(As prepared and discussed by Alex Tuller on the June 29, 2006 Podcast)
Sauteed greens are the thing of the day. I know last year Leslie told us all about Lambs quarters, but this year, I’m cooking greens of all varieties and we’re mixing them up. So for instance last week we stripped the green from the stems of the swiss chard and sautaéed those with lambs quarters. But we kept those ribs from the swiss card, and then this week we had turnip greens sautaéed with those swiss chard ribs. Then we had broccoli rabe this week too!
The basic approach I have to my sautaéed greens goes like this: I blanch my greens in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, or more if you’re using the ribs. I drain the greens and run cold water over them. I squeeze the excess water out and very roughly chop the greens. I chop up the garlic, or right now, I cut 4 or 5 scapes into 1/2†pieces. I heat a combo of butter and olive oil. I add the garlic to the pan and swirl the garlic item around for about 2 minutes. I add the greens and/or chard ribs stir them around.
Now for the fun part. I add red pepper flakes, salt, sometimes I add a little lemon, sometimes I add a little soy sauce, sometimes I add a little vinegar. But not much of the acid, it can overwhelm the dish. That is it!
What to do if you have a bit of leftovers:
Take 4 eggs. Lightly beat. Add salt, pepper, leftover greens. Heat oil/butter in a pan over medium high heat, more if you’re not using a non-stick, make sure it is well coated no matter what. Add the egg mixture. Turn down heat to medium low. Cook for a little while, cover it for a short period to get the top set and then flip it over and brown the other side.
Remove, let cool a little and eat.