Greens, Greens, Greens

So we picked up the vegetables today and are now completely inundated with lettuce and greens. We found this delicious recipe in a cookbook titled "Mediterranean Grains and Greens" by Paula Wolfert that calls for a lot of greens, plus it is very easy to make. Tonight we used chard - two bags (one from last week and this week's) - super tasty!

ingredients:

-3 quarts mixed greens: book suggests mixing it up between mustard greens, spinach, chard, arugula, but would probably work with just about anything

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-5 ounces lean ground lamb (Mt. Vernon Farms sells)

-1/2 tomato paste

-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

-1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

salt

2 tablespoons medium- or long-grain rice

Trim all the greens and discard any yellowed leaves. Wash the greens well, then place in a deep pot with 1/2 cup lightly salted water. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water (if necessary, add water to make 1 cup). Allow the greens to cool, then squeeze out excess moisture. Roughly chop the greens to make about 3 cups.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet, add the onion, and saute until soft over moderate heat, about 2 minutes. Add the lamb and cook, breaking up the meat with a fork, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes (we drained the fat). Add the tomato paste, pepper, allspice, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the chopped greens, reserved cooking liquid, and the rice. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until all the rice is fully cooked. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

The recipe ends there, but we add toasted pine nuts for that little something extra and we also added four more tablespoons of rice (and extra liquid) because we like to eat in our house.