HOW TO COOK LEAFY GREENS
Our leafy green vegetables that need a little extra cooking to remove their bitterness and sometimes improve the texture are:
- Collards
- Kale
- Swiss Chard (when its not in season)
- Dandelion
- Mustard
The foods that help reduce bitterness are:
- Salt while cooking and/or while eating (like on bitter salad greens)
- Sweet or Spicy
- Sour or Acids like lemon or vinegar
- Long cooking like braising (think southern collard greens that are cooked for hours)
- Blanch first
Cooking Styles I most often see:
- Saute with some fat and a little sausage or bacon
- Saute with onions and garlic
- Saute with fruit, nuts and vinegar
My suggestion for when you encounter a really bitter green that you are not ready to eat just sauteed:
- Blanch in boiling water – this helps to remove the bitterness and soften the greens,
- Blanch THEN saute with bacon and onions, etc
- Massage with oil (best with kale for salads and baked chips) if you are going to eat it as a salad
Many recipes just have you chopping the greens and adding them to the frying pan with a little bacon and fat. If those greens are REALLY bitter and tough, that is not enough to help make those greens taste good. So, blanching in a little hot water for 30 seconds to 1 minute can really help.
Recipes to get you inspired in the kitchen:
These are both sauteed with bacon
foodandwine.com – sauteed-spring-greens-bacon-and-mustard-seeds
nomnompaleo.com – quick-and-simple-stir-fried-kale-and-bacon
Longer Cooking Method with liquid to soften the greens
allrecipes.com – kickin-collard-greens
foodnetwork.com – ginas-best-collard-greens-recipe
This recipe shows you how to Blanch
Blanched, Squeezed then Frozen Greens to use anytime you need them
How to Massage Kale
fitfoodiefinds.com – how-to-massage-kale
Even MORE Recipes
TONS of kale recipes from Epicurious
Never get bored with Swiss Chard with these recipes from Epicurious
More Wahls recipes and resources from my website:
How to blanch your broccoli so you can have plenty left over for meals
A recipe for Chicken Liver Dip that uses lots of onions and mushrooms to help you get used to the flavor at your own pace
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