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.
Recently I’ve changed to using a steamer basket instead of actually immersing the greens in water, which is a bit faster and just as good!
Easy Greens
Steamed kale
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:
- Fill a large pot with enough water to just cover greens or just enough to just come under a steamer basket.
- Bring the water to a boil.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil, chop the greens up into bite-sized pieces.
- 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. If you are steaming, cover the pot for about 1 minute, stir, and then cover another minute.
- Check the greens to see if they are done to your liking.
- 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!
- 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.
- Eat the greens warm or store them in the fridge (lasts about a week) in a covered container to use for salads.
For more recipes, check out my Recipes page!
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