Cannelloni with Spring Greens

Adapted from  a terrific eBook Laurent Gras - My Provence

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 25 min according to Laurent, but it took me over an hour all told and it's definitely not a "whip up a quick middle of the week dish, but it is awesome!  Your guests will never look at you the same again.
Cooking time:10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Cannelloni Filling:
⅓ cup  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
¾ lb/300g mesclun, washed and spun dry ( I used a mix of baby arugula and Swiss Chard, ribs removed)
¾ lb/300g baby spinach, washed and spun dry
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp fresh ricotta
½ cup/40g/1.4oz finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or other hard grating cheese
Some shavings of a whole nutmeg
Freshly ground white pepper
Sea salt
Cannelloni:

7 tbsp/100g/3.5oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled ( only used half)
1 cup /100g/3.5oz  grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Sea salt
24 (square) wonton wrappers
Cannelloni filling, from above

Salad greens:

Laurent has a wonderful au jus dressing, but I ran out of time and just tossed some baby spinach with a thinly sliced shallot and a drizzle of good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Directions:

Cannelloni filling:

1. Pour half of the olive oil into a large sauté pan set over high heat. Add the greens and spinach and cook until they are just wilted.

2. Transfer to a mesh strainer and use the back of a large spoon to press out the juices. Scatter the cooked greens on a plate and set in the refrigerator to cool quickly. 

3.  When chilled, chop very fine. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk, the remaining olive oil, the ricotta, and the Parmigiano. Season with freshly ground nutmeg, white pepper, and sea salt. 

4. Refrigerate until needed.

Cannelloni:
1. This prep step is very important:  Brush a gratin dish with some of the melted butter. Fill a medium mixing bowl with ice water. Clean a smooth work surface, such as a wooden cutting board or counter, and sprinkle it with some of the grated Parmigiano to make an even dusting. 

2. Bring about 2 quarts of salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Drop 3 or 4 wonton wrappers in the boiling water, let cook for 30 seconds, then with a skimmer or large slotted spoon, carefully lift the pasta out of the water and shock immediately in the ice water. 

3. Remove the wrappers from the water and drape them on the rim of the ice water bowl to let the water drain. (Don’t let them sit on the bowl too long or they will stick.) 

4. Place the wrappers on the bed of Parmigiano to coat the underside. Spoon the filling along one end of the wrapper, from one side to the other. 

5. Roll the wrappers over the filling to enclose it and create the cannelloni. Trim the ends with a chef’s knife so the filling is flush with the edge (I admit it... I didn't bother with that). 

6. Transfer to the gratin dish and repeat with the remaining wrappers.  Brush some melted butter over the cannelloni. Sprinkle with additional Parmigiano.  Alternately you can use fresh pasta dough.

7. Preheat a broiler. Heat the cannelloni under the broiler until the cheese begins to brown. 

8.  While the cannelloni is browning, just place the dressed salad greens on the center of each plate and once the cannelloni is golden, place a few of them over the greens and serve.  It's a great appetizer with 3 or a light supper with more of everything.  

Wilted Greens with Ginger & Shoyu

Adapted from Cooking in the Moment

Printable Recipe


Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time : 5 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients: Book ingredients in red

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2lb/950g baby arugula or Swiss Chard leaves (baby collard greens), cut into 2” strips or coarsely chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce (or 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp shoyu soy sauce)

½ tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp avocado  or olive oil (expeller pressed vegetable oil)

2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly julienned or finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1-2 pinches red pepper flakes (2 dried red chilies such as de Arbol, crumbled into small pieces)

Kosher salt

1 cup fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced (optional)

2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:

1. (If you are using collard greens…blanch for 30 seconds in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Drain and quickly transfer to an ice bath.  As soon as they are cold, drain again and gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible.  Transfer to a bowl and toss with your fingers to separate, adding the shoyu and sesame oil and thoroughly distribute)

1a.  In a large non stick skillet, heat the olive, vegetable or avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté until the onions are transluscent (2-3 minutes).  Add the greens, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes or crumbled dried chilies, plus the soy sauce and sesame oil unless you’ve followed step 1 for collard greens, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the broth and continue to cook, until the greens are wilted and hot (2-3 minutes) , toss and season with a little more soy sauce if desired.


This time served with Black & Blue Steak, that has a lovely subtle Asian marinade and some mashed sweet potatoes.

Sauteed Greens with Leeks & Garlic

Sautéed Greens with Leeks & Garlic
Adapted from Clean Start

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes
Sauté time: time: 8-10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium leek, white & light green parts only, cleaned well of sand, drained & patted dry
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch leafy greens, stems removed and saved for another day. Coarsely chop the leafy parts (Ruth’s note: I tried kale but found it very chewy… next time Swiss Chard, collard greens or spinach)
1 tbsp mirin (Ruth’s note: I was out so I used Shaoxing Cooking Wine)
Drizzle of Ume plum vinegar (Ruth’s note: still haven’t found any, so I used rice wine vinegar to keep with Asian taste of the wine)
Toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté the garlic and leeks in olive oil until soft (about 3 minutes or so). Add the chopped greens and mirin/Shaoxing wine and sauté until greens are bright green and tender (about 4 minutes – Ruth’s note: it took at least another 5 minutes plus a tbsp of water and covered to soften the kale)

2. Drizzle with Ume plum vinegar (or rice wine vinegar) and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds to serve.

Greens Catalan Style

Greens Catalan Style
Adapted from Spain…On the Road Again, Episode 6

Serves 2 to 3
Prep time: 5-10 minutes (to clean and chop the greens)
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes (depending on the greens…spinach & beet greens are more delicate than chard, so need a little less time)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons dried currants ( I also mixed in some Barberries-also known as Zereshk(Middle Eastern tart dried berries)
1 large bunch spinach &/or Swiss chard, beet greens, washed and spun mostly dry (leave enough water to help cook the greens)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar (my favorite…Boates Balsamic apple cider vinegar)

Directions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the nuts and currants and stir for a minute or two, until the nuts start to brown.

2. Add the spinach, in batches if necessary, and stir and cook until the spinach is nicely wilted, 5 minutes or so. Add the vinegar, toss, and taste.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

I love it served as a bed for roasted salmon.