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You are here: Home / Recipes / Gluten-free / Spring greens with blue cheese

Spring greens with blue cheese

by Jeanne Horak on January 30, 2012 11 Comments in Gluten-free, Vegetable side dishes, Vegetarian

SpringGreensBlueCheese © J Horak-Druiff 2012

 

Predictions.  What is it about them that the human race simply cannot resist??  Nostradamus made a career out of making them.  Generations of scarf-swathed women in heavy black eyeliner with cards or crystal balls or tea-leaves have made a good living out of them (or got condemned to death on account of being a witch – not a great career move!).  The entire betting industry rests upon our belief that we can make accurate predictions – as does much of the global financial market.  The hot topic of discussion this year has been the ancient Maya civilisation’s alleged prediction that the world will end this year on 21 December (no need to bother with sending out Christmas cards, then), not forgetting that 2011 saw two predicted and unrealised World Endings.  In fact, for a race so totally obsessed with making predictions, we seem to be phenomenally bad at it.

Take or example my lovely friend C. who is currently visiting us from South Africa.  She turned forty earlier this month and, clearly far more organised than me, she had already had her 40th birthday wine bought and cellared for a few years.  Looking at her and her friends’ drinking habits at the time, she predicted that buying a few magnums of one of South Africa’s flagship full-bodied red wines (Kanonkop Paul Sauer) would be just the ticket and that they would all get pleasantly merry on this wine at her 40th.  What she did not predict was that by the time her 40th birthday rolled around, her friends would be either pregnant, nursing, teetotal, health freaks or suffering from gout or such delightfully middle-aged complaints.  “Nobody drinks red wine any more! Who saw that coming?” she wailed in despair. So, not wanting to open these pricey magnums unnecessarily, she managed to rally enough support to finish nearly one bottle… and the rest remain cellared.  For her 50th, she has already bought some Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, hoping that by then at least some of her friends can be persuaded to drink pale red wine.

 

SpringGreensRaw1

 

As the song says, it goes to show you never can tell.  For example, I would never have predicted in 1997 that I would meet the man I was to marry within a year (after many years of kissing all manner of frogs!!).  And in 1998, having met him, I predicted a career in academia for myself and possibly a move for us both to Cape Town where we would live in a tiny but stylish cottage on Ocean View Drive in Sea Point. What I did not predict was our departure two years later for the UK and the fact that we sort of forgot to go home. I could never have predicted that said man would have me graduate from eating sickly-sweet korma curry to considerably hotter green Thai curries and chipotle-flavoured dishes. Or that I would overcome my long-term dislike of beetroot and raw tomatoes, or that I would become an enthusiastic consumer of green leafy vegetables.

To be fair, when I was growing up, South Africa was not exactly a hotbed of exotic vegetables.  Green leafy vegetables meant white cabbage (OK, so not exactly green, but at least a brassica!) or spinach.  Or at least what was sold to us as spinach, but that upon subsequent reasearch turned out to be Swiss chard! And when I first arrived in the UK, my views on the matter did not initially change much.  Cabbage was great when eaten raw in coleslaw, and spinach was good because you could make creamed spinach which did not taste too vegetabley at all.  But no way was I loading up my plate with piles of limp, unidentified green leaves! And besides, who knew what to do with kale, cavolo nero or collard greens?  And what the hell were “spring greens” anyway, resembling nothing more than a loose collection of the leaves from the outside of a cauliflower – the ones I would normally discard!

Aaah, how wrong I was.  I think the thin edge of the wedge was savoy cabbage, because I had at least heard of it and it had the familiar element of “cabbage” in its name.  But from savoy cabbage it was not a million miles to curly kale – and all of these leaves have now become trusted friends and frequent guest stars on my dinner table.  The particular cultivar group to which spring greens belong is called Brassica Oleracea Acephala, or the “headless” Brassicas, to which kale and collard greens also belong.  The name refers to the fact that none of these plants form compact “heads” of leaves in the way that cabbage or Brussels sprouts to, but rather a loose collection of leaves.  This loose arrangement of leaves means that each leaf gets full exposure to the sun and elements, which results in greener, coarser leaves than a cabbage.  The tough leaves and strong taste are off-putting to some people, but the benefits are that the leaves are particularly rich in Vitamin C, folic acid, iron and dietary fibre.

Although I sometimes simply steam them and add butter and salt afterwards, on this occasion I made them a little indulgent with the addition of blue cheese and cream… and I predict that you are going to love it!

Here are some other vegetable side dishes from blogs for you to try:

  • Kalyn’s roasted carrots with mushrooms and thyme
  • Michelle’s caramelised onions
  • Margot’s sesame ginger honey glazed carrots
  • Meeta’s spiced Indian cabbage and fennel

SpringGreensCollage

 

SPRING GREENS WITH BLUE CHEESE (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

4 cups of spring greens, sliced
25-50g Gorgonzola or similar blue cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
4 Tbsp double cream
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Wash the spring greens thoroughly and slice them into 1cm strips. Keep the thicker pieces of stem and centre spine to one side.  Bring a small pot of water to the boil and place a steamer over it.  Place the pieces of stem and spine in the steamer, covered, for about 2 minutes on their own before adding the leaves.  Steam for about 5 minutes in total, until the leaves and stems are wilted and softening but not soggy.

In the meanwhile, warm a large bowl.  Remove the greens from the steamer to the warmed bowl.  Crumble the blue cheese over the greens, add the cream and stir to mix until the cheese has all melted.

Check for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste – go easy on the salt as the cheese itself is salty.  Serve hot.

 

P2P_badge-SomersetDid you miss our our super-successful  Tuscany Plate to Page workshop last October? Well, registrations are open for Plate to Page Somerset due to be held in the UK in Spring 2012!  Have a look at the programme, details about  accommodation, and if it looks like something you’d like to attend, register here – but hurry: places are limited to 12. It would be great to see you there!

 

 

 

 

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  1. nina says

    January 31, 2012 at 3:15 am

    You’re right! Who knows where life will take us, might as well enjoy the ride. Love the idea of Blue cheese on greens, I think it will go down as a main course in my home at the moment.

    Reply
  2. Firefly says

    January 31, 2012 at 7:29 am

    I often love to see you food and wish I could try making or at least tasting it. Today… not so much. But its not you, its me. LOL!

    Reply
  3. Simone says

    January 31, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Ah yes predictions!! I lost count of the number of times the world was supposed to end already. I’ve never been good at predicting anything so I generally don’t bother although I can sort of predict that this spring green dish is just the thing I would love!!

    Reply
  4. Jenn says

    January 31, 2012 at 8:08 am

    Lovely recipe! I think I might try this with kale actually… I haven’t given up on kale yet and I think I need just the right recipe to realize I love it 🙂

    Reply
  5. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    January 31, 2012 at 10:00 am

    I think we like predictions b/c we like to think that we have order and knowing what to expect makes us feel more in control of our lives. Funny how it never works out that way and life always manages to throw you a few curve balls.

    Reply
  6. Móna Wise says

    January 31, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    You know – If I were your friend with all that wine stashed I think I would be recruiting some new friends!
    Life takes very unusual twists and turns Jeanne. We are no where near ‘where’ we thought we’d end up, stylish cottage to boot, but happiness seems to have found us so we are staying put!

    Reply
  7. bellini says

    January 31, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    I predict this salad will appear one night in my kitchen.

    Reply
  8. Colleen Shumway says

    February 1, 2012 at 12:20 am

    I’m not sure that I have had spring greens before… Or have I? It’s hard to say, I don’t really know the difference between most basic-leaved vegetables. This seems like a pretty good recipe though, thanks for sharing. I predict that I might just try it!

    Reply
  9. Rosa says

    February 1, 2012 at 9:09 am

    That dish looks and sounds amazing! What a mouthwatering combination.
    Cheers,
    Rosa

    Reply
  10. nuvali restaurants says

    February 3, 2012 at 4:11 am

    Oh this looks good. very nutritious and at the same time delicious.
    Alvin

    Reply
  11. mjau.Qi says

    February 3, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    love thos recipe! thank you!

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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