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Day 5 Stewed Greens That Shapeshift into Spinach Dip
Me by way of Carla Lalli Music
INGREDIENTS
1/3 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Shallot, diced
3-4 Cloves of Garlic, smashed
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
1 tsp. Turmeric (Sadly, I'm not a big turmeric fan, and believe me, I've tried, so I skip this ingredient... That's usually the end of the story, but as I'm typing, I'm thinking that I wouldn't be mad at a little tomato paste here, maybe an anchovy or two?)
2 Large Bunches of Any Leafy Greens, chopped. My favorite is rainbow chard, but you can also use Spinach, Kale, Collards, Mustard Greens... now that I'm thinking about it, I bet like even broccoli would work here...
Salt and Pepper
Some sort of creamy product, already opened in your refrigerator (Sour Cream, Greek Yogurt, Cream Cheese, omg RICOTTA!)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a heavy bottomed pot, bring your olive oil to a medium heat. Toss in your sliced Shallot. Let the shallot sweat a bit, heading down the path towards translucence, but don't let it brown. Add in the Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes and Cumin and let sizzle until fragrant. Probably a minute or so.
If whatever the leafy green you have chosen has thick stalks, remove them from the leaves (this woman on the internet will show you how) and then slice those separately from the leaves themselves to about the same size as you sliced your shallot. Then, transfer those sliced stalks into the pot. Let them soften for a few minutes without browning.
Finally, throw the sliced greens into the pot and stir for a minute or so, getting them totally coated with the oil and seasonings. You should start to see them wilting.
Generously salt and pepper the greens and then lower the heat as low as it goes. Put the lid on the pot and let them cook in their own little steamy, olive oily, seasoning bath for an hour. Yes. A full hour.
Take a peak at them every so often, giving them a stir. Eventually, the mountain of greens you started with will have reduced to a concentrated pile of jammy goodness.
You can eat these greens on anything. Toast and a poached egg for breakfast, with rice and chicken for lunch, over polenta and spicy shrimps at dinner. You'll love them on everything because they're basically just a stewed condiment with lots of leafy green flavor. You'll forget about them after a few days and then see them in the fridge and think... shoot. I forgot about those. They definitely haven't gone back because they've basically been frozen in time in a casing of salt and fat, but the thought will cross your mind to throw them away. However, that feels wasteful. Children are starving, after all. The idea of putting them on another piece of toast makes you a little sad and you wonder when the world will go back to normal again. Then, the worst thought crosses your mind "This is the new normal." And suddenly you're bummed. You realize the leap from toast condiment to pandemic woes was incredibly quick, but after going down the same mental rabbit hole for almost a year, why waste time with all of those sad in between steps? Sure, you've got the time, but why bother, you know?
Then, suddenly, in a moment of genius or defeat, it hits you: Add fat.
You reach for the greens container and put the whole rest of the Tupperware (probably about 1/2 cup left in there? Maybe less?) in the microwave. . As it's reheating for 30~ seconds, you reach for the lifeline -- a tub of sour cream. Crossing your fingers, you peel back the lid. Moldy?! Nope. Still good. The microwave dings. Everything is moving so quickly! With the spoon in your sink that you use for spontaneous, mid-day, ice cream bites, you scoop out a heaping Tablespoon of sour cream and plop it straight into your day 5 greens. Still hot from the micro, you stir it into a wholly new beginning. It all feels so right. A personal victory sized bowl of creamy whatever. Warm in your hands, you notice you're involuntarily smiling. Where did these incredibly convenient crackers come from? You don't know and you don't care. You remember why you've made these greens, once a week, every week, since last March.
(Go buck wild and stir this into pasta. Thank me later.)