Greens inna pan

 If you have a profusion of greens you can't use up in a recipe, or you're just looking for a side dish to increase your intake of greens, this is a delicious option. It goes well as a base for eggs in a brunch or breakfast plate.

Number of portions 2 

Serving size ~244 g

~295 calories per serving

QUICK

Experienced cook 15 minutes

Novice cook 22 minutes

LHSS Score 7.1 / 10

1 bunch greens (8oz) (beet tops, chard, spinach, and turnip greens), stems sliced thin, leaves cut into strips

1 small onion (4oz/115g)

¼ cup vegetable oil (olive, whatever)

Pinch of salt

½ cup stock (chicken, vegetable, whatever)

Juice from ½ lime

OPTIONAL a pinch of red pepper flakes

1. Poach the onion in the oil until it becomes soft. Add the sliced stems (if there are any).
2. Note that any browning at this stage is good - it will add flavour.
3. Once the stems are soft add the leaves and the pinch of salt. Sautée until the leaves wilt, then add the broth. Keep stirring until a quarter of the broth has evaporated.
4. Squeeze over the lime, toss one last time, then serve immediately.

Borlotti Pottage

Loosely based on a medieval dish. 

LHSS Score 9.0/10

1½ cup (280gr) dry Borlotti beans (see NOTE)

3 Tbsps olive oil

3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed (not chopped)

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs oregano, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1lb 8oz (3 cups, or 1x796mL can) tomatoes, diced

3 cups chicken broth (to start)

4 to 6 oz julienned greens

Fruit vinegar (either, red wine, white wine, plum, apple cider, raspberry, etc)

Parmesan

1. Soak beans overnight but do not cook!
2. Next day, sauté garlic in the oil, add oregano and bay leaf, stir in for about a minute more.
3. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper.
4. Add tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. 
5. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 hours, replenishing the stock if necessary. Stir occasionally.
6. When beans are cooked, leave uncovered and cook at a rapid simmer until most of the broth has evaporated. It is at the beginning of this rapid boil that you can add the greens.
7. Add the fruit vinegar, serve on plates and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan, fresh ground pepper and chopped fresh oregano. Accompanies well with crusty bread.

NOTE: Can easily substituted with Cranberry beans, Red Mexican beans, Black Turtle beans, or any bean that will remain firm and hold its shape when cooked.

Lentil Soup with Winter Vegetables

Soups and winter just go so well together. And cool weather crops make for great soup ingredients. Matched with the savory crunch of rendered crispy bacon, the flavor is nicely rounded and hearty.

1 cup lentils du Puy 

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme 

6 oz bacon or just 1⁄4 cup (2oz/58gr) lard 

2 carrots (6oz/170gr), finely diced

1 small celeriac or parsnip (8oz/250gr) or both, finely diced

1 leek or onion (6oz/170gr), finely chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced  

4 to 5 cups beef stock (30gr of paste concentrate)

1⁄4 tsp pepper

1 1⁄4 tsp salt 

A handful green leaves - spinach or chard or arugula or radish tops, chopped (about 2 to 3oz/75gr)

1. Boil lentils for 30 minutes with bay leaf and thyme in enough water to cover, plus an inch, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into match-stick sized lardons and, in your soup pot, render the fat from it. Once the bacon is brown and crispy, remove it and set it aside to sprinkle the crispy savory morsels on top when serving. 
3. To the fat add the carrots, celeriac and onion. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened.
4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Dump the whole lentil pot into your soup pot, lentils and cooking liquid and all. Add the beef stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and continue cooking until the lentils are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
6. With an immersion blender or by transferring 1⁄3 of the soup to a blender, mash part of the soup to create a different texture in the broth. Add more stock if you find it too thick OR blend more of the lentils if you find it to be too thin.
7. Add greens, and keep warm long enough to let the leaves wilt before serving.

Split Pea and Greens Bharta

It's challenging finding recipes using split peas - I mostly get hits for different variations of pea soup (which is delicious, no doubt!). Putting on my researcher cap, I looked to the far East for inspiration and found this little gem. Meant to be eaten scooped with flatbread or raw veggie sticks. The challenging detail to get this recipe right is the amount of liquid required to create the right consistency - too liquid and it'll be soupy and difficult to pick up with bread or veggie sticks, too thick and it won't process properly. The end product is well worth figuring out these details. Note that it requires soaking time for the peas, which makes it a perfect candidate to eat with Staffordshire Oatcakes, which require at least an hour proofing time.

TIMING: 2hrs soak + 1hr25mins

For the Split Peas
1½ cup yellow split peas
3½ cup water (or more, if needed)

1. Soak the peas for at least 2 hours before boiling.
2. Bring them to a boil then simmer for 30 to 50 minutes, until the peas are fully cooked and tender (don't rush this step, the longer and softer the better).
3. Save 1 cup of the cooking water and drain away any excess, if there is any.
4. Season with salt and allow to cool while preparing the veg.

For the Veg Mixture
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, finely diced (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
1 tsp salt, to taste
8 to 12oz fresh greens (spinach, chard, kale, turnip greens, nettles, etc) finely chopped.

1. Dry-sauté the onion until translucent and golden, about 10 minutes. No oil is required, but you do need to stir frequently to avoid sticking. The onion will soften and a fond will develop, which will largely come up from the liquid expressed from the greens when you add them. If it's all sticking too much, add a splash of water.
2. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds, then the hot pepper, greens and salt. Stir to combine and cook until the greens wilt. 

Final Steps
2 tsps dried mint
Water
½ tsp salt or to taste
zest of 1 lime or lemon
2 tsps black pepper

1. Once the greens are perfectly cooked, purée the split peas until smooth or, if you'd rather do it by hand, press through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon. It will be quite thick so, if you're running it through the blender, add water to help it move in the machine. Ideally it should be able to just make a vortex in the blender - it will look too wet but will stiffen in no time.
2. To the just-blended peas briefly add and purée the greens, just to get a rough chop, or chop very fine by hand and thoroughly stir in. If using a machine, do it just so that the veg has passed through once - a little chunky is fine. use some of the pea cooking water to get things moving - the veg mix is quite dry.
3. Combine the lime or lemon zest, pepper and mint and mix into the paste.
4. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Both peas and any added water absorb the effect of salt on flavor, so it's important to taste and adjust the salt until the flavors pop to your liking.
5. Reheat and serve.

Garlic Parmesan Arugula Pasta

This is such comfort food! Whenever I make it, we eat far too much of it. There are all sorts of slight variations due to the fact that you can use any kind of leafy green veg.

2 or 3 bunches (12 to 16oz) of tender leafy greens (arugula, spinach, Swiss chard or a mixture of these)

12oz uncooked pasta 

2 Tbsps olive oil

2 Tbsps (1oz/28gr) butter

2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt 

¼ tsp pepper 

1 or 2 oz grated Parmigiano

1 cup Pasta water

pinch of red pepper flakes 

(If using kale or chard, remove thick stems; If using kale, massage leaves to break down the cells and make the leaves more tender.)

1. Boil the pasta in plenty of lightly salted water. 
2. Cut the greens into thin strips. 
3. While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil, butter, and minced garlic to another large pot or skillet, along with the red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add the greens and continue to sauté until they have wilted and turned a deep green color (about 5 to 7 minutes). Turn the heat off.
4. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
5. Add the drained pasta to the pot with the sautéed greens. Toss the pasta and greens together.
6. Drain the pasta and add it to the greens. Add the Parmesan and enough pasta water to create a light sauce. Toss vigorously until the pasta is glossy and well coated. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper before serving.