Cleaning, Cooking Stubborn Greens Just Got Easier Rule Of Thumb: Cut First, Wash Later
Greens give people the blues.
Leafy green vegetables are known for being hard to clean, stinky to cook and bitter to the taste - not exactly a ringing endorsement for foods that are full of fiber and virtually fat-free. But in recent years, chefs have developed recipes for greens that make cooking the leaves faster and eating them easier.
The first rule for handling greens, advises James Peterson in his cookbook “Vegetables” (William Morrow, 1998) is cut first, wash later.
Minute particles of dirt and sand can become trapped in the veins of the leaves and between the stalks. So the more the head of greens is separated, the easier it is to wash clean.
To trim collards, kale and Swiss chard, which have tough, unappetizing stems, separate the leaves and stack them on top of each other, lining them up where the bottom of the leaf meets the stem.
With a chef’s knife, chop off the stems and discard. Then, using the tip of the chef’s knife, or a paring knife, cut along each side of the stem into the leaf to remove the remaining stem. Hold the leftover leaf parts in a bunch and chop into pieces.
When trimming bok choy, savoy cabbage, chicory, escarole or other greens with more tender stems, simply cut off the tough bottoms of the stems, then chop the leaves into pieces.
Once the greens are cut, fill a clean sink with cold water and add the greens. Swish the greens around for a few minutes and then let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes so any dirt or grit can settle to the bottom of the sink. Using your hands, gently lift the washed greens out of the sink, letting the water escape through your fingers. Try not to disturb the water too much; you don’t want to stir up the grit.
“Unless the leaves are very sandy or mud-caked, as they can be in rainy seasons, this trick works well to get greens squeaky clean in just one washing,” says Victoria Wise in the “Smith & Hawken Gardeners’ Community Cookbook” (Workman, 1999).
Once there was only one way to cook greens such as kale and collards: simmer them for hours, even days, in a pot of water with a slab of fatback or a ham hock, until even the stems were tender. Then they were served up with a bottle of chili-laced vinegar on the side.
These days, chefs say, you can cook a good pot of greens in as little as 3 minutes. It all depends on which green you choose.
Soft greens, like savoy cabbage, bok choy and spinach, cook the quickest. Collards, kale, chicory and escarole may take 10 to 15 minutes to become tender enough to eat. The only way to know when the greens are done is to keep a careful watch on the pot. When buying greens, keep in mind that smaller, younger leaves cook faster.
All greens don’t have to be boiled. Softer ones can be sauteed in oil and seasoned with such accompaniments as feta cheese, bacon, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.