Cheesy Greens & Pasta
November 2, 2010
Cheesy greens over pasta was a meal prompted by Bard’s post on my last CSA haul update — he is also a member of the same farm share. I was bemoaning the fact that we received both braising greens and collards in the same week, and neither are high on my list of yummy vegetables. Bard and his family make “cheesy creamed greens” out of those items, and I thought it was time I gave it a try as well.
I made a cheddar sauce based on the proportions in this cheese sauce recipe, using white cheddar and swapping out the broccoli for finely chopped, but raw, braising mix and collard greens. Once the sauce had come together, I tossed the greens in to be warmed through. This made them wilt a bit, but they still had some crunch; because they were chopped small I didn’t mind the texture, but these tough greens might have done better if they’d been steamed or sauteed first. I also should have added some garlic.
I mixed the sauce and greens into some prepared pasta, and served it with a flourish to the boys: “Cheesy greens!” They were unimpressed by the pretty flecks of purple (kale?) stems amongst the greens and my skill at successfully making a white sauce. I ate it, but didn’t love it. I might try cheesy greens once more next year, but I don’t need to be cooking homemade cheese sauce for myself (J. won’t eat cheese sauces, either). Looks like it’s back to soup for the greens coming into this house.
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Filed under: CSA,Pasta,Veggie Mains,Veggie Sides
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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3 Comments
1.
Cristen | November 2, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I hate that soup is one of the primary uses for greens. I love white beans and greens but get tired of using them in soups. I saw a recipe for white bean and sausage cassoulet. I’ll have to look it up. This sounds great but Lewin doesn’t love chees (What is wrong with him?!) so I’d likely not make this myself either.
2.
Aunt Barbara | November 4, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Did you ever hear of roasting greens? You might want to google it and try roasting some next time you get so many.
3.
Meri | November 9, 2010 at 11:46 pm
i love love love greens, big fan. the dish above looks really good! i do it really simple here, i saute some garlic in olive oil, add greens and fresh/canned tomatoes, sometimes white wine if handy, put over pasta. really simple and yummy.
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