EAT YOUR GREENS...

Anyone who's been reading this blog for a long time might remember that a few years ago I studied macrobiotic cooking - it's true! That was when I was going to Paris a lot - try doing your macrobiotic cooking homework in Paris - it's like a sick joke. While I got bored with the strictness of it, felt life was too short not to have a little brioche once in a while and was frustrated with the whole needing to use eighteen different pans and thirty six ingredients from four corners of London to compose a simple meal, I must admit that it taught me certain principles and gave me skills to look after my health. This has come in handy over the past few months when I've been ill more often than well, and the only thing the doctor can do is give me repeated courses of antibiotics which even he admits probably won't have any effect and I think knocks my immune system out even more. So all I can do is eat as well as I can. I've been loading up on seasonal veg in every meal - until I was confronted with the dark leafy greens block. I know it's really good for you but I've just never known what to do with it. Kale, greens, chard - anything like that is exactly what I should be eating but I just seem to make it into a soggy mess.

I'd been looking at Ashley Helvey's blog for inspiration a lot - apart from her aesthetic, which I love, she cooks in a way I can relate to - really nourishing healthy food from good sources cooked in the unfussy way that I like. I eventually reached across the interwebs and asked her if she'd share a few ideas on what to do with greens and she was so kind to send me a load of recipes, which I'll share below. I've done the chard I already had at home with olive oil, lemon and garlic which was delicious, and now I've got masses of curly kale to play with. I thought collards were the same as chard - see the depth of my misunderstanding about dark leafy greens - they aren't at all! Collard greens are just much less available in the UK, who knows why, but I reckon all greens are interchangeable so would work with any of these recipes. Enjoy - I know I am - and feel free to leave any recipes for leafy greens of your own in the comments.

Greens with shallot and crumbled egg:

Boil two small eggs (or one large egg) in generously salted water for six minutes, add ribboned collards with stems removed, boil for an additional three minutes, strain, squeeze excess water from collards/greens with fresh dishcloth, toss with high quality extra virgin olive oil, Meyer lemon, crumbled egg yolks, and paper thin shallots. Garnish with cracked black pepper or cayenne. I added feta, but this recipe can take whatever you've got. I think it would be delicious with torn bread croutons.

More after the cut...


Greens with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, and garlic:
Boil greens in salted water for three minutes, strain, squeeze excess water out, drizzle with high-quality, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, juice of one lemon, and two finely minced garlic cloves, toss and serve immediately.

Creamed collards:
Caramelize sliced yellow onion in two tablespoons butter, toss in two bunches sliced collards, stir until wilted (two minutes), pour one cup fresh heavy whipping cream and reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for five minutes until cream is reduced, season with flaky sea salt and freshly grated nutmeg. 

Fried white beans and kale:
Fry large, freshly cooked white beans in spoonful of ghee until crispy on each side (six minutes), add thinly sliced kale and stir until wilted, toss in one minced garlic clove, one teaspoon lemon zest, and garnish with juice of lemon, grated parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Also good with red chili pepper.

Thank you so much Ashley!

{All photos © Ashley Helvey}