Tag Archives: Greens

Mixed Greens Enchiladas

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  • 2 Tbs. veg. oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cups coarsely chopped greens
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 1 Tbs. flour
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 6 corn tortillas
  • ½ cup salsa

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat oil, sauté onion & garlic until golden.  Add greens in small amounts until cooked down.  In another pan, melt butter, stir in flour, add milk slowly and then cheese.  Stir until thick then mix into cooked greens.  Fill the tortillas, roll and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.  Spread salsa over and bake for 25 minutes, until edges of tortillas are crisp.

Adapted from The Cook’s Garden catalog.

Lentil and Sausage Soup

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This recipe for soup from Cucina! Cucina!, printed in Foodday, is well adapted to winter vegetables.  Use mustard greens in place of the spinach and reduce the mustard that is called for.

  • 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage links
  • ½ c. finely diced onion
  • ½ c. finely diced carrot
  • ¼ c. finely diced leeks
  • ¼ c. finely diced celery or celeriac
  • 1 ½ c. uncooked lentils
  • 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 c. whipping cream
  • 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard (or less)
  • 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
  • 1 c. finely sliced mixed greens
  • salt and pepper

In a heavy-bottomed 2-3 quart saucepan, heat the butter and oil until the butter is melted.  Add the sausage links and brown evenly on all sides.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until sausages are cooked through.  Remove from pan and allow to cool.  Add the onion, carrot, leeks and celery or celeriac to the remaining butter in pan.  Cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender.  Add the lentils and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent lentils from sticking.  Hen broth comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, 40-45 minutes.  While soup is simmering, cut sausages into ¼ inch slices.  When lentils are tender, add sausage, cream, mustard, vinegar and three quarters of the greens.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Return soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes.  Serve in warm bowls with remaining greens divided among bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Serves 8.

Ham and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens

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  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • a 4-ounce piece cooked ham
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 pound collard greens
  • 1 cup chicken broth (8 fluid ounces)
  • 3 cups water
  • a 16-ounce can black-eyed peas (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Chop onion and garlic and cut ham into 1/4-inch dice. In a 3-quart saucepan cook onion, garlic, and ham in oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is pale golden.  While onion mixture is cooking, discard stems and center ribs from collards and finely chop leaves. Add collards, broth, and water to onion mixture and simmer until collards are tender, about 20 minutes. Rinse and drain black-eyed peas. In a bowl mash half of peas with a fork. Stir mashed and whole peas into soup and simmer 5 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper and stir in vinegar.

From Gourmet December 1998.

Grilled Tofu and Asian Greens

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  • 1 14 oz. package firm tofu, drained
  • ¼ c. low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tsp. firmly-packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp. finely-grated fresh ginger
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ tsp. Tabasco or crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 6 cups chopped Asian greens

Cut tofu crosswise into 6 slices. Arrange in 1 layer on a triple layer of paper towels and top with another triple layer of paper towels. Weight with a shallow baking pan and let stand two minutes. Repeat weighing with dry paper towels two more times. Stir together soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, Tabasco and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a glass dish. Lay tofu slices in dish in one layer and marinate for 8 minutes, turning over every couple of minutes. Heat an oiled, well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Lift tofu from marinade with a slotted spatula (reserve marinade) and grill, turning over once carefully with spatula, until grill marks appear and tofu is heated through, 4-6 minutes. While tofu grills, heat remaining teaspoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Sauté greens, tossing with tongs until beginning to wilt. Add reserved marinade and sauté, tossing, for about 1 minute. Lift greens from skillet with tongs, allowing excess marinade to drip off, and divide between 3 plates. Serve greens with tofu slices.

Serves 3.

From Gourmet magazine, October 2003.

Greens, Sausage and Bean Soup

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Note:  Use any green variety of kale, collard, turnip or mustard greens or swiss chard.  Makes 3 quarts.

  • 1 pound greens, rinsed and chopped
  • 2 cups onions (1/2 lb)
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1 cup sliced celery
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 pound Kielbasa (Polish) sausage, thinly sliced (it is easier to slice if it is slightly frozen) (I used some chicken sausage and it was yummy)
  • 1 cup dry white wine (which I omitted since we do not drink alcohol)
  • 2 quarts chicken broth
  • 2 cans Cannellini (white) beans ( I used 1 and 1/2 cups dry Adzuki beans and cooked them separately before adding to soup – I think most types of beans would work well)
  • Pepper to taste

1. In 6 – 8 quart stock pot over medium-high heat, frequently stir onions, carrots, celery, oil, garlic, thyme, and sausage until sausage is browned, about 10 minutes

2. Add wine, broth, cooked beans, and greens.  Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the greens are tender (15 – 25 minutes).  Season with pepper.

Green Garlic and Greens

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  • 1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil or other cooking oil
  • 3 green garlics, chopped
  • 1/8 tsp. salt plus more to taste
  • 2 slices prosciutto, sliced (optional)
  • 1 bunch collard greens, kale, or Swiss chard thinly sliced or chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
  • Fresh lemon juice (optional)

Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add oil. Swirl and add green garlic and salt. Cook, stirring, until wilted, about 1 minute. Add prosciutto, if using, and cook, stirring, until it loses its bright pink tone, about 1 minute. Add greens, stir to combine, add 1/4 cup water. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook until greens are well wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir, cover, and cook until tender. Depending on the greens used (chard will take a shorter time than the others) and your taste, this will take anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste, as you like.

Grandma Kate’s Wedding Soup

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  • 2 qts veg. or chicken stock
  • ½ – ¾ lb mixed greens
  • meatballs

Wash the greens, blanch in boiling water or steam briefly.  Form small meatballs (use your favorite recipe or vegetarian meat substitute).  Drop meatballs into simmering stock and cook 10 minutes or until done.  Meanwhile, squeeze the excess water out of the greens, slice them into thin strips, and add to the hot stock just before serving.  Garnish with grated hard Italian cheese.

Easy Minestrone

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  • 1 medium onion or 2 leeks, chopped
  • 3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 1/2 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups chopped cooking greens
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pasta
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt & pepper, to your liking

In a large pot, cook onions in 3/4 cup broth, over medium high heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add another 1/2 cup broth and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, rest of broth, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, kale and pasta. Add Italian seasoning, rosemary red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, or until pasta is tender.  Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Adapted from Food.com

Collard Greens Minerva

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  • 1 1/4 lb collard greens, halved lengthwise and stems and center ribs discarded
  • 3 slices bacon, finely chopped

Stack collard-leaf halves and roll crosswise into a cigar shape. Cut crosswise into very thin slices (no thicker than 3/4 inch) with a sharp knife.

Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp. Add collards, tossing to coat, and cook until just bright green, about 1 minute. Season with salt and serve immediately.

From Gourmet, January 2001.

Chard Braise

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  • 2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
  • 2 ½ cup boiling water
  • 1 lb. chard
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 6 medium white mushrooms
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place porcini in a medium bowl.  Pour boiling water over them and let soak until softened, about 30 minutes.  Separate chard leaves from stems.  Cut leaves crosswise into 1-inch strips and stems into 1-inch lengths.  Drain the porcini in a fine sieve lined with paper towel over a 2-cup measure.  Add water to the soaking liquid if necessary to measure 1 ½ cups total.  Rinse the porcini under cool running water.  Squeeze out any excess water and coarsely chop.  Chop white mushrooms into ¼-inch slices.  Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add white mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic, the chard stems and leaves, reserved liquid and chopped porcini; stir to combine.  Cover and cook until chard stems are tender, 8-10 minutes.  Uncover, increase heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid in reduced by half, 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

From Eating Well Feb./Mar. 2006.