It’s a confession that’s always met with shock, by even those who know me best: My favorite foods are leafy greens. I know. I KNOW! But it’s true. I — an ardent lover of butter and 24/7 carrier of dark chocolate peanut butter cups — am bok choy’s biggest […]
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It’s a confession that’s always met with shock, by even those who know me best: My favorite foods are leafy greens.
I know. I KNOW! But it’s true. I — an ardent lover of butter and 24/7 carrier of dark chocolate peanut butter cups — am bok choy’s biggest fan.
• Salmon Pasta with Charred Olives and Herbed Yogurt
There’s a special joy in loving leaves, because unlike fresh corn or ripe cherries, we’re not limited by seasonality. Even in Pittsburgh, with our sometimes-gloomy clime, local farms and backyard gardens alike are managing kale and chard almost year-round. Still, come March, it’s hard not to think of “spring greens,” of shoots and sprouts and the first tender new leaves of the growing season.
As winter wraps, we again find both our land and our plates awash in greenery. So you can understand my ire when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around and we color every edible thing we can get our hands on green ... with dye.
I do not hate food coloring. I accept that it has its place, and I even embrace it from time to time. But there’s a magic in leafy greens: While kale and chard and mizuna all have distinct flavors, those flavors are often delicate enough to be easily overpowered by others. It’s easy to tuck a cup of pureed greens into a dish to give it an emerald glow without any discernible change to the taste.
This St. Patrick’s Day, even if you’re not one to get excited about a soothing bowl of steamed greens, consider picking up a bunch of kale or a bag of spinach (even frozen works), because the verdant possibilities are nearly endless.
If we want to use leafy greens to punch up the color of our food, then first: We must blanch.
Blanching greens is important for two reasons. First, it softens the plant cell walls just enough for the leaves to lose their tough, fibrous texture. But secondly, blanching forces gasses within the plant cells to expand and escape, which makes them greener.
When air is incorporated into our food, it lightens the appearance of the color. If you’ve ever creamed together butter and sugar, you’ve seen how the golden butter slowly lightens to almost white with the incorporation of millions of tiny air bubbles. When we blanch, we view that effect in reverse: We remove the air that’s diluting the concentration of the green pigments.
Since blanching is easy, and “green” is the name of the game, you don’t want to skip it. Just plunge your greens into salted, boiling water until you see their color brighten (this only takes 30-90 seconds, depending on the type you’re using, so don’t turn away), then drain and shock in ice water.
There’s not much substance to leafy green vegetables. While they contain lots of fiber and nutrients and water, there’s little protein or acid. This makes them great baking partners, because there’s little to throw off the precise chemistry needed for success.
Much like adding applesauce or mashed banana to a batter, adding some pureed spinach or kale also adds extra fiber and moisture — plus that vibrant green color.
There are plenty of recipes on the internet for things like spinach muffins and pancakes, but I find that you don’t even need one. I frequently blend a loosely packed cup of blanched greens with the liquid components that the recipe calls for (eggs, melted butter, oil, milk, buttermilk or yogurt) and then simply follow the rest of the instructions, and the results are always delightful: Cakes, pancakes, quickbreads, blondies and muffins all turn out gorgeously green with a crumb that is moist and tender, all thanks to the vegetable puree.
And before you ask whether they taste of spinach: I promise, they do not.
If baking isn’t your thing, you can still puree the blanched greens with a little stock, cream, or water, and fold the velvety green liquid into anything you’d like. Brighten up homemade soup or a white chicken chili; add some color to a batch of rice or quinoa; turn green a creamy pot of Alfredo or cheese sauce. For the adventurous, and those who relish a kitchen project, add a cup of puree to your favorite pasta dough recipe; nothing brightens a rainy March weekend like fresh, bright noodles.
You can even turn leafy greens into a base for drinks. Goodlander Cocktail Brewery in Homewood, for instance, blends spinach with a tasty mix of herbs, spices and lemon into the aptly named Green sparkling cocktail.
Want even more greens? Try my take on shakshuka: saag-shuka. The traditional North African and Middle Eastern dish of eggs baked in spiced tomatoes is delicious, but in my endless quest to pack more greens into my diet, I’ve swapped them in for the tomatoes and will never go back.
If warm Indian spices aren’t your favorite, you could skip them. Instead, add a minced shallot and some softened cream cheese, and enjoy a luxurious skillet of eggs poached in spinach dip. Or skip the eggs entirely, and give my herby yogurt pasta a try. The cool, green sauce is lovely, and you’ll want to put it on everything.
Saag-shuka
PG tested
This method for poaching eggs in pureed vegetables usually features a spicy tomato sauce — a la shakshuka, or eggs in purgatory — but here, I’m swapping in the richly spiced, stewed spinach known as saag. This makes a mild version, so feel free to bump up the spices if you like.
1 market bunch (or bag of pre-washed) each spinach and kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion (size of a baseball), diced
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 2-inch knob of ginger, finely minced
1 tablespoon of whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of red curry paste or powder
1-3 hot chilis of your choice, finely chopped, with or without seeds as is your heat preference
1 cup of whole cherry tomatoes
½ cup of heavy cream, whole-milk yogurt, or coconut milk
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
Wash and dry the greens, if needed. Remove the stems and roughly chop. Steam or blanch via your preferred method, and allow to cool.
Place the cooled greens in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (alternatively you can do this by hand). If you need to add ¼ to ½ cup of water to get things moving, that’s OK.
In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil and the butter over medium-high heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, spice and chili peppers, and cook until fragrant and the aromatics are translucent, 5-7 minutes.
Add cherry tomatoes and cook, without stirring, until the skins begin to blister and tomatoes burst with gentle pressure from the back of your spoon, 5-7 minutes more. Allow the tomato juices to deglaze the pan.
Add the greens to the pan and stir gently to incorporate, then reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer.
Simmer greens for about 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the greens have turned silky and soft. Fold in heavy cream, simmer for 2-3 minutes to thicken, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
With the back of a spoon, make 4 deep wells in a circular pattern in the saag. Crack one egg into each well. Maintain a simmer and cook without stirring until egg whites are set, about 9 minutes. (Alternatively, you can add a lid and the eggs will cook in half the time, but the yolks will not be visible, if that matters to you.)
Serve immediately with toast, grilled bread, or warm naan.
Serves 4, with bread.
— Jessicarobyn Keyser
Salmon Pasta with Charred Olives and Herbed Yogurt
PG tested
This borrows heavily from a conchiglie with peas and yogurt recipe in a very beautiful cookbook called “Plenty.” I don’t cook from recipes often, but chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s formula for an herbal, vegetal pasta laced with a spicy finishing oil is truly perfect: tender pasta and a cooling sauce, sparks of heat from the oil, bites that vary from salty to creamy to sweet.
I’ve made some adjustments over the years, including adding a protein for heft and streamlining the prep just a bit. Feel free to swap the salmon for cubes of tofu, grilled shrimp, pulled chicken — or omit it entirely.
Any leftover sauce will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, and is delightful on leftover meats, on breakfast tacos, as a salad dressing or dip.
1 cup pitted, oil-packed or oil-cured olives (do not use olives packed in brine)
1 cup quality olive oil, divided
⅓ cup crushed hazelnuts or slivered almonds (or really, any nut or seed you like)
2-3 teaspoons chili flakes (there are many kinds available — use what you like)
4 salmon filets, 3-4 ounces each
1 pound dried pasta (shells, orecchiette, or a similar small shape intended to cradle sauce)
2 cups frozen peas, divided
2 cups mixed, lightly packed, tender herbs, such as dill, chives, tarragon, mint, cilantro or basil, divided
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
2½ cups whole milk yogurt
Salt and pepper
Place a pasta pot full of well-salted water on the stove to boil.
Place the olives in a dry skillet and dry-fry them over medium-high heat without stirring until you see the skins begin to blister, 4-5 minutes. Shake the pan to encourage some char on all sides and cook for 2-3 minutes more, then remove from the skillet and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium and add the ⅔ cup of olive oil, nuts and chili flakes, and fry until the nuts begin to turn golden, the oil takes on some red color from the chili (the amount of color will vary depending upon the kind of chili you use), and everything smells toasty and spicy. Remove from the skillet into a bowl to cool, leaving behind a teaspoon or two of spiced oil. Return the skillet to the stove.
Season the salmon filets with salt and pepper (and any additional seasonings you like), and fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked to your liking. Remove the salmon filets from the heat.
When the pasta water is boiling, carefully remove 2 cups and pour it over your frozen peas; allow them to warm in the water for 2-3 minutes, then drain. While you wait for them, add your pasta to the boiling pot and cook to package instructions.
While the pasta cooks, add one cup of drained, warmed peas to a blender with 1 cup of herbs, the lemon zest and juice, garlic, shallot, yogurt, and the remaining ⅓ cup olive oil. Puree until smooth, then taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Sauce can be made ahead of time; it may thicken in the fridge (depends on your yogurt) but that’s fine.
When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and cool for 2-3 minutes. While the pasta cools, flake the salmon filets into bite-sized chunks.
Carefully toss the warm pasta with the remaining peas, herbs, and charred olives until well incorporated. Fold in half of the yogurt sauce, and then add more to your liking.
Gently fold in salmon last, so as not to break up the pieces more than necessary, and serve immediately. Pass the spicy, crunchy hazelnuts and oil on the side.
Serves 4.
— Adapted from ”Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi
Green Lemonade
PG tested
The lemonade will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, although the bright green color will begin to dull a bit. Feel free to skip the booze, as it is delicious on its own.
6 lemons
¾ cup of white sugar
¼ cup honey
1 market bunch of cilantro, washed thoroughly
2 jalapenos, stems removed (remove seeds if you’re spice-averse)
1 packed cup of fresh baby spinach
2 quarts of water, divided
First zest the lemons and vigorously stir the zest into the sugar. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes so that the sugar can extract the citrus oils.
While the sugar rests, juice the zested lemons.
Cut off the bottom 2-3 inches of cilantro stems and discard.
Place the lemon juice, prepared cilantro, the lemon sugar, honey, jalapenos and spinach in the jar of a high-speed blender. Puree, adding water one cup at a time if necessary to achieve a smooth texture. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher and add remaining water.
Taste for sweetness. Add more sugar if you like – stir until dissolved. Refrigerate until needed.
To prepare a Green cocktail, simply mix 2 ounces of your favorite white liquor – vodka, gin, or tequila – with 6 ounces of the green lemonade over ice.
Serves 8.
— Goodlander Cocktail Brewery, Homewood
First Published March 8, 2022, 11:15am
