Healthy greens recipes

Greens are oftentimes overlooked in the Western diet, and these tasty greens recipes are meant to correct this injustice. You might not necessarily like all kinds of greens, but you may find that some of them please your palate more than the others. Keep trying. You are about to discover new ways to stay healthy!

• If you are looking for the ways to cook those collard greens, check my Collard Greens Recipes
• Learn to cook kale or eat it raw with the help of Kale Recipes
• My first edible and enjoyable roasted Brussels sprouts recipe

Braised rapini with prunes, golden raisins, and pine nuts

From "The mediterranian vegan kitchen" by Donna Klein, an amazing collection of original recipes from the Mediterranian region. This book has never seazed to amaze me, and with every recipe I cook I get addicted more and more to the healthy and tasty Mediterranian diet

"Like broccoli, its more mildly flavored cousin and fellow cruciferous vegetable, broccloli rabe or rapini, is a nutritional powerhouse, rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants, which strongly merits its inclusion in a healthy diet. That said, it's an aggressive green wildly popular in Southern Italy whose taste needs taming to suit most American palates. The addition of dried fruits and toasted pine nuts in this particular recipe accomplishes the task beautifully,"- writes Donna Klein.

I substituted rapini with mustard greens, kale, swiss chard and even bok choy - and this versatile recipe produced a tasty meal again and again.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 servings

• 1 large bunch rapini (about 1 pound), rinsed and drained (substitute with kale, swiss chard, dandelion)
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 4 pitted prunes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips, soaked in warm water to cover for 10 minutes, drained
• 2 tablespoons golden or dark raisins, soaked in warm water to cover for 10 minutes, drained < i>1/4 cup vegetable broth
• Salt, if necessary, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or silvered almonds, toasted

Directions:

1. Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, remove any discolored leaves from the rapini and discard. Cut off about 1/2 inch of the tough bottom stems and discard. Chop the remaining broccoli into 1-1/2 or 2-inch pieces. Add the rapini to the boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately rinse under cold running water, Drain well, pressing on rapini with the back of a spoon to remove excess water.
2. In a large nonstick skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 3 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add rapini, prunes, raisins and broth; toss well to combine. Cover and cook until the rapini is tender, 3 minutes.
4. Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquids are greately reduced, 1 t 2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and season with salt, if necessary, and pepper. Add the pine nuts or almonds, tossing well to combine. Serve warm.

Per serving

Calories 121, Protein 7g, Total fat 5 g, Saturated fat 1g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbohydrate 17g, Dietary fiber 5g, Sodium 129g.