Ever since I lived in North Carolina I have been a fan of greens. While I was on faculty at Duke University Medical Center we created new heart-healthy recipes to replace the traditional recipes that used salt pork as the main seasoning for Southern-style greens. Travels to Greece and Turkey shed light on a completely different cooking style, and greens were one of my favorite dishes to taste as we traveled through the different Mediterranean regions. Moving to Seattle introduced an Asian approach to cooking greens, and I never tire of experimenting with all of these international flavors to see what new recipe I can cook up.
Tonight we arrived home later than usual but still needed to eat a healthy and satisfying dinner. I had purchased a mixture of braising greens at the grocery store on Sunday, so they really needed to be cooked tonight for the freshest flavor. I hadn't really thought out any recipe when I bought the greens, and now I felt like “iron-chef mom” to get dinner on the table quickly. My thrown-together recipe came out so good that I just have to share it with you. Even my kids (ages 10 and 14) tried it!
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
a couple of pinches of salt
several good grinds of fresh black pepper
¼ cup chopped walnuts
4 Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
3 cups of mixed baby red and green kale, baby red and green Swiss chard, rinsed and not dried
Heat oil on medium heat in nonstick skillet. Lightly sauté the onion and garlic with salt and pepper for a couple of minutes. Add walnuts and olives and sauté until mixtures begin to blend and nuts begin to toast. Add greens and mix. Cook uncovered for just a minute or two, and then cover and braise until the greens are soft, but not mushy. Serve immediately.
This recipe made two adult size servings and a little bit extra for the kids to taste.
Remember, I just tried this out. The amounts are not exact; you might need to adjust amounts to work for you at home. If you come up with new or improved versions of this or any other recipe, please let us know. I'd love to hear from you.
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner