A hopefully helpful thing: how I prep leafy greens

a.k.a. always take care of your future self...

I love a leafy green. I love kale cooked with garlic and chili flakes mixed with pasta. I love dotting the top of that same skillet of kale with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese and grated mozzarella and then sending it for a quick trip under the broiler to melt (here’s the recipe for the White Pizza-Style Kale from Simply Julia). I love collard greens cooked low-and-slow. I love mustard greens in a quick stir-fry. I love leafy greens!

What I don’t love is how much room the raw greens take up in my small refrigerator and how annoying it is to clean them. So unless I’m planning on eating a kale salad or something like that where I want the greens raw (which is rare— I much prefer my greens cooked), I will often prep the greens before I put them away. This (a) makes them take up way less space and (b) means I’m more likely to actually cook + eat them! Once they’re prepped, adding them to my dinner rotation is so effortless.

Since the prep is a little bit of a production, I will often go ahead and prep a few bunches of greens at a time and freeze some. I don’t repeat the process until I’ve used up everything.

Here’s what I do:

• fill a huge bowl with water

• cut off + discard the toughest parts of the stems (towards the bottom of the leaves)

• put the leaves and the most tender stems in the bowl of water and swish around so dirt falls to the bottom

• do this again if necessary (if there's still more dirt)

• pick up the greens out of the water (leave the dirt behind!) and place the greens in a large pot with whatever water still clings to them

• turn the pot on high heat and cover

• uncover to stir with tongs every so often until they’re all wilted (less than 5 minutes)

• use tongs to transfer to a bowl or a sheet pan and let them cool down to room temperature

• squeeze out the extra liquid

• roughly chop the greens (or you can leave whole— whatever you want)

• now store either in a container in the fridge (or put in a Ziploc, squeeze out the extra air and freeze)

• in the fridge, these are good for a week— in the freezer, I'd say best to use within a couple of months

  

Want to see this process in action? Head here to my Instagram for a fun reel.

And here are some ways I use my prepped greens:

• if starting with frozen greens, it’s quicker to incorporate them into your meals if they’re defrosted

• you can just add the prepped greens to whatever you’re making (like soup, stir-fry, pasta, an omelet…whatever…no need to do anything else)

• for garlicky sautéed greens, the simplest side dish that I make for my wife + myself at least a few nights a week: heat a big glug of olive oil in a pot or a skillet, add some minced garlic until it sizzles, then add the greens, a splash of water + a pinch of salt. stir until heated through (just about 2 minutes). so easy and so good with just about everything (roast chicken, fish, an omelet, pasta, rice + beans, other veggies…you name it)

• for greens + beans, do the above (make garlicky greens) and then add an equal amount of cooked beans (canned are great, just rinse them off first…or add ones you’ve cooked from dry yourself….any bean! white beans, chickpeas, whatever!) and add a splash of water or stock (veggie or chicken) and just let everything warm through and get to know each other…at least 10 minutes, up to an hour…a perfect bowl of food to enjoy on its own or with toast, pasta, rice, any grain, etc.

I hope this greens prepping method helps you feel as calm + prepared in the kitchen as it makes me feel!

If you like this post/method, you might also enjoy: my Sunday afternoon classes (I teach live cooking classes every Sunday afternoon and they are so much fun) / my podcast / my cookbooks.

Take care everyone, xoxoox, Julia

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