Adapted from More Cooking in Wine Country by Joanne Weir
Serves 6
I have added garlic scapes to this recipe both because we have them and because they provide a lovely mellow garlic flavor. This is a great dish for which Weir suggests spinach or swiss chard, but you certainly could use a combination of our braising greens. If you donít like anchovies you can leave them out, but I urge you to try them; they will add a lot of flavor to this dish. You also could serve the greens over pasta and skip the step for making the fried bread cubes. Whatever works!
1/2 cup pine nuts
About 36 ounces of greens – spinach, swiss chard, kale, collards or a combo of all
1 tablespoon water
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup raisins, or mix half golden and half dark raisins
1 cup boiling water
1/4 pound stale coarse textured bread, crust removed, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, whole
1 clove garlic, minced (optional if you are using the scapes)
4 anchovy fillets, soaked in cold water and patted dry (optional)
A very large handful of garlic scapes, chopped (optional)
Toast your pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. Put the raisins in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Remove the stems from the greens. Wash all of your greens well and lightly pat dry. Heat a large pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the greens and the 1 tablespoon of water, season with salt and pepper and cover the pan. Cook, tossing occasionally until well wilted (about 3 minutes for spinach and 6 to 8 minutes for the other greens). Turn the greens into a bowl and set aside, saving your large pan for later.
Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add your whole garlic cloves. You are flavoring the oil so when the whole cloves start to turn color remove them from the pan. Sauté the bread pieces in the oil until golden and crisp and season with salt and pepper.
Heat your remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your large skillet over low heat. Add your minced garlic now if using and saute for about a minute. Mash your anchovies and add those, stirring until they start to dissolve. Add your garlic scapes if you are using them and saute until they begin to soften. Add the pine nuts, drained raisins, wilted greens, salt and pepper to taste. Toss together and place on a platter, garnish with the fried bread and serve warm.
