The cool spring has delayed the arrival of summer squash, new potatoes, etc., so I continue to stretch my creativity with the abundance of greens in my box each week. When kale arrived last week, I groaned. Last year I was not able to find a recipe that I liked with this tough green, but I was bound and determined to find a use for it this year. I created a winning recipe with my mind set on "hiding the greens."
I laughed when I read KC's comment on my spring spaghetti sauce post that said, "This looks awesome. I'll definitely "hide" some greens this way!" My life this spring has been about hiding the greens from Mike and Sarah. Joe and I can eat greens straight up, simply sauteed in olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. However, Mike and Sarah refuse these dishes.
This week I basically adapted Gina's Greens and Beans recipe to make a sauce for pasta. I boiled the kale leaves (stems discarded) and swiss chard leaves in salt water for three minutes and then drained them in a strainer, even squeezing excess water out. I browned a pound of Italian sausage in my cast iron Dutch oven and then added garlic scrapes, scallions, and chopped swiss chard stems to saute in the sausage fat. I was generous with the salt and pepper too. When those ingredients were soft, I added a can of cannelloni beans along with the packing water from the beans, 1 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup grated Parmesean cheese, and 1/2 cup half and half. Once this sauce had simmered for five minutes, I added the greens to the pot and simmered for five more minutes. I added one pound of cooked pasta to the Dutch oven and heated through. The pasta was a hit, just like my spring spaghetti sauce.
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