# How do you cook your greens? I need new ideas. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509 "2014-05-28T22:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/1 "2014-05-28T22:14:43Z")
I’ve loved and eaten greens, including kale, since before it was A Thing. Ways I typically cook a mess of greens (I usually use onion also.): Stir-fried in olive oil with garlic and lemon juice or red wine vinegar. Stir-fried with bacon or lardon or sausage. Stir-fried with anchovies. (Yes, anchovies.) In a casserole with sweet potatoes and sausage. With eggs, as in breakfast. Ways I have tried and disliked: Roasted/kale chips/trendy. I have a bunch of rainbow chard growing in my garden, and a friend just gave me a big bag of mixed mustard and collard greens. Am I missing any culinary greens adventures? I’m single and frying up some bacon and adding greens is very tasty, but I think I need more variety. Creamed greens? Greens with cheese? Salads? Any other ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/2 "2014-05-28T22:25:25Z")
Well, you sound to me like you have a lot more experience than I do. But I will tell you my experiences in the hope something there may help you. The worst way I have found to cook greens is to boil them in water. One of the best ways is to use a steamer and steam them to a desired level of firmness and then to cook them in some sauce or oil to finish them off. The only other thing I can contribute is to Google for various cooking techniques, like maybe: “list the most delicious ways to cook green beans” “list the best recepies that include green beans” Oh wait! Have you ever done any cooking with Miso? Miso is a Japanese seasoning made from fermented paste. It tastes a whole lot better than it sounds when used by an experienced cook. There are some recipes for green beans using Miso that sound quite good. Here are some links: Green Beans and Onions in Spicy Miso Sauce > **[Green Beans in Spicy Miso Sauce Recipe - Food.com](https://www.food.com/recipe/green-beans-in-spicy-miso-sauce-115998)** > > This may be served as a side dish or as a main dish when put over rice, pasta, or some other grain. Adapted from an Eden Organic Foods recipe. Quick Sesame Green Beans [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-sesame-green-beans](http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-sesame-green-beans) Green Beans in Spicy Miso Sauce [http://www.edenfoods.com/recipes/view.php?recipes\_id=51](http://www.edenfoods.com/recipes/view.php?recipes_id=51) If you have never used Miso before, it is well worth investigating. You can spend many years exploring and learning about Miso. My favorite Miso book is: The Book of Miso by William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/3 "2014-05-28T22:34:26Z")
When using Google below, do not include the double quotes. Google “list the most delicious ways to cook green beans” Ten Easy Green Bean Recepies > **[6 Different Types of Green Beans](https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-green-beans-4047242)** > > Go beyond green beans with this guide to string beans, haricots verts, pole beans, wax beans, long beans, and purple beans. Tasty Green Beans [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tasty-green-beans](http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tasty-green-beans) Green Beans [http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134](http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134) Google “list the best recepies that include green beans” Southern Vegetable Recipes: Greatest Green Bean Casseroles [http://recipes.answers.com/article/30429/southern-vegetable-recipes-greatest-green-bean-casseroles](http://recipes.answers.com/article/30429/southern-vegetable-recipes-greatest-green-bean-casseroles) green bean recipes > **[green bean Archives](https://www.101cookbooks.com/ingredient/green-bean)** > > A collection of the best green bean recipes from 101 Cookbooks. There are many great ways to cook green beans including steaming, sautéing, baking, and roasting. There are a huge number of other links to various recipe sites. You could spend many years examining these sites and never even scratch the surface. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/4 "2014-05-28T22:36:32Z")
The way I prefer to cook most veggies is minimally, if at all. Salads are good. And if you’re tired of salad, just give them a quick stir-fry or steaming. Microwaving can also work, but it takes some trial and error to get it just right. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/5 "2014-05-28T22:37:01Z")
OK, well, yes I have googled but you’ve given me some ideas: using different oils, such as sesame, or miso sauce. I adore miso soup so that is an interesting direction. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/6 "2014-05-28T22:43:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The way I prefer to cook most veggies is minimally, if at all. Salads are good. And if you’re tired of salad, just give them a quick stir-fry or steaming. Microwaving can also work, but it takes some trial and error to get it just right. Got any salad ideas? Most of the cooking-greens type greens (mustard, turnip, chard, kale) seem suited mostly for cooked treatment. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/7 "2014-05-28T22:49:39Z")
If you can’t decide, juice 'em with fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/8 "2014-05-28T23:09:40Z")
This is how I make chard (got the recipe from my farm share) 1. strip the leaves off the stems 2. blanch the leaves - immerse in boiling water for 1.5 minutes 3. Drain leaves and squeeze all excess water from leaves (leaves will now be compressed into a damp wad) 4. Roughly slice the wad into 1" slices. 5. Put slices into pan with a pat of butter and a handful of parmesan cheese. Stir to break up the slices and distribute buttery cheesy goodness throughout. Salt/pepper to taste (careful - parmesan cheese is fairly salty) 6. nom nom nom ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/9 "2014-05-28T23:21:33Z")
I’ve found kale to work in place of spinach in pretty much any Indian recipe if you like curries. Most recently I made a yellow curry with chickpeas and a pound of kale (thickest parts of stems removed or it’s too “woody”), and a pound of baby spinach. Would probably work just fine with all kale. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/10 "2014-05-28T23:57:48Z")
An Italian soup! This is my recipe, loosely adapted from Olive Garden’s Tuscan soup, but you’ll also see that it’s very similar to many traditional American recipes for greens, since I’m adding potatoes and chicken broth to the greens. Ingredients (Sorry, I don’t need no stinkin’ measurements.) Greens of your choice. Olive Garden used kale. I usually use collards, but anything works, including mustard and beet greens. 2 medium potatoes per person, diced into 1/2 inch cubes 1 Italian sausage per person Chicken stock, enough to cover everything Misc seasonings: garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper, chile flakes (optional), bay leaf In a pan on relatively high heat, I start by browning the sausage and remove it. Use the sausage pan to wilt the greens (thereby picking up all the brown bits from pan) While wilting the greens, get the sausage cut up into bite-sized pieces. Peel and cube your potatoes. Throw the wilted greens, half of your potatoes and the chicken broth into your soup pot. Let this cook about 30 minutes. If the potatoes have not fallen apart by themselves, smash them up a little. (Remember, we’re only using half of the potatoes in this step, and the idea is that they thicken this soup without any need for cream or fat. Don’t worry about whizzing them up or getting it perfectly smooth. It’s meant to be rustic.) Now add the rest of the potatoes, the cut sausage and the rest of your seasonings to taste. When the second batch of potatoes are fork-tender (about 20-25 more minutes), serve. Goes great with crostini or garlic bread. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/11 "2014-05-29T00:19:23Z")
steaming does give a different taste and feel. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/12 "2014-05-29T00:22:39Z")
Boil your washed chard leaves in a small amount of water and puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Freeze it in an ice cube tray and put the frozen cubes in a bag in the freezer. Toss in a frozen chard cube or two every time you’re cooking— - soup - stew - sauce - curry - mashed potatoes - rice - eggs - whatever modulo, of course, the suitability of a little greens flavor in whatever the dish is. I also like “chardcannon”, a modified version of colcannon or Irish mashed potatoes with kale. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/13 "2014-05-29T01:56:52Z")
I’ve had baked spinach cheese casserole. I would imagine you could easily substitute other greens into that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/14 "2014-05-29T02:49:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **chiroptera** : > > Got any salad ideas? Most of the cooking-greens type greens (mustard, turnip, chard, kale) seem suited mostly for cooked treatment. I mostly just toss in everything I have that’s vaguely salady, but I find that strong greens go well with nuts or sesame seeds and a dairy dressing. Maybe carrots, too, and of course you can’t go wrong with bacon. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/15 "2014-05-29T09:12:24Z")
In the South, greens are often eaten with cornbread in the same meal. The Japanese have a dish called goma-ae (various spellings) which is basically vegetables with a sesame dressing. I ordered it a few times at a place that I used to frequent, and what I was served looked like cooked fresh spinach bundled into little packets that had been drained of most of the cooking liquid. I got a Japanese friend to go with me and he said it was like something his mom would have made for lunch. Chard goes very well with garbanzo beans (and potato, of course). Tasty, inexpensive, nutritious and easy to digest. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/16 "2014-05-29T11:52:32Z")
Some great ideas here, I knew you people would come through! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/17 "2014-05-29T23:43:57Z")
You have to try this recipe. Very simple and crazy good! Aarti Sequeira’s Massaged Kale: > **[Massaged Kale Salad](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/massaged-kale-salad-recipe-1952450)** > > Get Massaged Kale Salad Recipe from Food Network ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/18 "2014-05-30T00:39:55Z")
Like in the last recipe, if you want to use tougher greens for raw/salad preparations, slice it VERY thin and marinate it thoroughly in an acidic dressing. I gave up my farm share box last winter because of the kale. Endless kale. Two or three varieties, every week, enormous bunches! TOO MUCH! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/19 "2014-05-30T07:29:38Z")
Cut a pound of linguica into rounds. Chop of a bunch of kale, a large onion and a couple of potatoes. Combine and toss with olive oil and salt. Put into a large pot, cover and bake at 350 F for an hour or two (depending on how done you like your vegetables). ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509/20 "2014-05-30T07:57:10Z")
Try steaming it and then serving it covered in a Thai peanut satay sauce accompanied by rice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-cook-your-greens-i-need-new-ideas/689509.md?page=2)