Your Recipe + Greens

I’m always looking for new ways to cook greens, but though there are many ways to prepare them, the list is not endless. So, I’ve developed a new system as this season begins to wind down. I’m adding greens to any recipe I think they will work with.

How does that work? Well, I’ve already made it a practice to cut up and add some kale or chard to any quiche or frittata I’m making. Wash the greens, chop or slice into thin slivers or small pieces, and add them to the pan before the egg mixture, and they are a great addition. (There’s a blog from 2012 called “Understanding Your Greens” that talks about different kinds of greens and how to use them.)

Baked beans work with lots of additions—I always put in plenty of chopped up green peppers, but next time I may try some chopped up greens, too. You can add them to macaroni and cheese, and definitely to mashed potatoes—adding steamed cabbage and mashing together with the potatoes creates a time-honored Irish dish called colcannon, which is traditional at this time of year, particularly at Samhain, the Celtic celebration that gave us Hallowe’en.

Greens are good in soups, too. You can add them to chicken soup or minestrone, and they aren’t bad in tomato soups either. Add them to broth soups toward the end of the cooking time; for tomato soup, homemade or store bought, steam the greens and then stir them in. There’s a recipe for an African soup or stew made from greens on this blog, and another simple but tasty Swiss Chard Soup with Cream Cheese Croutons that you can make in minutes.

This past week, I made Chicken and Dumplings, a good southern standard, but when I added the chicken to the broth, I also put in a bunch of kale, washed, stemmed and chopped. It tasted great and made the dish a little more healthy for us, too.

So, I encourage you to use your imagination. What recipes can benefit from the addition of greens, or other vegetables? You don’t always have to find a recipe that specifically uses what you have in your share—make dishes you often make and add greens.