Monday, June 25, 2012

Braised Greens for a Meatless Monday

First year of Dental school being done. I'm back to my kitchen again. :)

Not that I wasn't in the kitchen last year, mind you, just not enough to blog about it. But now I'm utterly, completely enjoying the two months I have off before heading back to Philadelphia and back to Dentistry.

Before this vacation's over I promise to post a bunch of new dishes that I've been dying to photograph. Let's start with the simplest one first. Braised mustard greens.

I hate when my green don't retain that deep, bright green hue after being cooked. So I blanch it first and then braise it. You don't have to stick to mustard greens as collards or broccoli rabes taste equally good.

Braised Mustard Greens
1 lb of mustard greens
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1-2 dry red chilies
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt


Good to know -- A pound might seem like a lot but once cooked you will end up with less than a third of what you started with.


First blanch the greens in a large pot of boiling water that has been salted. To know if you've salted water perfectly, taste it before adding veggies. It should taste like sea water. Be careful to blanch only for a minute or two and then drain the greens in a colander.

Now that you've taken the greens out you can use the same pot for the next steps. On medium heat, saute minced garlic and chilies in olive oil for less than a minute, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. You can choose to take the seeds out of the chilies if you do not like your food spicy, but I usually leave it in.

Add in greens, stir to coat with the lovely oil, garlic, chili concoction. Salt to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon is how I like it. And after a minute add 1/3 cup of water, cook until tender and water has mostly evaporated, approximately 5 minutes.


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