My acupuncturist is from China and we often have discussions about various ways Chinese culture and American culture differ, especially regarding food.
“When you have a salad it’s usually some sort of cold lettuce,” she said to me one day. “For us it’s warmed greens.”
She has always told me that my vegetables should be either warmed or at the very least room temperature to ease digestion. And there’s always talk in the media that the heat allows the release of more vitamins and minerals.
But there is another reason for warmed greens at my house– we always seem to have some spinach we haven’t quite finished. And last year the lettuce and swiss chard was hidden under the quickly growing (and towering!) sunflowers. By making warmed greens, we extend the life of the greens for a few days if we can’t get to them right away. And we don’t waste what’s growing in our garden.
I made a promise to myself that we’d eat more warmed greens and what you see in the photo above is last night’s wilted green salad.
It’s unbelievably simple- heat up a little oil (we tend to use olive but any oil will work), add a lot (remember, they will cook down to very little so overdo it!) of greens, some salt, a little garlic, and mix it up. I usually add one set of greens, stir them well with the oil and seasonings, then add the rest.
When they are mostly wet, I’ll put the lid on the pan, let it sit over the medium heat a few minutes, then remove the covered skillet and let it sit on a cool burner until we’re ready to eat. They don’t have to be perfectly anything, just warmed enough that they wilt and release that warmed flavor.