Warm Winter Salad

I LOVE SALADS.  WHAT I DO NOT USUALLY LIKE ABOUT THEM DURING THE COLD MONTHS IS WELL…IT’S COLD.  SO TO HELP ME ENJOY GREENS IN THE WINTER AS I DO DURING THE SUMMER, I DECIDED TO CREATE THIS LOVELY, DARK, LEAFY GREEN TREAT.

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 large bunches of kale
• 1 bunch of red beet greens (This is optional.  If not found at the market you can buy beets that have these green still attached or just add another bunch of kale)
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1 tsp. of pepper
• 1 tsp. of minced garlic
• 1 tbls. of olive oil
• 2-3 tsp of red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Thoroughly clean all the greens in a clean sink of water.  I washed mine three times.
2. Once clean, detach the leafy part from the woody stem.  DO NOT THROW OUT THE STEMS THEY ARE EDIBLE AND ARE USED IN THIS DISH.
3. Once removed, dry the greens thoroughly.
4. Chop the greens into bite sized pieces.
5. Slice the stems into bite sized pieces.
6. Over medium heat, warm your pan and olive oil.
7. Add the kale and beet green stems, salt and pepper. Saute until tender.
8. Saute garlic for no longer than 10-20 seconds or it may burn.  The point of this step is to render the flavor from the garlic.
9. Add the greens in batches, sauteing until slightly wilted, then adding another batch and doing the same until all the greens have been cooked and are wilted.  Cooking until slightly wilted will ensure they have a nice bite to them and will resemble the bite that a summer salad has.
10. Add the vinegar and cook for roughly 1 minute.  The vinegar will cook down in the warm pan and add a slightly sweet flavor to the greens making them taste less bitter.

Enjoy!