<p>I’d like to introduce kale, collards, Swiss chard, and/or mustard greens into our diet. I’ve never had any of these and have only seen them prepared in bacon fat. Any suggestions? What do these taste like? Thanks.</p>
<p>I recently made this and H really liked it. I used collards but I’m sure it would work with other greens.</p>
<p>Sauteed Collard Greens</p>
<p>2 1/2 lbs collard greens
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice</p>
<p>Cut collard leaves into 1 inch pieces. Cook in boiling water 20-25 minutes and drain well, pressing out excess water. </p>
<p>In skillet, heat butter and oil over moderately high heat until foam subsides and stir in garlic, collards and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until heated through, about 5 minutes. </p>
<p>Drizzle with lemon juice and toss well.</p>
<p>Boil a bunch of greens with a can of chopped tomatoes with garlic and other spices. I like the chopped tomatoes with chilies. Do not use a lot of water because you don’t need a lot of water as the greens will cook down. Cook until they are as tender as you like them. </p>
<p>The greens also taste great in lentil soup. Do the above. Add 1-2 cups of lentils, a bay leaf, achopped onion, a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and a stalk or 2 of celery. If you like cilantro, also add that. Parsley is something else good to add as is chopped potato, turnip, carrots, and/or parsnip. I like to add saffron and curry powder, too. After it’s cooked (about 30 mins. or more) ,put it through a blender.</p>
<p>I cook by feel, so don’t use measurements.</p>
<p>I was looking for a beet recipe and found this one that incorporated the beet greens. I had never thought of using the greens so decided to give it a try. We really enjoyed it.</p>
<p>Halibut with Roasted Beets, Beet Greens, and Dill-Orange Gremolata</p>
<p>5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
3 medium (1 1/2- to 2-inch) beets with green tops attached; beets trimmed and scrubbed, beet greens very coarsely chopped (4 to 6 cups)
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
4 6- to 7-ounce halibut fillets or mahi-mahi fillets (about 1 inch thick) </p>
<p>Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil. Mix dill and peel in small bowl for gremolata. Place beets in medium glass bowl; add enough water to cover beets halfway. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and drain. Cool beets slightly. Peel and cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return beets to same bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon gremolata, and shallots. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss well. Toss beet greens in another medium bowl with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. </p>
<p>Spread beet slices in single layer on half of prepared baking sheet. Mound beet greens on other half of baking sheet. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper; place fish fillets atop beet greens. Brush fish with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle fish with 2 tablespoons gremolata. </p>
<p>Roast fish and vegetables until fish is just opaque in center, about 8 minutes. Divide fish and vegetables among plates. Sprinkle with remaining gremolata and serve.</p>
<p>Three very different ideas; thank you so much!</p>
<p>If you have a Trader Joes, they have a package ready to go that includes Kale, Chard and several other greens. I blanch for about 3 minutes in boiling water, press moisture out and saute in lots of garlic with a little olive oil. To keep it healthy no more than 2 tbs. of the oil.</p>
<p>Saute chopped Swiss chard with minced onions in a bit of olive oil. When it’s wilted, add some balsamic vinegar and a handful of raisins, and let it stew for a minute until the raisins get soft. This is delicious, and not at all bitter. If you find rainbow chard, it’s gorgeous, too. Chard is much softer and milder than the other greens you mention. Don’t mix them.</p>
<p>Unless you are a vegetarian, flavoring greens with meat can be a healthy option. You can make a traditional Southern-style pot of greens (turnip, mustard, collard) by cooking them for a long time in water with a piece of smoked turkey wing, a little vinegar or lemon juice, and a hot pepper. After an hour or more, take the wing out, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat into the pot (there’s just a little). This will be almost fat free, but if you want it 100% fat free, chill it overnight and take the fat off the top. Eat this in a big soup bowl with lots of cracked pepper and homemade cornbread on the side. Very healthy and satisfying.</p>
<p>If you like hot, spicy food, use mustard greens instead of lettuce in salads. Raw, mustard greens are very spicy. Cooked, they are not spicy.</p>
<p>Trim and rinse 1 or 2 big bunches of greens ( the tenderer types, such as swiss chard, beet greens, spinach, broccoli rabe) in colander. If you wish, you can very, very roughly chop them before rinsing. Mince enough garlic to make about a tablespoon. Heat a wok over med-high to high heat, depending on your wok and stovetop, until very hot. Add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil, then a tablespoon of minced garlic, then very quickly the damp greens. Stir fry VERY briefly to get the garlic off the bottom of the wok–just a few strokes–and cover. The water clinging to the greens will steam them. Check after a few minutes, and when they have started to wilt nicely remove the lid and stir fry until just tender. Sprinkle with soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. If you want it to be a little sweeter, add a bit of oyster sauce.</p>
<p>You can do the same thing in a cast iron skillet, but in that case I would probably blanch the greens VERY briefly in boiling water first, then plunge into cold water, drain well, and roughly chop, because it is difficult to deal with the volume of unwilted greens in a shallower pan. If you use the cast iron pan, medium heat is probably hot enough if you allow the skillet to heat first. I’d also blanch kale or collards, because they are tougher.</p>
<p>I love beet greens. I plant beets just to get the greens! 
I use the beets for soup. (A peureed soup of apple, beets, sweet red peppers leek or onoin and carrots with coriander finished with cream, sour cream, or plain yogurt is great hot or served cold in little cups as an hors d’oeuvres. And it’s a great color! )</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that collard greens are great in chicken soup.</p>
<p>Yes! Most greens are wonderful additions to many kinds of soup.</p>
<p>I make a salad with chard (or kale) and oranges and shallots. This recipe (from Mark Bittman) is for a pound of chard.</p>
<p>Cut stems out of the chard leaves and then cut the leaves into wide ribbons. Slices stems on the diagonal–keep them separate from the leaves. Heat 2 T olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add 2 shallots (thinly sliced) and 2T sugar; stir in an orange or tangerine (1 small orange/tangerine unpeeled, but seeded and coarsely chopped). Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture caramelizes. Stir in 2T sherry vinegar. Return heat to medium. Stir in the chard stems and cook until they soften (1-2 minutes). Add chard ribbons, cover, and turn off heat. Let chard steam in pan for 2-3 minutes, then stir and re-cover the pan for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper and serve immediately.</p>
<p>Mark Bittman has a greek style recipe for greens: Boil 1 lb. chopped greens in salted water 5-10 min. Drain well and chop fine. Mix in 2 cups yogurt, 2 Tb olive oil, 1 Tb marjoram or oregan, 1 small garlic clove, pinch of cayenne if desired. Serve room temp or cold.</p>
<p>I also like his Spinach with coconut milk which I imagine you could make with other greens. You put 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp peeled chopped ginger, a small chili chopped or red peper flakes to taste in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add 1# spinach and cook 5 -10 minutes.</p>
<p>my-3-sons has a great suggestion. My mom makes something similar, except sometimes she adds red pepper flakes.</p>
<p>So I’m the only one who hasn’t been eating my veggies it seems. I just never knew what to do with greens. I’ve already learned so much-- that chard is milder and mustard greens are spicy. Consolation, is there a recipe for that soup? It sounds delicious. Bromfield, I will definitely try that salad. Anything with balsamic vinegar appeals to me. I’m printing this thread and will give each of these ideas a try, one by one.</p>
<p>worrywart-you are not alone. Everything sounds good. I am going to see what greens are at the farmers market today.</p>
<p>Keeping this link because a CSA just started in our area and I get my first produce shipment on Wednesday of next week!</p>
<p>Any other good veggie recipes ladies? We are eating much less meat these days and many more veggies.</p>
<p>I grew up eating boiled turnip greens with vinegar on them - love them that way. I love wilted spinach - especially with baked halibut seasoned with just lemon, ginger and curry.</p>
<p>Back from the farmer’s market with some swiss chard. I think I will try Hanna’s recipe with the balsamic vinegar and raisins.
I also picked up some beets. They had 5 different kinds. Some had green tops and some red. Is one better for the greens?
Also returned with 3 baskets of fresh strawberries.
I would be excited except for the fire burning on the hills behind the market.</p>