I debated on what to share first but over the past year, these garlicky greens have made their way into numerous recipes. These greens are a wonderful all-season addition to recipes. It's simple: sauté your favorite greens with a little olive oil and garlic. I typically use kale because it has a bit of texture but chard, spinach, collards, or beet greens would work just as well.
An easy component for more meals, these garlicky greens are easy to cook and work with many different types of greens like kale, chard, or collards.
Tips & Tricks: Save the stems for use in a stir fry, pesto, or pickles.
Different varieties of kale cook differently. I prefer lacinato kale for this but the curly kale will work. If the greens are having a tough time wilting, add a splash or two of water and cover to steam slightly.
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: Kale, Olive oil, garlic
Nutrition: see the information.
Alliums: These garlicky greens work well with minced onion, shallots, or green garlic.
Ginger: I love to add a couple teaspoons of freshly grated ginger with the garlic. This variation is perfect for pairing with coconut milk or soy sauce. I love to use this in noodle bowls, soups, and in crepes.
Lemon: For a pop of brightness, add 1 teaspoon or so of lemon zest and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Eggs: Tuck these garlicky greens in an omelette with a bit of feta, havarti, or gouda. These greens also work really well in an egg scramble.
Noodles/Pasta: Cook a batch of pasta or Asian noodles and toss the greens with the noodles. These garlicky greens work well with many sauces including a peanut sauce, tomato sauce, or cream sauce.
Grains: Toss the greens with cooked grains and legumes for an easy power-packed grain bowl. I like to drizzle the bowls with a bit of lemon vinaigrette.
Soups: Make a pasta or grain based broth soup and stir these greens in at the end of cooking. I also love using the ginger variation for a noodle-based soup (similar to this bok choy soup).
Pizza: Add the greens to a olive oil or tomato sauce-based pizza before adding the cheese.
YUM!
I cant wait to try this!!!
I love this idea of component cooking! When I think about it, most of my meals contain pre-made components that I use in different ways too... like spiced chickpeas or whole wheat pasta. I need to add garlicky greens into the rotation now!
Simple & yum - either on it's own or as a component in another meal. Also a great way to use up left over kale/greens.
Made this last night with my CSA share of rainbow Swiss chard and beet leaves. Tasted great plain, and I'm planning on eating the leftovers with eggs. Thanks! I added a little too much olive oil, so I'd caution others to be careful not to be too heavy-handed!
★★★★★