I’m going to be really honest. Growing up I didn’t enjoy the smell of greens when Mama cooked them. I mean Shoo-Weee!! 😉 I’ve come a long way and now embrace that the ‘greens family’ can offer my body so much healthy nutrition. The key is finding a way to cook them so they don’t smell to the High Heavens and they don’t taste like grass. 😉 What I really like about this recipe is I can use whatever greens and onions I have on hand. I can cook a small batch, add beans and make it a meal for one or two. Or I can cook more greens and use as a side dish for a larger gathering. If you’re not a greens fan, give this a whirl. You just might decide greens are for you, too!
Ingredients (makes 2 servings)…
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 Onion (any color) or small Shallot
- 3-4 cloves of Raw Garlic (peeled & diced)
- 2 large Curly Kale leaves & 7-8 small Mustard Green leaves Bitter; stemmed, chopped & washed 3-4 times
- Pinch Sea Salt
- 8 grinds of Cracked Black Pepper
- Couple shakes of Cracked Red Pepper (How spicy do you like it?!)
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 cup Broth (Beef, chicken, or vegetable. I use whichever is already open)
- Handful Arugula; washed
- Handful Baby Spinach; stemmed & washed
- (Optional) 1 can Cannellini Beans; drained (You choose your favorite bean!)
Cooking Directions…
In a large saute pan, heat your EVOO over medium heat.
Saute your onion for about 2 minutes then add your garlic. Saute for another minute.
Add your bitter greens & toss with onion & garlic.
Add the spices & broth and cover for around 6 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
Add Arugula & Spinach. Stir together and cover for 3 minutes.
If you’re adding beans, stir them in now. Steam for another 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally.
This recipe truly is delicious and oh so easy! I cook them for Kevin & me at least once a week for a lunch. As you see in the photo above, today I added a roasted sweet potato with butter, Ceylon cinnamon, and toasted & crushed coriander seeds. You can doctor your sweet potato just the way you like it!
I like to vary the bitter greens; various kale types, collards, mustards, dandelion, Swiss chard — whatever looks good at the grocery. I almost always have arugula and spinach on hand because these are less bitter and I use them pretty regularly in our smoothies. I hope you decide to wade into the greens. If you do, please let me know what you think and how you branch out to vary your recipe!
As always, Make! It! Count!