Gemelli With Wilted Mustard Greens Recipes

WILTED GREENS

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with cold water. Trim and discard the greens tough stems, tear the leaves into pieces and wash them in the water. (If the greens are very dirty wash them in several changes of water.) Lift the greens from the water, and put them in a colander to drain. Set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned and its fat has rendered, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the greens in batches, starting with the tougher greens, like kale, and ending with the more tender ones, like chard, stirring each batch as they wilt, before adding more. Add 1/2 cup water and cook, covered, stirring once or twice, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

GEMELLI WITH PESTO, POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs; add the beans during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking water, then drain. Set the pot aside.
• Meanwhile, pierce the potatoes all over with a fork. Microwave until tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then chop.
• Heat the olive oil in the reserved pot over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta and green beans and stir to coat. Remove from the heat and add the pesto, lemon zest and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water; toss to coat, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt and pepper.

WILTED MUSTARD GREENS

Steps:

• Cook mustard greens in 2 batches in a 6 to 8 quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring to submerge, until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain greens in a colander, pressing to squeeze out excess moisture, then coarsely chop.
• Cook garlic in butter in a 4 to 6 quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add boiled greens, salt and pepper and cook, covered stirring occasionally until heated through, about 5 minutes.

WILTED MUSTARD-GREEN PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a 6-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water to a boil for pasta.
• Remove and discard ribs from greens. Coarsely chop greens and finely chop garlic. Finely grate zest from lemons.
• Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. While pasta is cooking, in a 12-inch nonstick skillet cook zest and garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until garlic is golden and remove skillet from heat. Add greens to garlic mixture with salt and pepper to taste, tossing with tongs until greens are wilted. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Add hot pasta and 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water to greens and cook over moderately low heat, tossing until combined well. If mixture is too dry, stir in more pasta cooking water.