Swiss chard
Blanched greens
13/Feb/11 08:34 AM Filed in: Recipes
by Kate Whimster, BCom, MIFHI, ND
Blanching is a method of cooking that technically means immersing food in boiling water followed by cold water to quickly stop the cooking process. I use a variation on this in which I boil greens for a short period of time, then allow them to cool. This is a great way to soften them a bit, remove any bitterness, but retain a crispy/firm texture, and preserve nutrients.
Blanched Greens
Ingredients:
Any greens you like! Great for greens that are tougher (kale, collards, mustard greens, etc) rather than tender (spinach, swiss chard). You can also cook broccoli this way.
Directions:
1. Fill a large pot with enough water to just cover greens. I use
about 2L of water to do one bunch of kale or broccoli.
2. Bring the pot of water to a boil.
3. While you are waiting for the water to boil, chop the greens up
into bite-sized pieces.
4. One the water is boiling, put the greens in, stir them around
for about 1 minute. The longer you boil the greens, the softer
they will be.
5. Pour the contents of the pot out through a strainer. Even better, put the strainer over a bowl to retain the “greens water” and use
this water as a base for making soup, broth, or boiling something else!
6. Spin the greens in a salad spinner to get rid of excess water,
and lay them out to dry on a double-layer of paper towel.
7. Eat the greens warm or store them in the fridge (lasts about
a week) in a covered container to use for salads.
Blanching is a method of cooking that technically means immersing food in boiling water followed by cold water to quickly stop the cooking process. I use a variation on this in which I boil greens for a short period of time, then allow them to cool. This is a great way to soften them a bit, remove any bitterness, but retain a crispy/firm texture, and preserve nutrients.
Blanched Greens
Ingredients:
Any greens you like! Great for greens that are tougher (kale, collards, mustard greens, etc) rather than tender (spinach, swiss chard). You can also cook broccoli this way.
Directions:
about 2L of water to do one bunch of kale or broccoli.
2. Bring the pot of water to a boil.
3. While you are waiting for the water to boil, chop the greens up
into bite-sized pieces.
4. One the water is boiling, put the greens in, stir them around
for about 1 minute. The longer you boil the greens, the softer
they will be.
5. Pour the contents of the pot out through a strainer. Even better, put the strainer over a bowl to retain the “greens water” and use
this water as a base for making soup, broth, or boiling something else!
6. Spin the greens in a salad spinner to get rid of excess water,
and lay them out to dry on a double-layer of paper towel.
7. Eat the greens warm or store them in the fridge (lasts about
a week) in a covered container to use for salads.
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