Email to Buny      

Preparing Greens, Basic Info

Source of Recipe

Calire


Recipe Introduction

From member Calire: As a Southern girl who grew up in L.A., my family has eaten greens for generations. One of the challenges of this program is to lose the "hog meat and bacon grease" mentality. What I offer here is basic instructions on greens and I have included favorite recipes in separate posts. I hope this will inspire you to try greens. They are excellent sources of vitamins A, C, calcium and iron. Preparation: Wash greens thoroughly. Place them in a sink filled with lukewarm water and swish around; (tepid water helps to remove the grit faster than cool water). Remove any roots, stem the greens if necessary, and repeat the washing process until the grit disappears. For salad greens, whirl in a salad spinner or pat dry in paper toweling.

Mustard and turnip greens have more grit than any other greens. The leaves have little hairs on them that you don't taste after they're cooked, but you need to really wash them well. Collards, spinach, and kale have a slicker surface that doesn't trap grit as much.

Mild-flavored greens like spinach, kale or chard can be steamed until barely tender. Stronger-flavored greens like collards, mustard or turnip greens benefit from longer cooking in a seasoned broth. They should also be blanched before adding to soups and stews, otherwise a bitter flavor will predominate.

Kale is at it's best flavor in the fall; other greens are full-flavored all year long. Down south, greens are served with hot pepper vinegar (just a sprinkle!). I also like them California-style with a little squeeze of lemon juice.

After you've washed and dried your greens, chop them by stacking the leaves on top of each other like a deck of cards (with all stems facing the same direction). Roll the leaves up like a big cigar, then slice in 1" wide ribbons from top to beginning of the stems (this method is called chiffonade). Throw the stems away; they are tough and don't taste good. You don't have to chiffonade leaves that are palm-sized or smaller; they'll shrink a bit during cooking.

Don't cook greens in aluminum cookware. It affects both their appearance and taste.

Compatible with Body Type:
Breakfast A-B-C-D-E
Morning Snack A-B-C-D-E
Lunch A-B-C-D-E
Afternoon Snack A-B-C-D-E
Dinner A-B-C-D-E
Evening Snack A-B-C-D-E

This Recipe Contains: Free foods