Cooked Greens

People are starting to appreciate hearty greens like turnips, collard, mustard, chard, kale, dandelions, and broccoli raab (rapini) that previously were mostly used in southern cuisine. A lot of trendy restaurants now offer broccoli raab, usually with some sort of pasta. Combining it with sausage and orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta) seems to be a favorite.

Gaining recognition for their nutritional benefits, and no longer considered just a regional item, they are becoming available throughout the country. They come from several plant families, but are primarily from the cabbage family. Some can be eaten raw when they are young and tender but should be cooked when they are mature.

Commercial dandelion varieties come from Texas and Florida. Long Island, Virginia, and New Jersey, are the main producers of kale. Southern states such as Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia are the leading producers of collards and mustard greens. Mustard greens are also grown in California, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, and Arizona. Turnip greens can be found year round, mostly in the southern United States. Broccoli Raab (Rapini) is originally from the Mediterranean area and has been popular in Italy for hundreds of years. Today it is found growing in California, Arizona, New Jersey, Quebec and Ontario. Salad Savoy, kin to kale and cabbage and grown in California, was developed by John Moore in 1983.

Storage & Selection
With all greens, choose those that have good, green color with leaves that don't show any yellowing, withering, or blemishes and with stems that look freshly cut that aren't thick, dried out, browned, or split. Often greens are bunched so that the inner parts of the bunch are subject to decay and slime. The market should keep them on ice or in a chilled display case to prevent them from wilting and turning bitter.

For broccoli raab, look for bunches with small buds without open flowers with an even, deep green color. Select those with stems that are plump, moist and small leaves; these will be tender and have a mild flavor. Turnip greens should have very firm leaves that have been kept moist. Kale leaves should be frilly and bright (though a gray-green cast is fine). Salad Savoy should be fresh looking with leaves that are crisp and richly colored. Collards are often sold too large and tough. Seek out bunches with smaller leaves, thinner stems, and leaves free of insect holes.

Locally grown dandelions are light and delicate with thin stems and pronounced saw-toothed leaves, and should be sold with the roots attached. Mustard greens should be bright, although the color may range from lighter to darker green, and free of any seed stems. Leaves should be delicate and frilly without any evidence of slime. Swiss chard should be firm with good color. Avoid bunches with leaves and stalks that are too large and with leaves that are decaying.

Once home, discard any bruised or yellow leaves and remove any bands or ties that hold bunches together. Wash greens in plenty of cool water, drain, and store loosely in plastic bags (preferably perforated) and gently wrapped in paper towels. Keep moist (but not wet or they will rot) and cool (as low as 32 F) in the lower part of the refrigerator in the high-humidity bin. Local dandelions, beet, and turnip greens should be used within two days. Other greens will last up to four days.

Salad Savoy will maintain its crisp texture and color for many days refrigerated and stored in a plastic bag prepared as follows: Place the core end of the head on the counter, place your hands over the leaves close to the central stem and push down with one sharp quick motion. The leaves will separate from the core. Break off the heavy stalks from the leaves and discard the core and the stalks. Wash the leaves in cold water and dry like salad greens.

Preparation
Clean greens in lots of cool water. Local dandelions with roots attached are particularly gritty and will need to be washed in two changes of water. Greens can be drained in a colander, spun dry in a salad spinner, or cooked with their clinging water as you would spinach. I like to roll stacked, uncleaned leaves and cut them crosswise before cleaning. These strips can then be cooked easily by boiling, steaming, or braising. I usually cook the stem unless they are very thick; just cut them in small pieces. Steaming and quick boiling help to minimize nutrient loss and nutrients that can also be retained by saving the cooking liquid for soup, broth, as part of the dish, or soaked up by crusty bread.

All of these greens stand up to assertive seasonings. Broccoli Raab goes well in Italian preparations such as pasta, and in polenta, bean, and potato dishes. Flavorings include garlic, olive oil, olives, balsamic vinegar, anchovies, and pork meats such as sausage and pancetta.

Collards are among the sturdiest of greens. Their common companions are smokes or salted pork. To lower fat and sodium, use smoked pork to flavor cooking broth (smoked turkey can also be used) and then discard or use the meat minimally. Another method is to braise collards in homemade, defatted Chicken Stock with garlic and/or chiles.

Kale is also very hearty but more versatile than collards. Stir-fry or braise in a wok with garlic and oil or a smidgen of cured pork. It's excellent as a steamed green vegetable and great with pasta on its own or as a substitute for broccoli raab. When small and tender, it can be used in salads as an accent to other greens. Kale also makes a superb garnish or liner for salad bowls or trays because it won't wilt like other greens. (Good salad bars have known this for some time.)

Salad Savoy is great cut up in salads, stir-fry, soups, as a substitute for spinach in lasagna and other casseroles, as a topping for pizza, or steamed, saut�ed, braised or microwaved with your favorite seasonings; in most recipes, it cooks in under a minute. It makes a super garnish, and in case you have been wondering what that crinkley purple leaf you see used in restaurants is, it is quite likely Salad Savoy.

The strong mustard bite in mustard greens will dissipate somewhat with longer cooking. So too will the sharp flavor (as well as the coarse texture) of turnip greens. Mustard greens go nicely with lentils in soups, stews, or salads.

Chard can be cooked quickly when young or gently braised if older and larger. Stems, which can be fibrous and trimmed like celery, are often cooked separately from leaves. Stems and leaves are often recombined (very popular with the French) in gratins. Leaves can be stuffed like cabbage leaves and the stems added to soups or stews.

Although dandelions have a strong flavor, it has a rather delicate texture and tends to be over cooked. Boiling 5 minutes or less is usually enough. It goes marvelously with garlic, olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper. Also, it's very good tossed with bacon fat (pancetta if you prefer) and a little wine vinegar.

Tony's Tip
Avoid using cooking pans made of aluminum to prevent your cooked greens from taking on an unpleasant appearance and taste.

Tony's Favorite Recipe
Mustard Greens with Lentils

Varieties
Broccoli Raab (also called broccoli rabe, broccoli di rape, and rapini) is sold in tight bunches looking like a cousin of the more traditional broccoli but with smaller stalks and florets. Pleasantly bitter peppery flavor.

Chard or Swiss Chard has a tart quality that sets it apart from other greens, and comes in red and green varieties. The green has white veins running through the leaves and a white or creamy white stem. Red chard has a red stalk that is often thinner than the stalk on green chard and red veins that may run through green or red leaves. Red chard is sometimes called rhubarb chard, which is one of the several varieties of chard along with Burpee's Rhubarb Chard, Lucullus, Giant Lucullus, Fordhook Giant, and dark Green White Ribbed.

Collard Greens have white-veined, wide green leaves with a leathery texture (and often size) reminiscent of elephant ears. Large bunches require long cooking, so look for ones with leaves as small as possible and stems that are not too thick. Has more of a cabbage like flavor than other greens. Main varieties include Georgia, Vates, Morris Heading, and Louisiana Sweet.

Dandelion Green's local wild and field-grown versions of this pleasantly biting green have smaller, more severely saw-toothed leaves than the mass-produced, nationally distributed varieties. Larger dandelion greens can be tough and quire bitter, needing more cooking time (up to 10 minutes) than the younger varieties, which should be cooked quickly (as little as 3 minutes). Commercial varieties include Thick Leaf, Improved Thick Leaf, and Arlington Thick Leaf.

Kale is a sturdy green that loves the cold and is often displayed outdoors because of its tolerance to cold weather. There are two commercial types. Scotch kale has curly edged leaves with color that can range from spruce green to bluish or grayish green, depending on the variety. Smooth-leafed kale has leaves with very little curl, is small and tender, and can be used in salad mixes.

Salad Savoy is a member of the Cruciferae family of vegetables, kin to kale and cabbage, but many first time users often claim that its flavor mildly resembles cauliflower, broccoli, or cabbage. When cooked it becomes extraordinarily mellow. Its fluffy, circular heads have white, rose, or violet centers framed by curly, deep green outer leaves. Salad Savoy is often confused with ornamental kale, one of the oldest forms of cabbage originating in the eastern Mediterranean. John Moore of Salinas, California created Salad Savoy in 1983 as a new vegetable, not a brand name. It entered the marketplace officially in 1984, and is now available year round.

Mustard Greens are a light, almost lime, green with softer and more delicately ruffled leaves than kale. Some varieties have deep red or maroon leaves with green highlights. As the name implies, it has a tangy, mustard-like flavor. Smaller leaf varieties such as baby red mustard greens are often found in salad mixes now common in supermarkets and specialty stores.

Turnip Green's sharp flavor (as well as their coarse texture) mellows with cooking. While most turnip greens are attached to their bulbs as an afterthought, some varieties of turnips are grown especially for their thin, dark greens. Turnip greens can be cooked like mustard greens or collards or added in strips to stir-fries and soups.

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