What is your favorite way to prepare 'greens'? Turnip, mustard, collard, kale any of these?

Question

I love 'greens' with corn bread...

Answer 1

I am a Virginian so I love greens done the right way: cooked a long time with ham hocks and finished with bacon drippings. However, once I learned that everything south of Rome was African, I began checking out Sicily and then Puglia (the 'heel'). In Puglia they have a terrific combination of turnip greens and pasta ( we could use large macaroni, spirals or make your own 'little ears'). The complete recipe is on the web site below.

* 1.3 pounds (600 gr.) turnip leaves
* 2 cloves garlic
* 3 Tbs. olive oil
* 4 anchovies, finely chopped
* 2.8 oz. (80 gr.) grated Pecorino and/or Parmesan cheese.

# Clean and wash the turnip leaves, drain and boil in plenty of salted water.
# When ready, drain and preserve the water.
# Heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry garlic.
# As soon as it is browned, remove from oil and add anchovies.
# Melt them in the oil, simmering for a few minutes.
# Add the turnip leaves, mix and simmer for about 5 minutes.
# Bring the turnip water to the boil and cook the (PASTA) in it.
# Drain the pasta comes to the surface.
# Spoon alternate layers of (the PASTA) and turnip leaves onto a serving dish.
# Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and the cheese.

When you're done, you should by volume have twice as much pasta as greens; but you don't have to do it that way. It's just another magnificent poverty dish, that helps make a hard life a good life. (There's a nice photo of the finished dish on the web.)

Mangia, you all!

Answer 2

I make mine with a smoked turkey thigh over the old pork fat or bacon, but there is a better balance of flavour with a mixture of greens.

It is just some take longer to cooked than others, for flavour mustard, turnip and spinach only need a short 10-20 minutes, Kale and Collards need more time to break the fibers and sulfurous propertys down, I stew them for at least 30-40 minutes, and the pan juice with a couple of pieces of cornbread or biscuits is my favorite, I do not serve much of it, I keep it for myself.

Favorite mix is collards cooked with onions, the thigh with a head of savoy cabbage, the at the last 20 minutes 2 head of kale and a big bag of leaf spinach, a bit of vinegar and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic salt and a dash of nutmeg, and I could eat the whole pot myself, just keep away from my pan juice, ya hear!!!

Answer 3

Saag Paneer

Ingredients:

2 pounds spinach (or any greens)
2 tbsp oil or melted ghee
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
1 large finely chopped onion
2 tsps chickpea flour
1 pound baby spinach
1 tsp salt
1 pound paneer cut into small cubes
1 cup full cream

Method:

Wash and clean the spinach. Trim the stems. In a Large Pan Boil the water add the spinach and blanch for couple of minutes.
Drain the water from spinach using a sieve or colander. Chop and make a fine paste using the food processor. Wash, clean and chop baby spinach, keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin when it starts to crackle add garlic and stir fry until golden brown, add onion, ginger and saute until light brown, then add chickpea flour and mix well to avoid lumps, stir fry until oil leaves the sides of pan, then add minced spinach, chopped baby spinach, salt, chili powder and paneer, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. finish with cream and serve hot with tandoori roti or rice.

Answer 4

collard greens, trim off the tough bits, then put into a crock pot, and cover with vegetable stock, then chop some bacon, and throw on top. Cook all day and then eat. Yummy

Answer 5

I like to put them in a big pot of bean soup. You just have to make sure you chop them small enough so that you don't end up with a big glob of wilted greens on your spoon...it gets kinda messy that way.

Answer 6

To let my mom cook them instead...she's better at it