Greens

VARIATIONS

• Brazil: Couve ŕ Mineira: Follow above recipe using collard greens & kale, chopping well. Serve as an accompaniment to feijoada.
• China: Add ginger, garlic and soy sauce, and sometimes chicken.
• Ethiopia: Puree with spiced butter.
• Greece: Use wild greens like amaranth or tender cultivated greens such as dandelion, spinach or sorrel.

• Horta Ladolemono (Greens with lemon-olive oil dressing): Sauté the greens in olive oil to wilt. Add a little water, salt and pepper, and simmer gently, covered, till cooked through. Stir in the juice of one or two lemons. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top and serve.
• Mavromatika Fasolia me Myronolahana (Wild greens with black-eyed peas): Sauté an onion and some garlic in olive oil. Add a little tomato paste and some greens and sauté to wilt the greens. Add a little water, cover and simmer till tender. Stir in some cooked, rinsed black-eyed peas. Simmer to heat through. Adjust seasoning, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

• India: Add spices and ginger and sauté in ghee.
• Kenyan Sukuma Wiki (Greens & tomatoes): Follow the above recipe, but add 2 cups of chopped tomatoes along with the water.

• Sukuma wiki is Swahili for "stretch the week". This ubiquitous Kenyan dish is a way of "stretching" out kitchen resources. Served with ugali, sukuma wiki makes a typical Kenyan meal.
• Add a chopped chili pepper or two with the onions if you like.
• Some recipes call for thickening the dish with a flour-lemon juice mixture. Here's how: mix 2 Tbsp of flour well with the juice of 1 lemon and a little water. Stir into the greens after they have been simmering for about 10 minutes. Continue simmering for another 15-20 minutes until the dish is slightly thickened.
• If you like, add leftover meat you may have for more flavor. Kenyans would most likely add goat or beef.

• United States: Use collards, mustard or turnip greens, kale, or a mixture.

• Southern Greens: Sauté a chopped onion in bacon fat or lard. Add the greens in batches and sauté to wilt. Add water or stock to cover, a smoked ham hock or turkey tail, a big pinch of sugar and salt and pepper. Simmer till the greens are tender (some cooks allow them to simmer low overnight). Finish with a touch of vinegar if you like, and serve with soul or Southern meals. Pass Tabasco or Pickapeppa sauce at the table.