Wylie’s Greens

We eat a lot of greens in our house, and they’re the best when our son, Wylie, makes them, as he takes special care with them. First he sweats shallots and garlic in olive oil, then he sautés chopped stems from the greens till tender, then adds the toughest greens, followed by the more tender greens, and finally adding in a little chicken stock (you can use vegetable stock or water to make it vegan), along with a dash of vinegar and red pepper. They’re really beautiful, with the stems looking like confetti on top (rainbow chard stems are especially pretty) and adding texture.

This is a very adaptable recipe (more of a method than a recipe); use whatever greens you have or look good, and taste as you go along to determine when the greens are as tender as you’d like. If you don’t have shallots but you have garlic, just use the garlic, and vice-versa. The batch photographed here was made from greens picked up in a harvest box from a local non-profit educational organic garden in Dallas — La Bajada POP Farm, part of Promise of Peace Gardens. Our box included two kinds of kale, plus rainbow chard and some daikon greens. We used a pound, but you can use more or less, depending on what you have; if so, you might want to add a little more or less oil or liquid at the end, but even if you keep the same amounts listed here, it’ll probably be just fine.

The instructions may look long and involved, but it’s actually very easy; we’re just being super specific to account for different types of greens. Do it once, and you’ll be able to do it again in your sleep.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 pound greens: kale, collards, mustard greens, chard, spinach, beet greens, turnip greens or any combination

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 shallots, minced