Mixing Metaphors

I am a bulk eater, meaning that it’s easier for me to be satiated when eating larger volumes of food. That being said, high calorie density foods just don’t really do it for me. I mean, they DO and I eat them a lot (i.e. peanut butter and dark chocolate and cheese) but they need to be accompanied by really voluminous side dishes. Greens tend to be really great options for that and so when looking for something to go with my calzone, I thought spinach would be a great option. I have a container of pine nuts sitting on my shelf and so I thought, great, I will saute some spinach with some pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Then, I got to the grocery store and noticed that kale and collard greens were on sale. Never one to pass up a good deal, I figured that I would just substitute either kale or collards for the spinach. There was no kale to be found, so I went with the collard greens. Now, I KNOW that collard greens are traditionally served with bacon or ham hocks. And I KNOW that there may be some die-hard southerners out there who are cringing at my seeming disregard for southern tradition. But, I mean there are worse culinary heresies that I could have committed, such as serving the collards with garbanzo beans, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese on New Year’s Eve. I really liked the combination of flavors in this dish. The pine nuts really added a lot to it, I thought, cutting the saltiness of the cheese. All in all, a good go-to side dish for busy nights. I am submitting this dish to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted this week by Marija of Palachinka, so check in with her for the round-up on Monday!

Collard Greens with Pine Nuts and Parmesan
Serves 2

1 lb collard greens
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts

1) Heat a non-stick pan. Heat the olive oil and saute the collard greens until wilted.
2) Mix with the parmesan cheese and pine nuts.