)!!

Edited February 3, 2006 by Bill Miller (log)

[LindaK]

I also had a great chestnut soup in Paris. It was poured into a bowl containing little cubes of foie gras. The soup was great, but every mouthful containing a bit of foie was amazing.

Not sure where the greens are, but I want some!

In addition to greens as their own delicious selves, I add cooked greens as an ingredient to lots of things. favorites:

- on any pizza

- in a frittata

- with pasta

- spinach in stuffing recipes

[Anonymouze]

I have to admit I have a very strong aversion to most greens.

The smell, the taste anything "chlorophyll-ly" UGH!

I do like however Iceberg lettuce (yes it has no value) also cooked green peppers, and indian pakora's (spinach) and spinach-paneer-saag etc... Find me a way to incorporate that and I'm happy. I do cook the campbell's recipe for green bean casserole using sweet peas that much I will eat!

[JAZ]

I just made the "Winter Greens Gratin" from Fine Cooking magazine. It's a little time consuming, compared with my usual methods for greens, but it's worth it for something a little more special. I used rainbow chard (the article suggests several varieties, with cooking instructions for them).

Here's the blanched chard, along with the buttered bread crumbs, grated Parmesan and a mixture of bacon and pancetta (which you can barely see, because I can't frame a photo to save my life).

The recipe calls for only the leaves, but I used the stems too, because I like them. I just cooked them for 10 minutes or so before adding the leaves to blanch.

Here are the gratins assembled and ready to go into the oven:

I made two -- one for tonight and one to reheat tomorrow or the next day.

Here's the one for later -- I took out it out early, so I could reheat it without drying it out:

[jsolomon]

Well, it's March now, and I'm amazed that I'm one of the first people to mention spring greens. My dandelions are starting to peek up in the lawn, so tonight, I will dine on a dandelion salad with a sour cream, vinegar, and sugar dressing.

Behold the bounty of weeds...

[Lucas'mom]

Mmm. The best way I know to do greens is -- how else? -- a la Paula. Her Moroccan greens recipe in "Couscous" is awesome. I've made it so many times, I just wing it by now. You can use any combo: last night I put in kale, broccolini, and a whole bunch of flat parsley. Steam in just a wee bit of water til tender (I like mine more on the crunchy than soggy side). Add a large dollop of kalamata olive schmoosh, some preserved lemon (I include the pulp for more of that salty zing), lots of sliced garlic, fresh lemon juice. Stir til well blended (and the garlic a bit cooked), remove from heat, and drizzle with fragrant olive oil at the end. Served room temperature last night with rice & beans and some fish. Oh my, it was SOOO good.

Lucas' mom

[Naomi]

Colcannon. The ultimate Irish peasant food, and a real comforter:

Put on some floury potatoes to boil.

Fry up a wee tiny bit of bacon/chorizo etc. (not traditional, but tasty)

Add some shredded Kale or green cabbage or spring greens, which may have been wilted in the microwave if necessary. Stir it up to get the tasty juices onto your greens.

Mash your spuds with some cream or milk and add the greens, mixing it up well.

Make a pound of this on the plate, indent it and put a knob of yellow Irish butter on top. Dip forkfuls into the melty butter.

Edited March 7, 2006 by Naomi (log)