Friday, March 07, 2008

A tasty (and seasonal) way of getting your greens: Braised Winter Greens with Chestnuts

This is a recipe I have adapted from Fuschia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook* (p. 228). The original calls for pak choy, but it works equally well with winter greens (I used a mixed bag of green cabbage, spinach, curly kale and swiss chard from ASDA).

Braised Winter Greens with Chestnuts

Mixed winter greens, chopped (not too finely)
Cooked chestnuts
Vegetable stock (I used Marigold Vegan (and yeast-free) stock powder)
Freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil

Take a handful (or more) of chestnuts (quantity depends on how much you like them - their flavour can be quite strong). If large, chop into smaller chunks. Lightly fry in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add the winter greens (quantity depends on number of mouths to feed - remember the greens will cook down to nearly nothing, so you'll need more than you originally think!), and stir well, coating in the oil. When the leaves have wilted, add a small amount of stock. Stir well, turn the heat low and place a lid on the pan for a few minutes until any stems are tender. Serve as a side dish, perhaps with a piece of oven-baked salmon and a jacket potato.

* Incidentally, this is a GREAT cookbook. I put on a banquet for friends during Chinese New Year using recipes from its pages, and they all worked out brilliantly and tasted fantastic (and many can be easily adapted for the anti-Candida diet too).

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