Greens Giardino

In the Utica Rome area, greens are very diverse and flavorful. For those reading the blog from another region, greens are a boiled or sautéed green leafy garden green in flavorful dishes. Some have meat while others are traditionally just the greens itself. I am going to provide multiple parts to this recipe so that you can enjoy either variety.

Greens -

Ingredients:

2-3 heads of lettuce greens (romaine and escarole) chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Minced Garlic
Tsp of Salt
Tsp of Crushed Peppercorns or Pepper
Red Crushed Pepper
Grated Romano
Bread Crumbs (Optional)

Many people in our area use escarole or an escarole mix. I prefer romaine lettuce or a mix of escarole or romaine. You place the chopped greens in a stocked pot. Fill the pot with water so that you can bring the greens to a boil. Boil the greens for 10 mins.

Next, using a skillet, sprinkle an olive oil base and bring to a medium heat. Add the greens and minced garlic. Season as you cook in a skillet for another 10 minutes. (You can add bread crumbs to flavor during the cooking time.)

This is the greens base. You can eat as is, and add the Grated Cheese on top.

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Adding Peppers - Onions - (Mushrooms Optional)

Ingredients

Cherry Peppers (Fresh)
Mini Sweet Peppers
One Red Onion
Mushrooms  (Optional)
Olive Oil
Garlic (Minced)

Dice all the ingredients. The peppers can also be larger slices based on your own preference. Sautee the ingredients and add them on top of the greens mix. Let them sit for five minutes and mix together with the greens.

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Adding Sausage - Prosciutto - Deli Meats

Ingredients:

Sausage
Prosciutto (Cook with the Vegetables)
Deli Meats (Cook with the Vegetables)

Sausage crumbles add a nice flavor to greens. You can buy pork sausage without a casing. However, I like to buy sausage and remove from the casings. I feel that sausage in the casings retain the seasonings better.

Sautee to cook. Add on top of the greens mixture. Add a nice grated romano, parmesan or asiago and mix everything together.