MEDITERRANEAN STIR-FRIED GREENS

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil to film pan

3 large cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

Chile flakes to taste – figure about ½ teaspoon per 12 cups greens

Zest and juice from 2 fresh lemons, to be used separately

12 cups mixed fresh greens, choosing from kale, dandelion, mustards, turnips, escarole, chard, mizuna and whatever else your farmer has fresh that day, washed, any tough stem ends cut off

½ cup pitted and sliced olives; a mix is fine

¼ cup slivered roasted red peppers

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop.

Film with olive oil and heat for a minute. Stir in the garlic cloves, cook for a minute, then add the chili flakes and stir.

Add the lemon zest (hold off on the lemon juice for now), then start adding the greens, stir-frying as you go to ensure even cooking: The tougher greens (kale or escarole) will go in before the more tender greens (mizuna or dandelion). You’ll want to soften all the greens, till they just about wilt.

After the final greens go in, add the olives and roasted peppers, and give it all a good stir. Now add the lemon juice, stir, and season with sea salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Serve alone, alongside crusty bread, or atop pasta or rice, or as the base for chicken, fish, beef or pork. You can top the greens with cheese or give them an Asian accent by mixing soy sauce, rice vinegar and a shot of fish sauce together and using that as a dressing for the cooked greens.

(Serves 4)