March 2018 - Turning Over a New Leaf...and Eating It

Matthew sent March’s 2018 installment in September 2018. And I’m posting it in April 2020. Because. Life.

Matthew takes over from here.

Let me know when you've made the collards and the saag, and I'll continue with the schedule as follows: 

April: Stir-fried bok choy

May: Wilted lettuce

June: Arugula (...pizza!) 

July: Swiss chard 

August: Cabbage and fennel slaw 

September: Ghormeh sabzi

Have you been to Stanley's on North Avenue? (Editor’s note: Stanley’s has since closed.) Well, if not, you're in for a treat because it's a great place to buy spinach (and other produce) in bulk. This recipe for saag is also a treat because you'll use TWO green leafies: spinach (Spinacia oleracea...I would be writing for ages if I went into everything it's related to and how we've classified them all) and mustard greens (Brassica juncea, which like it'soleraceacousin, has a bewildering number of sub-groups based on how it grows and whether you use the leaves, seeds, or roots). 

Many saag recipes can be quite complicated. This recipe seems reasonable, but I would make the following changes:

1. I would use equal parts spinach and mustard. You don't need to remove the stems. Stanley's often sells a 2 pound bag of spinach. Cook it in parts - it will decrease dramatically in size. You can use the other half for salads. 

2. You can use butter instead of ghee. 

3. You can skip the cheese. 
4. You can skip the fenugreek if you don't have the time/inclination to go to Devon to buy some. 

5. You can skip the blending in Step 2 if you chop the leaves finely enough at the beginning. Just add the cream to the cooked leaves. 

Serve with rice and/or naan! 

Jason’s comments: Lemme add to this one that if you're having trouble finding fenugreek leaves, they're often sold as methi. Or leave them out. (No pun intended.)