This is my recipe for tender, flavourful and easy spring greens – also known as collard greens in the US. They’re cooked with a little stock, garlic and butter. A one-pan side dish, ready in less than 10 minutes.
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Spring greens are such a tasty, nutritious side dish. I love them served up with with saucy dishes, or alongside pan -ried steak or chicken.
This method of cooking them is really quick. It’s kind of a combination of sautéing, boiling and steaming, this results in tender, glossy greens with extra flavour, plus a nice bit of cooking liquor to drizzle over when serving.
📋 Ingredients
- Spring greens – washed and dried
- Stock – chicken or vegetable
- Unsalted butter (you can use slated if you prefer and reduce the extra salt added
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Instructions overview
Full recipe with ingredient quantities and detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Wash and dry the spring greens, then slice into strips
- To a large pan (one that you’ve got a lid for) add stock, butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Then place the spring greens on top and give them a little mix with the liquid.
- Place a lid on, bring to the boil, then simmer until tender (this should only take a few minutes). Drizzle on a little lemon juice before serving.
👩🍳PRO TIP You can add all of the ingredients to the pan, place a lid on and put to one side for an hour or two, then cook it all up when the rest of your meal is almost ready.
🍽️ What to serve them with
I love to serve up these collard greens with comforting saucy dishes! Try one of these:
I love how bright and vibrant these greens are! What would you serve them with?
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Easy Spring Greens Recipe
This is my recipe for tender, flavourful and easy spring greens – cooked with a little stock, garlic and butter. A one-pan side dish, ready in less than 10 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Give the spring greens a good wash under the cold tap and shake dry.
500 g (1.1lbs) spring greens (collard greens)
- Slice the spring greens into thin (1cm) strips.
- To a large frying pan (one that you have a lid for* SEE NOTE), add the stock, butter, garlic, salt and pepper.
120 ml (½ cup) chicken or vegetable stock, 3 tbsp unsalted butter, 2 cloves minced garlic, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Place the sliced spring greens on top and toss them in the liquid using a set of tongs.
- Place a lid on the pan and heat over a medium heat.
- As soon as you hear/see the liquid coming to a boil (this should take a couple of minutes), give the spring greens a toss again, place the lid back on and turn the heat down to low-medium.
- Allow the spring greens to cook for 4-5 minutes, until wilted.
- Turn off the heat and remove the lid. Drizzle over the lemon juice and toss again – they should be nice and glossy.
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Serve immediately, spooning over any liquid that remains in the pan.
✎ Notes
If you don’t have a lid for your frying pan, you can use a large saucepan with a lid instead.
Change it up
- Make this side dish more substantial by adding
- A drizzle of double (heavy) cream
- Grated parmesan
- Crispy bacon bits
- Shop-bought fried onions
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving. This recipe serves 4.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 4gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 473mgPotassium: 285mgFiber: 5gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 6538IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 299mgIron: 1mg