Dish of Sautéed Greens
(click to enlarge)

Sautéed Greens


Africa: Ethiopia / Eritrea   -   Eritria: Costa (Chard); Homli (Mustard Greens); Ethiopia Gomen (Kale)

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
4 side
**
50 min
Yes
A delicious side dishes to East African stews. With torn Injera bread on the side, it can be a fine light lunch for two, one even a Vegan can enjoy. See also Comments.

1-1/4
8
3
3/4
2
1/2
-------
ar

#
oz
cl
in
T
t
---

Greens (1)
Onion, red (2)  
Garlic
Ginger root
Olive Oil
Salt
-- Garnish
Diced Onion

Prep   -   (25 min)
  1. For Chard:   Rinse well. Cut out central stems and cut them into narrow strips about 1 inch long. Cut or tear leaves into pieces a couple square inches in size. Keep separate from stems.
    For Mustard Greens or Kale:   Rinse well. Cut out central stems and discard thick ones. Smaller stems can be kept separate and cut to 1 inch long. Cut or tear leaves into pieces a couple of square inches in size.
  2. Dice some of the ONION small and set aside for Garnish. Chop the rest fine.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice GINGER very thin, cut slices into threads, and chop the threads fine. Mix.
Run   -   (25 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan or coverable wok, heat Oil. Stir in Onions and fry stirring until translucent, then stir in Garlic mix and fry stirring until aromatic.
  2. Stir in Stems (if set aside) and Salt. stirring often until almost tender (5 minutes for Chard). Add a couple tablespoons of Water if needed.
  3. Stir in Salt and Leaves, a big handful at a time (unless using a wok), and stir up the Onions and Stems over the Greens. When they are coated with oil and partially wilted, cover tightly and cook until tender, stirring a couple of times. Add a touch of water if needed - it should end up with no free liquid.
  4. Serve hot, garnished with Diced Onion or as desired.
NOTES:
  1. Greens:


    Chard:   White stemmed is preferred, but other colors will work OK. For details see our Chard / Swiss Chard page.
    Mustard Greens:   For details see our Cabbage, Mustard, Turnip & Radish Greens page.
    Kale Flat Leaf Kales are much preferred to Curly Kales for African recipes. Note that African "Collard Greens" are much closer to Kale than to the "Collard Greens" of the American South. For details see our Kale page.
  2. Onions:

      These can be either Red or Yellow. I strongly favor Red, because they make a better garnish, and I consider the crunchy Onion garnish important to this dish.
  3. Comments:

      The Eritrean versions (toe80,81) do not use the Onion or Ginger. The Ethiopian "Gomen" is an African flat leaf Kale, called "Collards" in Africa, but is much more tender than American Collards. White stemmed Chard (my favorite) is also common in Ethiopia. The Eritrean recipes steamed the greens for a few minutes to wilt them to make it easier to stir in. I find this unneeded with a 3-1/2 quart sauté pan, but if making more than one recipe I'd definitely use a wok.
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
qsv_grnsau1 210322 toe80,81 / e80   -   www.clovegarden.com
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