Spicy Vinegar Greens

I have to find some way to negate all the butter I consume and my method of choice is vegetables.  I like the idea of canceling out all the treats I eat with more eating.  It's much better than the alternative, which is exercise.  Especially in the winter.  I don't like going outside in the winter.  It's cold out there.  And what do you want when it's cold outside?  Warm stuff, like braised greens followed by warm buttery treats.

We've haven't been eating greens for very long, but I found a method that works every time with any type of hard, bitter green.  You can use this recipe for turnip greens, mustard greens or collard greens (or a combo like I did today).  You could probably use the same flavors for kale and spinach but they don't take all that long to cook so that's a whole different animal... I mean, vegetable.

I actually prefer to use the ginormous bags of pre-cleaned and chopped greens.  It makes this recipe so easy but, of course, you could make it harder on yourself and use the au natural type.

You start out with a little olive oil and saute the onion for a few minutes until it's soft, then add the garlic and cook just for a minute until you get that super yummy garlic smell wafting towards you.

Then the greens go in.  Depending on how big your pot it, you may need to add it in batches.  I typically use my stockpot and only have to add the greens in two batches.

Then, of course, it looks a little silly at the end when you have just a few cups of greens in the bottom of a giant pot.




Once the greens have wilted you add all the seasonings (except the honey and salt, I save that for the end) and cook for about 45 minutes.  Our preference for the heat component is sriracha.  You do have sriracha don't you?  If you don't, you need to go to the store immediately.  Sriracha is a hot sauce from Thailand and we put this stuff on everything!!!  My favorite?  Macaroni & Cheese.  It's the bestest.

Every once in a while I make this as a side dish for Mexican food.  Is that case, I substitute the Sriracha for canned chilis in adobo.  It gives it a nice, smoky and is a perfect side for tacos, enchiladas, etc.

Why do I put the honey and salt in at the end?  Well, the amount I put in just depends on how the greens taste that day.  The saltiness is very much dependent on the type of stock you use - some are just saltier than others.  Also, I find that each time the greens are more or less bitter so by adding the honey at the end I can taste and adjust.

We probably eat this once a week.  I serve it with grilled chicken or pork chops, meatloaf, whatever.

Spicy Vinegar Greens
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 T Olive Oil
1/2 cup finely chopped Yellow Onion (about 1/2 an onion)
3 cloves finely chopped Garlic
1 lb. coarsely chopped Collard, Turnip or Mustard Greens
1 cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 T Sriracha (I like spicy so usually add more; substitute chilis in adobo for a Southwestern flavor)
3 T Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 - 3 tsp Honey
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.  Add the greens in batches and saute for 3 minutes until wilted.  Add the broth, sriracha, vinegar and pepper.  Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 45 minutes.  Taste the greens and add salt to taste and just enough honey to cut a little of the bitterness.


Now you too can make some tasty greens.  I promise if eat this, you can eat more cookies.

Julie