Eat your greens!

 

I live in a “greens-deprived” household—no one else eats cooked greens, while I can happily eat spinach out of the can, though I prefer it heated with a little butter and salt. It was a childhood favorite and remains in that category, yet I know grown adults who shudder, literally, if you mentioned cooked greens. Spinach salad, they say is okay, but not cooked.

My friend Heather Hogan Holt, a chef by training and occupation, posted a recipe on Facebook’s New York Times Cooking Community page for cooked greens, and I quickly copied it, although I have to disagree with Heather on one point: she suggests using greens of your choice. My choice is spinach. I am not a fan of kale: in fact, I belong to the school that says if you put a little coconut oil in the skillet when sauteing kale, it makes it easier to throw it in the garbage. I also think kale Caesar salad, offered in a home-cooked to-go establishment near me, is a travesty. And I grew up as a northerner, so turnip greens are not familiar fare. I think I remember my mom cooking collards, but I don’t remember the part about liking them. So spinach it is. You take your choice.

This is one of those recipes is that is not a recipe, so here goes: Heather recommends rendering some diced bacon, though you can use olive oil or butter as the fat (I find increasingly I don’t want to add the strong bacon flavor to everything; on the other hand, I can’t get enough butter). Sauté some diced sweet onion in the butter or bacon grease or olive oil until it gets a little golden, and then add garlic—as much as you want. Sauté quickly, no more than a minute, and then add greens by handfuls and let them cook down.

Heather says if you choose spinach, use frozen, thawed and drained. She also avoids pre-cut greens, like kale in bags, because they usually include tough stems. Allow three-fourths of a bunch of greens per person—I did a whole box of frozen spinach just for me. Toss the greens to mix in the onions and garlic, and then pour stock—meat or vegetable (I used chicken)—until it’s about halfway up the greens. Simmer for thirty minutes. If the stock cooks down too much, add some more (Better than Bouillon or similar condensed stocks are great here).

Add eight ounces softened cream cheese for every four people—I added half a block just for me. Let it melt and cook until the dish thickens. Check for salt and pepper. If you used bacon, throw the cooked, diced bits back in. The onion, garlic, and cream cheese are the most important ingredients. Don’t skimp on the cheese! Add fresh or dried herbs if you wish, though I liked it just fine as a straightforward dish without other flavorings.

Pair this with a nice, broiled fish or chicken, and you’ve got a good supper. Healthy too. Well, depends on whether or not you used bacon.