Greens. The Other White Meat.

I wanted something flavorful, but super healthy for our dinner tonight. We have this wonderful cookbook called 660 Curries, which I think would be a hilarious gag gift for Jill Bari Steinberg, but that's another post for another day. This book is great if you have an over-abundance of something and need a recipe to use it up. There are just so damn many recipes in the book. The guy who wrote it said he called it 660 Curries because he meant to make it 1001 and just ran out of steam at 660!

This vegan dish is a main dish for us, but maybe a side for a carnivore. I just served it with brown rice, and it was very spicy and delicious, but light. And packed with nutrition! Loads of fiber and vitamins and stuff. In fact, it has 100% of the daily requirement of Stuff. It would also make a really nice side dish for a meat entree. It's a quick fix, and here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T canola oil
1 t cumin seeds
a puree of 10 garlic cloves, 2"piece of ginger root and 4 hot green chillies
1 pound of fresh spinach, stems removed and rough chopped
1 pound of fresh collard greens or mustard greens, stems and spines removed, rough chopped
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1.5 t garam masala
salt to taste

Saute the onion until it's very done. If you wish, you can add the salt right now--it will help the onions leech moisture and caramelize. Then, add the cumin seeds and fry them until they smell nutty, about 20 seconds. Add the garlic-ginger-chilli paste and swish it around until it colors a bit, about a minute. If it starts to stick to the pan, deglaze with a little water. Now add the greens a handful at a time, and cover between handfuls so they'll wilt. When you have added all the greens and they've wilted down enough, add the can of tomato with the juice. Let that heat through, then add the garam masala. Add more salt if you think it needs it. If it looks too watery, just cook uncovered until some of the water evaporates. Last but not least, and this is optional, give it a whiz with a hand blender. I just did a partial puree because I like the occasional chunks.

I served this with brown rice, but I think it would be lovely with couscous, too! The flavor is very spicy! If you are a wimp, cut down on the hot chillies.