Greens: If you don’t like them, you can leaf.

Swiss chard from the market, kale from the garden, beet tops from the...beets. We are sautéing leafy greens on the regular this summer. And when they are vibrant and good for you, why not?

Well here’s your why! Cooked leafy greens can also turn into a chewy, bland, soggy mess. ☹️

But they don’t have to be.

Root your greens in flavor

Reading methods from folks like Alice Waters and Josh McFadden, the classic way to cook leafy greens is to infuse flavor into the pan before you add the leaves.

Start with a flavorful fat: Have any leftover bacon fat from breakfast last weekend (always save your bacon fat!!!)? Use it! Are you vegetarian? All good. Butter and olive oil are your friend. Try to not use a neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed or canola if you can help it.

Season your fat: Crisp bacon or salami in a large skillet to add both richness and a nice crunch to the final dish. Then add in shallots, garlic, leeks, and/or whole spices to the pan. (One of my favorite combinations is garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes cooked in olive oil.) Heating up the “seasoning” in the fat will develop their flavor.

Use steam. Then let it go.

The leaves go in. This all happens super fast. Add the leaves from your greens (stems removed) with a splash of water and a healthy pinch of salt. Then cover the pan with a lid. You want to quickly steam the greens so they are tender.

Why? Steaming lets you delicately cook the leaves to mellow out their bitter nature but without losing the natural flavor of the greens. When you blanch greens, you’ll often leave (😉) the flavor in your water. Not to mention you’ll waterlog your greens.

Also, remember those flavorful aromatics we added to the pan? Putting the lid on helps all that flavor perfume into the leaves.

Uncover and stir. After just a few minutes, take off the lid and stir the greens well. They should be slightly wilted. Taste one to see how much longer it needs.

Then squeeeeeze! This a trick I learned from Caroline Glover, a (bad*ss) local chef here in Colorado. Use tongs to squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can. You don’t want the leaves soggy.

Is there too much liquid pooling in your pan now? Instead of draining the liquid (and the flavor with it), turn up the heat and let most of the liquid cook off. 💨

Note on cooking time: Different greens cook for different amounts of time. The larger and thicker the leaf, the longer they will take to cook (think fully matured versus baby kale). One trick is to try the leaf raw and see how tough it is. That will give you some foresight into how long you should cook it. In total, cooking the greens shouldn’t take you more than 10-15 minutes. Err on the side of under rather than overcooked.

Finish Popeye-strong 💪

Remove the leafy greens from the pan. Leave behind the liquid (I didn’t even try on that one 😂). Take what’s left of the flavor base.

You’re not done. All the flavor you added will be delicious but subtle. Add a one-two punch to take your greens to the next level.

Don’t forget acid: Always finish your greens some form of acid. White wine vinegar and lemon juice are my favorite. The brightness is an amazing way to contrast the earthy and often bitter notes that come from leafy greens.

Add crunch: You can stop here if you want, but if you’re serving them on their own as a side, I often feel like the greens need something else. 💡 More contrast. Could be as simple as some croutons or nuts. Or the stems you removed from the leaves... How? 🤷‍♂️ (Yes that is subtle foreshadowing.)

Here’s how I’ll leaf you 🍂

I hope this gives you a basic technique for cooking your leafy greens. And as with anything in the kitchen, take it and put your own spin on it.

Cooked greens are a delicious, healthy dish that you can quickly make. And they are perfect to mix into a hash, as a topping for a bowl of rice and beans, or added to a piece of ricotta toast.

But what about using the stems?!? I’m leaving you hanging on this one (that’s the last one I promise!). Check out this post to learn how to strategically use the stems to elevate sautéed greens.

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