How to Prepare Greens

How to Prepare Greens

There are many types of greens with varied taste and texture. Some greens, like spinach, chard or collards, are better cooked by themselves. Others like mustard, kale, rape or turnips are good as mixed greens. The intensity of the taste can be managed by the quantity of each type used. Mustard has a strong taste. Turnips, kale and rape are milder. Use the amount of each that is necessary to balance the flavor and obtain the desired strength.

Pick the largest leaves to minimize the effort (and back strain) of washing them. Each leaf should be picked up and examined. Some people like to pull the stems out. They can be tough and woody sometimes. Grit and bugs need to be removed before cooking and serving. The greens can be boiled with some type of cured pork or just your favorite seasoning. Young tender greens can be sautéed in olive oil with garlic. They really go well in stir fries. Try adding some sliced or diced turnip bulbs in either method. My favorite turnips are the Tokyo Hybrid Cross. The purple top turnips are good as well; but they need to be harvested while they are small. The Tokyo turnips stay tender and sweet at a larger size.

Greens furnish a lot of folic acid, b vitamins and vitamin c. They are great with vinegar or a vinegar-based hot sauce. Sometimes we use bouillon in the boiled greens instead of pork. The “pot-liquor” left from cooking the greens is great for making rice or cous-cous or anything of that nature. Some people like to drink it. In makes a great organic vitamin drink.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.