If you've been to a farmers market lately or belong to a
CSA, you've no doubt got some greens that you haven't cooked with before. While you can sauté and serve practically any
green, you're probably wondering what to do with at least some of them -- we've
all been told to eat more leafy greens and it's a shame to pass them up when
they're fresh and local. The Leafy Greens Cookbook by Kathryn
Anible can help sort out the confusion.
The book's subtitle is "100 Creative, Flavorful
Recipes Starring Super-Healthy Kale, Chard, Spinach, Bok Choy, Collards and More!" But don't let the hyper-enthusiasm (yes, the
exclamation point is actually there...) put you off, there's not much rah-rah
once you open the book. The recipes
divide into two camps: those where the
greens are the star, and those that are ways for you to add greens into other
foods. There are a lot of salads, soups,
and sautés but also some unexpected recipes like savory spinach scones and pierogies
and chard quiche. The book covers
arugula, beet greens, Belgian endive, bok choy, lettuce (butter and
romaine), Brussels sprouts, cabbage (various kinds), collard greens, dandelion
greens, escarole, kale, mustard greens, radicchio, rapini, spinach, chard
(Swiss and otherwise), turnip greens, and watercress. With 100 recipes total, that leaves just a
few for each green, but I think they're a pretty good representation of
preparations that don't hide the essential flavors.
Anible puts very little in the way of headers with each
recipe, just a few words about possible substitutions -- you won't get folksy
stories of how she grew up eating this or that.
That's not a problem for me, but after reading through the recipes I
found myself wishing she had discussed them a bit. Many of these greens are bitter even when
they're cooked. Anible's recipes have
ingredients that balance the bitterness.
Sometimes it's a little sugar or fruit, sometimes vinegar, sometimes salt
(or soy sauce), sometimes fat, or sometimes more than one thing, depending on the
green. It's useful information, but you
have to dig for it. Pointing these
ingredients and combinations out, either in the recipe headers or in a separate
introduction section, would make it easier for people to create their own
recipes, and would underscore the usefulness of what Anible has done here.
Everything is easy to follow, and although there are no
photographs, you shouldn't have trouble making anything in the book. I won't claim it's exhaustive or the ultimate
in recipes for greens, but you can find plenty of other books for that (like
Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty or Deborah
Madison's The Greens Cookbook, both
very good). Pick up this book and go to
your farmers market armed with a new appreciation for the variety and
abundance.
---------------------------
If you've only had kale as a garnish or cooked, you might
not know that it's really tasty eaten raw.
The key is to stem it, then cut it into very thin ribbons. Massage the ribbons with the dressing --
really get in there with your hands and get the kale wilted and softened a
bit. The dressing takes care of a lot of
the bitterness and the salt and massaging helps break down some of those tough
cell walls. The original recipe is
topped with slivered almonds, cherry tomatoes, and avocado, and I've given you
a variation if you want something with fall flavors.
Kale Salad with Avocado
From The Leafy
Greens Cookbook by Kathryn Anible
Serves 4
Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups packed, de-stemmed chopped or finely sliced kale
1/2 cup slivered almonds (toasted, if you like)
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper
In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive
oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a little pepper.
Add the kale and massage the dressing into it using your hands -- it'll
take about a minute. Top with the
almonds, avocado, and cherry tomatoes and gently toss together. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve within a hour of cutting the avocado.
Fall variation:
substitute 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/3 cup dried cranberries, and one
apple, cored and diced for the tomatoes, almonds, and avocado.
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