Get Cooking_ 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen - Mollie Katzen [93]
This recipe is vegan.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red or yellow onions, chopped
3 large bunches fresh greens, stemmed if necessary, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups chopped)
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onions, turn the heat to high, and sauté for 2 minutes. Then reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and soft.
2. Add the greens in three or four batches, sprinkling them very lightly with some of the salt after each addition. As they cook, turn the leaves with tongs, bringing the wilted ones from the bottom to the top of the pile.
3. When all the greens have wilted to your liking, grind on a generous amount of black pepper, and serve hot or warm.
LARGE GREEN LEAVES TAKE OVER THE WORLD (OR AT LEAST YOUR REFRIGERATOR)
Green leafy vegetables are huge until they’re cooked, and they can present a volume challenge for your refrigerator. They’re also fairly perishable. Two solutions: Either simply cook and eat them the same day you buy them, thus avoiding the need to store them at all, or, precook them slightly. When you get home from the store, put a large pot of water to boil over high heat, and set a colander on a plate next to the stove. When the water boils, turn the heat down to a simmer. Rinse your bundle of greens, still bundled, under cold water, and then dip the leaves (holding the bundle by the stems with tongs) into the hot water for about 10 seconds. As you remove the leaves from the water, shake as much of the water as you can back into the pot; then let them drain in the colander for a few minutes. Take the colander to the sink, and use your hands to squeeze any excess water out of the leaves. After squeezing, you will have a tight little bundle of partly cooked leaves, with their volume many times reduced (and their refrigerator shelf life many times increased). Transfer the bundle to a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to several days. When it’s time to make this recipe, simply slice the bundle into strips, and proceed.
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GET CREATIVE
Add up to 12 medium-sized stemmed, sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms along with the onions.
Add ½ teaspoon minced garlic just before you begin adding the greens.
For more sweetness, use Vidalia or Maui onions (two very sweet varieties) instead of regular onions.
Use a high-quality olive oil for sautéing, and drizzle a little more on at the end.
Drizzle the cooked greens with any roasted nut or seed oil.
Gently stir in up to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese or ricotta salata just before serving.
This is wonderful served over pasta, such as penne or rigatoni.
Add a handful of dried cherries or golden raisins along with the greens. Or, at the end of cooking, stir in up to 1 cup drained canned unsweetened sour cherries.
Sprinkle up to ½ cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts on the finished dish.
Serve with a big chunk of crusty bread to mop up the juices.
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urban-grilled summer squash
Makes 4 servings
The definition of “grilled” is up for grabs. You can use a grill or a grill pan (with raised ridges that sear those telltale stripes onto the food). I extend the definition to include this easy method: simply searing something in a pan and not moving it while it cooks (thus allowing it to acquire a delectable golden-brown crusty underside). It’s the grilling method for when you live on the fifth floor and you’d probably get evicted if you cooked on a hibachi on your windowsill. Hence the name “Urban-Grilled.” It works with any of the thin-skinned, quick-cooking squash varieties, like yellow pattypan, green or yellow zucchini (a combination of the two looks great), or yellow crookneck. To avoid overcrowding the pan (which would “urban-steam”