Mixed Greens with Garlic and Toasted Walnuts

This turns out to be a perfect side dish for pumpkin soup. Or just about anything else, for that matter. Make it when you have an assortment of dark leafy greens on hand and want something fall-like and delicious and quick to dress up the side of your plate.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 garlic clove, smashed

Mixed braising greens (e.g., baby mustard, baby kale, chard, beet greens, amaranth greens, etc...chop larger greens or cut crosswise into ribbons)

Splash veggie or chicken broth

Coarsely chopped walnuts

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a glug of olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until it softens, then add the greens and toss to coat. Saute, tossing occasionally, until the greens start to wilt. Add a splash of broth, cover, and let simmer and steam for a couple minutes (if using baby greens) or 4-6 minutes (if using big greens). If the pan gets too dry, add a little more broth. Stir every couple of minutes or so.

Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a pan over medium heat, shaking from time to time, until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

When the greens are tender, uncover the pan, steam off any excess liquid, and then serve on a warmed plate. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with walnuts, salt, and pepper to taste, and serve hot.

Baby Chard with Shallot and Tomato

I usually cook chard with some garlic and olive oil, but somehow we ran out of garlic a few nights ago and didn't notice until after we'd already been to the store. In my apprehensive fridge-raiding to find complementary ingredients that would be flavorful but not too sweet, I threw an assortment of random things into a pan, which somehow became what may actually be my favorite chard recipe yet. (If you don't have access to baby chard, just slice regular chard into ribbons and cook it a few minutes longer.)

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 mild or medium chili pepper, minced
1/2 carton cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
A big, two-handed pile of baby chard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sherry vinegar

Saute the shallot and chili in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes and saute, stirring, for another minute or two, then add the chard and a pinch of salt. Saute for 1-2 minutes until the chard is just wilted, then turn off the heat and add pepper and a spoonful of sherry vinegar or a little more to taste. Toss to coat evenly, and serve.

Chickpeas with Swiss Chard

We made this fairly quick-and-easy dish last night, adapted from this recipe, and it was lovely, both taste-wise and looks-wise.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 chili pepper, minced
2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 plum tomatoes, diced
A little vegetable broth
1 bunch red Swiss chard, stemmed & coarsely chopped
1-2 pinches lemon zest (preferably Meyer)
A squeeze of lemon juice
Ñora pepper, salt, & freshly ground black pepper

Saute onion in a generous glug of olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to brown, turning the heat down a bit if necessary. Add garlic and chili pepper, stir for 10-20 seconds, then add tomatoes and saute for a minute. Add the chickpeas and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 4-5 minutes, adding a little veggie broth if necessary to keep it moist (there should be a little liquid -- not too much -- in the bottom of the pan). Next, add the swiss chard, a pinch of salt, and a little veggie broth, and cover the pan to let the chard wilt a bit in the steam. Uncover, and continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Add the ñora pepper, black pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice, turn off the heat, and serve.

Serves 2 (with something else, if you're making it for dinner).

Leek and Four Mushroom Risotto

Found at the Coop: Local gourmet mushrooms, leeks, baby rainbow chard
Found in our garden: Fresh thyme, flat-leaf parsley
Found in the cupboard: Arborio rice

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
2 ladlefuls of white wine
3 1/2 cups chicken and/or veggie broth*

1 large leek (or two small), halved, rinsed, and thinly sliced into half-rings
More mushrooms than you would think, sliced
(e.g., 6 crimini, 10 shiitake, 10 alba and brown clamshell, 4 royal trumpet)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
Small handful of parsley, finely chopped (reserve a few pinches for garnishing)
Small tab of butter
Couple handfuls of baby rainbow chard (could substitute baby arugula)
Handful or two of baby spinach
Half-spoon of Aleppo pepper

Small bowl of grated Parmesan for table


Put broth in a small pot, cover, and heat until simmering, then turn off heat and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a medium dutch oven or other large pot over medium-high heat. Add about 2 tbsp olive oil, then add onion and saute until it smells sweet and looks slightly translucent. Add rice and saute for another minute, reducing heat to medium. Ladle in white wine and cook, stirring, until it evaporates. Add broth by the ladleful, stirring and cooking until each evaporates before adding the next.

Meanwhile, set a wide pan over medium-high heat and add 1-2 tbsp olive oil. When hot, add leeks and saute until soften (about 5-6 minutes), turning down heat a little if necessary to keep from browning. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until they begin to release a little liquid, salting and peppering as they cook. Add thyme, parsley, and greens, and cook until just wilted. Turn off heat.

When the rice is just cooked through, gently fold in the sauteed vegetables, butter, and Aleppo.

Serve (can let sit for 1-2 minutes to cool slightly) garnished with chopped parsley and a bowl of grated Parmesan at the table.


Serves 2 (or maybe 3 with a salad)


* My former favorite, Swanson's vegetable broth, turns out to have high fructose corn syrup and MSG nestled within its paragraph-long ingredients list. I switched to Trader Joe's organic vegetable broth, which surprised me by tasting strongly of...wait for it...vegetables. Half veggie and half chicken made a nice balance here.