Creamed Braising Greens
Updated December 13, 2016
Michael Kraus for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
3 to 4 pounds young greens, like collards, kale, chard or mustard, stemmed and finely shredded.
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
13 grams carbs; 57 milligrams cholesterol; 248 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 8 grams fiber; 574 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein; 2 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until it foams. Add the garlic and shallot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until softened and golden, 5 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Add the nutmeg and salt to taste. Using a hand blender, purée until smooth.
- Step 2
In a large pot, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over high heat until it foams. Add the greens and cook, stirring constantly, until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and add the cream mixture. Lower the heat, cover and let simmer until cooked through, 5 minutes more. Taste for nutmeg and salt, season to taste and serve hot.
Private Notes
Comments
I use a pizza wheel/cutter. Same for finely chopping fresh herbs.
Can this be made a day ahead of serving?
What is the best way to finely shred the greens?
This was great and really easy. BF LOVED them. It made a lot for two, and we were happy to have the leftovers. I used a combo of nettles and spinach for the greens. And coconut milk since that’s all I had. Oh, and some bacon… A new fave!
This with Lopez-Alt-style crispy potatoes = perfect meal! (We used collards, did 1/2 & 1/2, & skipped the blending. Still felt & tasted plenty luxurious.)
I’m not super experienced with cooking heartier greens, but I bought two 1-pound bags of chopped curly kale — at least 1 pound less than directed — and the amount was overwhelming. Wound up using just 1.5 bags, and even then there wasn’t nearly enough cream sauce to adequately flavor all the greens. I also found the cooking times woefully inadequate. Although I sautéed the kale for twice as long as directed, the greens were still pretty chewy (and yes, I took great pains to remove all but the slightest stems). All told, my results were basically unappealing and unappetizing. Next time I will simply use tender greens like chard and/or spinach — just as healthy and a lot easier to work with!
You might have better results if you used young greens as specified — bagged chopped curly kale consists of mature leaves. The young/baby leaves have more water as well, and would reduce more than mature kale.