One of the big things about a home garden is related to like-foods needing harvesting at the same time. So, you have mustard greens, chard, kale, and collard greens in bunches. What can you do, other than sharing the raw food with family, neighbors, and friends. Well, here are some ideas.
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Make a Famous Indian Dish
My spouse arrived home with a big cloth bag full of greens from a friends garden, plus two artichokes. That friend stated she could not possibly eat all the greens, ready to pick, all by herself. So my spouse returned home, a little after 3pm with these goodies, and I needed to start cooking within the hour, so what should I do with the new influx of nutritious leaves?
I decided to make three dishes, I had mustard greens so made a mustard dip for using with the 2 artichokes, and a potato-greens saag with a combination of the remaining greens and some russet potatoes that I needed to use up.
Saag Dishes
Saag is an oft-ordered Indian dish that appears in nearly all Indian restaurants in the USA. Mainly, they use spices and spinach to make the rich green curry sauce called saag and add an additional ingredient. But Saag refers to a leafy green dish that could be made up of a variety of “leafy greens”.
- Variation of the additional ingredient
- Saag Paneer (Indian cheese)
- Saag Aloo (cubed potatoes)
- Saag Gosht (tandoor cooked meat: cubed lamb, chicken)
- Variation in the greens used for Saag
- Spinach
- Mustard greens
- Chard
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Pumpkin leaves
- Always served with white rice, and sometimes Naan (flat bread)
The thing to remember about these leafy greens, they reduce down dramatically as they are water laden veggies. So that, in effect, a whole bag of collard, kale, mustard, and chard greens made just enough food for 4 reasonable servings.
Saag Aloo Recipe
This is the recipe I used for my dish that night. But really, you can single source the greens from any listed above.
- 4C (packed) sliced and de stemmed collard greens + 1C (packed) sliced chard + 1C (packed) sliced kale
- 3T butter and 1T olive oil
- 1/2 diced yellow onion
- 2T peeled and minced ginger
- 3 minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Spices: 1t each cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and coriander powder
- I added a shake or two of dried red pepper flakes for heat
- I used 2C cubed steamed and peeled potatoes
I washed and chopped all the greens, removing their stems. Then added the butter to a deep pan and sautéed the greens. Once cooked down, I made a hole in the center and added onion, ginger, and garlic and oil. Then combined the various ingredients to get the flavor throughout the dish, and did so while putting the heat down so nothing burned. Then I added the spices and seasoning.
Meanwhile, I peeled and boiled cubed potatoes; but you can also keep the peels and fry the potatoes if you want. Then once the potatoes are done, I added them to the greens and mixed well.
Other Dish Ideas
Green‘d Up Mustard Dip
I saved the mustard greens to make a dip for the artichokes. I cooked and pureed the mustard greens with a bit of oil and added just a bit of Dijon mustard. Now I have to admit I put in too much Dijon mustard and wow was it mustardy. But it still tasted good. So just caution, start with just a bit, then add more as you taste.
This is also a good way to have a flavorful dip while adding more greens to one‘s dinner. I decided this would also be a good sauce on salmon or chicken, so think about what the dip could be used with for it can make a lot.
Enchiladas
Mix cooked greens with beans and cheese as enchilada fillings. I would not use mustard greens for this, but would use other greens such as chard, spinach, kale, and so on. I would finely chop these greens before sautéing so that they are small bits in with the beans and cheese.
Pesto Variations
Make a mixed green pesto. Start by washing and chopping the greens. Place them in a blender with all the other ingredients. Churn until it is the consistency you like. Then use it as a topping to pasta, baked potatoes, meat or many other dishes.
- 3C de-spined and chopped mixed greens
- 1/3C olive oil
- 1/2C finely grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
- 1/4C roasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds
- 1 minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
Since these greens are not cooked, using baby versions of the greens will make the pesto less textured and a bit smoother.
Use as Wraps
Chard and collard greens can grow huge. So once de-spined, you can use them as healthy, low-cal wraps. Plus you can add some of the greens in the fillings, along with other veggies and proteins.
Lasagna
Instead of limiting your self to just spinach, add these other greens as well. This can use up lots of greens while expanding the nutritional load of your dish. Just wilt the greens and squeeze out all the moisture you can before adding to your dish.
Summary
Think carefully when gardening by looking at what foods you eat, what you plant, when those plants need harvesting, and what can be easily frozen, canned, or eaten by your family. But if you wind up with too much of one type of food, consider dishes that can absorb the amount you have available. Or share with neighbors and family that could use the food as well.
—Patty
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