A wonderful stay with a family in Athens in my early twenties instilled in me a love of Greek cooking, due to the quality and profusion of the fantastic quality fresh vegetables used in Greek cooking. For me at that stage, seeing every meal being prepared using only fresh foods that were in season was a revelation. My mother and her sisters were great cooks and we ate pretty adventurous food for that time, but this was different. The kitchen had no jars, tins or packets and the garden, despite being in the suburbs of the city, was completely packed with growing vegetables and fruit. The family had access to an olive farm in the north of Greece which provided them with the most amazingly unctuous and verdant olive oil, a bottle of which I brought home with me and used very lovingly and sparingly to eek out every last drop.

 

My research and reading about Greek food following this experience earthed up lots of romantic paragraphs about gathering wild greens, or ‘horta’ in the mountains areas of Greece and I still read these passages with a longing to do the same and go gathering with a basket, probably fuelled by the fact that I am definitely a green veg person and will often crave greens.  Maybe its because my body instinctively knows that winter greens leave all other veggies behind in the nutrition competition and that along with being extremely low in calories, they provide substantial amounts of vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, potassium, folic acid and fibre.

 

If you know where it’s possible to find wild greens in Ireland, please let me know. But in the meantime here are some great recipes for those of us with ready access to winter greens from the garden. Chard greens can easily be used in the kale recipes but don’t forget to add the stalks, if using, before the greens as they need longer to cook.

 

 

Swiss Chard with Lemon Sauce – goes really well wth fish or chicken

 

500g approx. swiss chard

1 lemon, grated zest and squeezed juice

250ml vegetable stock

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

100ml olive oil

large sprigs of tarragon, coriander, rosemary

2-3 garlic cloves, sliced

 

Cut the white chard stems from the greens in a V shape and slice stems diagonally into thin strips. Roll the leaves up and thinly slice. Put in a bowl and scatter with a little lemon zest.

 

Boil the stock and lemon juice until reduced by half. Pour into a jug and mix into the chopped parsley. Cool and then whisk in most of the oil.

 

Put the herb sprigs into the base of a steaming pan with the garlic. Place the white chard stalks into a steaming basket and season, drizzle with oil and cover with lid and steam for 5 minutes. Remove lid, place green chard leaves on top of stalks, season and steam again with lid covered for another 4-5 minutes.

 

Remove cooked chard to a serving dish and pour over the lemon sauce to serve.

 

 

 

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large clove garlic, sliced

 

Cook the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft and starting to colour. Add the chorizo and cook until it starts to release its oil. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Drop in the kale and beans and simmer for about 6-7 minutes until the kale is tender. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley to serve.

 

 

10 stalks Swiss Chard (leaves only)

1 cup cream

sprigs of thyme and rosemary

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

½ cup grated parmesan

 

Blanch the swiss chard in salted water and drain, dry with some kitchen roll.

 

Put the cream into a saucepan with the garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Simmer at a low temperature until reduced and thick.

 

Add the chard and the parmesan to the cream and combine to serve. 

 

This dish can also be baked, sprinkle with a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated parmesan and bake in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes.