Living in the Deep South, greens are as much a part of the dinner plate as fried chicken. The general term "greens" could mean turnip greens, mustard greens or collard greens or a combination.
Greens are easy to grow wherever a small patch of land was available. In hard times this small piece of land would be invaluable in providing food to sustain a family. Our mothers, aunts and grandmothers would carefully wash and trim the green leaves, place them in a pot with water and some kind of pork for seasoning, then leave the pot to simmer for several hours. The result was a soft, custardy mash of olive green glistening with a slick of pork fat. Topped with a tart peppery vinegar sauce, this filled many an empty stomach.
Modern food scientists call greens and their cousins, the other cruciferous vegetables, superfoods because of their incredibly high vitamins and minerals. People in the South have been nourished by these vegetables for countless generations and just called them delicious.
Among the attributes of turnip greens are calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins C, A, K, and others. Members of the food police believe turnip greens can aid everything from depression to beautiful skin. Over the past couple of decades, food scientists have learned that the cruciferous vegetables — turnips, collards, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and a host of others — contain glucoscinalates. Whese are chewed, different compounds are released. Many of these compounds have been shown to have definite anti-cancer effects.
Quite often food scientists are not cooks. They are in business just to study the important attributes of a food, not how it tastes. A group called "The World's Healthiest Foods" has turnip greens on their "Top 10" list. However, their premise that the way to gain the benefits in turnip greens is to quick-steam them because all the vitamin benefits will be retained.
This cooking method goes against decades of greens eaters. The thought of my grandfather eating greens, which had only been cooked for 5 minutes is funny to me.
However, the case for barely cooked greens for health-enhancing properties is strong enough to give pause to the overcooking of vegetables. Maybe those delicious pots of slowly cooked vegatables in “pot likker” need to be saved for special occasions and barely cooked, but healthy greens eaten every day.
As my food hero, Julia Child, would say “everything in moderation, even moderation.”
Quick Steamed Greens with Vinaigrette
Carefully wash and stem a bunch of greens, removing any bad spots and the stems. Roughly chop the greens, then let them stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile put 2 inches of water in the bottom of a steamer pot. Bring the water to a rapid boil. Place the washed greens into the colander of the steamer basket. While the
greens are cooking,, prepare a Mediterranean Dressing.
Mediterranean Dressing:
• 1 Tblsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 medium clove of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 3 Tblsp. extra virgin olive oil.
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of black pepper
Let the greens steam for about 5 minutes, or until the color changes to a bright green. Remove from the colander basket and place in a bowl. Add some Mediterranean dressing and toss. Eat hot or cold. Enjoy this delightful dish and enjoy it knowing you are doing your hard-working body a big favor.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
