I've been having fun exploring new plants with Weekend Herb Blogging, and this week I tried mustard greens. Their flavor is sharp, spicy, and just a tiny bit bitter. I think they might be an acquired taste, and while I didn't hate them, I didn't love them either. But I did see lots of interesting looking recipes for ways to prepare them when I was looking around.
Maybe I should work on letting mustard greens grow on me, after all, they are one of The World's Healthiest Foods, they're low in calories and carbs, and they're loaded with vitamins A, C, and K. Besides being generally nutritious, mustard greens offer a number of health benefits.
Maybe I should work on letting mustard greens grow on me, after all, they are one of The World's Healthiest Foods, they're low in calories and carbs, and they're loaded with vitamins A, C, and K. Besides being generally nutritious, mustard greens offer a number of health benefits.I've gotten very fond of dishes with pasta and greens over the last few months, cooking up things like Pasta with Sausage and Collard Greens, and Spagetti with Italian Sausage and Arugula. This recipe is a slightly different take on the pasta/greens combo, in particular because of the lemon zest. And while I didn't love the mustard greens, I loved this combination of a lot of lemon zest, garlic, and Parmesan with the greens and pasta. The lemon complimented the flavor of the greens in a way that made the dish unique. If you're not sure how you'll feel about the sharp flavor of mustard greens, collard greens would be a bit sweeter and milder in this dish. I used Dreamfields low carb pasta in all these recipes, with only 5 net carbs per serving.
Macaroni with Mustard Greens, Lemon, and Parmesan
(Makes about 4 side dish servings, recipe created by Kalyn)
2 cups (dry) Dreamfield's macaroni or whole wheat macaroni
1 bunch mustard greens
1 tsp. minced garlic
zest from 2 lemons (I would freeze the juice to use later)
3 T olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water 9-10 minutes, or until barely al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining.
While pasta cooks, wash greens several times, then slice crosswise into 1 inch wide ribbons, discarding stems. Heat olive oil in large frying pan, add garlic and lemon zest and saute 1 minute. Add greens and saute about 5 minutes.
Add drained pasta to greens/garlic/lemon mixture, mix in, and heat 1 minute. If mixture seems dry, add pasta cooking water. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve hot, with additional cheese to be added at the table if desired.
Add drained pasta to greens/garlic/lemon mixture, mix in, and heat 1 minute. If mixture seems dry, add pasta cooking water. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve hot, with additional cheese to be added at the table if desired.
South Beach Suggestions:
Made with Dreamfields pasta or whole wheat pasta, this would be a great dish for phase 2 or 3 of The South Beach Diet. (Edit June 2011 - I have recently learned that if Dreamfields pasta is cooked for a long time or reheated it increases the glycemic index, so this recipe is probably only for phase 3 if reheated.) I would serve this as a side dish, to accompany something like Very Greek Grilled Chicken, Parmesan Chicken, Grilled Sea Bass with Lemon and Capers, or Greek Meatballs.
12 comments:
I have a feeling that mustard greens are the same as mizuna... i'll check this.
I also love pasta with greens. I was born in the South and there are definite mustard green factions there. Some peope in my family don't like them very much and prefer turnip greens or collards, others adore them. I like them when they are very young.
Mustard greens can be daunting, they are so personally intense. We used to mix them in with turnip greens (less assertive). Of course they were cooked much longer than yours -- and there's a reason why. They really need to mellow out and are better in the slow-cooked Southern style. I admire your dedication and your pursuit of new greens -- these are juse observations.
Mae, let us know about this. I love learning new names for things.
Oh, we're cross commenting. How exciting. Sher and Kudzu, thanks for your comments about the mustard greens. I liked them enough that I'd consider trying the younger ones or longer cooking time. Hmm.... I'm thinking slowly braised, then served with a little of my very best balsamic vinegar and maybe some parmesan.
How funny, I sprouted black mustard and now it is getting green. I never eat mustard greens, so I'll try them
Oh, I love mustard greens and well, all greens in general. I bet they are fabulous in pasta! Must try and soon - great post!
We usually make salad with mustard greens, first boil them, then dress them with a sauce consisting of garlic,olive oil, salt and lemon.
I never tried it with pasta before, thanks for the idea.
That looks lovely,yum! The potstckers could use some mustard greens in the next batch. You are right, they are called Gyoza also, so many names, so many dialets. It depends if you are speaking Madarine or Cantonese (one of them I know about ten words), but I can never remember which is which???!!
Now what should I make for dinner? Something with parsley I think...!
That is my choosen herb of the WHB
http://garlic-breath.blogspot.com/2006/04/parsley-weekend-herb-blogging-whb.html
Hola Kalyn, I am not missing this WHB! This is the link to my post: http://panamagourmet.blogs.com/cookingdiva/2006/04/cooking_with_sa.html
HUGS,
M
This recipe looks great. I got some mustard greens in my organic produce delivery this week and was trying to figure out how to use them. This looks perfect! Thanks!
What a great idea! I'll bet I could sneak some greens on my nephew with this recipe.
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