Greens, how to cook?

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giggler

Sous Chef
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
714
Location
Austin, TX.
Please help me like raw greens..

we love frozen Spinach, with a little Malt Vinegar..

this time of year in Texas, we can buy pretty Greens. I just bought a large bag of Kale for .99 cents..at the farmer's market

how do I cook these.. can I..


fry 2 pieces of bacon
then sort of steam them for a while?

should I add stock?

or should I "cream" them..

Eric, Austin Tx.
 
Eric,
I have fallen in love with kale, it's not as bitter as spinach or chard and loaded with more healthy stuff! I simply cook it down with a little water and use only pepper, no salt. I cooked it with chicken broth once and with bacon once, it was too salty. Sometimes I will add chopped onion or mushrooms. I like it in soups and stews too. Be creative, it's a very versatile and healthy green.
 
Please help me like raw greens..

we love frozen Spinach, with a little Malt Vinegar..

this time of year in Texas, we can buy pretty Greens. I just bought a large bag of Kale for .99 cents..at the farmer's market

how do I cook these.. can I..


fry 2 pieces of bacon
then sort of steam them for a while?

should I add stock?

or should I "cream" them..

Eric, Austin Tx.

1. Put them in a big bowl filled with ice water (Ice Bath).
2. Get a stock pot to slightly less than a rolling boil.
- (Add good amount of salt to boiling water.)
3. Scoop greens into boiling water and cook for mabe 20 seconds.
- Only long enough for rich color, not long enough to turn water green.
4. Scoop back into the ice bath you had started with... Done.

Once they are at this stage, they are way green and way ready to add into another dish... With your bacon, I would add it at the end, just to get some flavor from the bacon and maybe soften it to taste... But yuck to mushy, wilted, sad-looking greens!

You could ribbon-cut the Kale into a CI Skillet with some diced ham, onions and bell peppers . . . yum...

You could make a broth soup with Mir-Plox and add that same kale???

I like simple salads, like you suggested - Just some wine vinegar, cucumbers, sm-diced white & red onions, zested carrots and peeled/seeded cherry tomato slices. Add whatever other veggies are in the fridge... Maybe add some chicken and HB Egg to your Kale salad?

Use the kale as a tortilla and roll-up some tasty orange or lemon chicken with rice and saute-de-pepper/onion? yummy/// ??

I have some swiss chard and beets in the garden right now, I am thinking about using the leaves from both for a sliced duck breast or lamb roll. HMMM.... Make me wonder now...
 
I believe wilting them (in a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of water) for just a few minutes keeps the nutrients intact and you don't need salt to cook them, whereas boiling extracts everything that is healthy into the water and all you're left with is... - but I could be wrong.

Then, when they are reduced in size by about two thirds, shock them in ice water
 
My favorite way is to cook some type of meat in my cast iron, remove the meat to rest and cook the greens briefly in the drippings.
 
I like kale in Caldo Verde.
Here is my version of the Portugese Green soup.

CALDO VERDE

6-8 CUPS OF WATER
6 CLOVES OF GARLIC, roughly chopped
6-8 RUSSETT POTATOES peeled and whole
2LB OR MORE OF SMOKED SAUSAGE cut into 5-6 inch pieces
(you can add ham or any other sausage you like, the more the better ...Canadian Bacon is good too)
2-4 LBS. OF KALE, washed and stemmed and sliced thinly
In a large pot, add the water, potatoes, sausage and garlic.
Bring it to a boil and cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
While that is cooking, wash the kale and remove all the large stems. Stack the leaves and roll them up.
Slice the rolls of kale very thin so that it looks almost like blades of grass.
When the potatoes are tender, remove the sausage (and any other meat you have added.) and set aside to cool.
When cool slice the sausage in to 1/4 inch slices. Set aside.
Break up the potatoes with a potato masher.
Don't try to make mashed potatoes, just break them up into small pieces.
Bring the potato mixture up to a hard boil for 10 minutes or so to bring out the starch in the potatoes and to thicken the soup.
Add the kale and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the kale is tender.
Add the sausage slices and heat until everything is hot.
Serve immediately adding salt and pepper to taste.
 
My favorite way is to cook some type of meat in my cast iron, remove the meat to rest and cook the greens briefly in the drippings.

I did that this morning with some Cilantro, ItParsley, Garlic, Onion and shaved white raddish after my bacon lardons were done : )
 
I believe wilting them (in a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of water) for just a few minutes keeps the nutrients intact and you don't need salt to cook them, whereas boiling extracts everything that is healthy into the water and all you're left with is... - but I could be wrong.

Then, when they are reduced in size by about two thirds, shock them in ice water

When you shock blanch in cold-boiling-cold water, the same concept applies - only to boil them long enough to season and cook... maybe 20 seconds.

The cold water start is to set the greens before boiling; Extract before they start to leach into the water, then immediate cold bath again... greens are brighter and then follow-on in a hot fond or whatever works well.
 
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