Green on Green salad

My CSA day is Tuesday. This week I got some great summer crisp lettuce, as well as some Hakurei turnips, cucumbers, summer squash, celery, bell peppers, and tomatoes. More on CSA in a later post.

I couldn’t take the heat outside today, so I decided it would be okay to heat up the house for a few minutes.

I only had about a cup of greens leftover from dinner last night. Leftover greens are okay reheated. You could do it in the microwave, if you have one. I don’t. They’re easy enough to reheat on the stove, too. But I still didn’t have enough to be dinner.

With a few additions, we can turn that little cup of greens into a delicious salad topping. Of course, you could dress the salad with anything, but why pass up the opportunity to re-purpose must-go’s?

Green on Green salad

Serves 1-2, scales well

1/2-1 c leftover braised greens (I used Balsamic Braised Beet Greens, but you could use any leftover greens if they’re drained or not too wet, or any leftover braised veg.)

2T fat

Lettuce

Salad fixins, tomatoes are NOT optional

1/4c balsamic vinegar

Sugar (Optional. I used about 1/2 T blackstrap molasses, but probably anything but strong maple syrup would be fine. White sugar if you must, but use a little less)

Soak the lettuce in cold water for a while, or at least rinse it well. I’m using a bitter summer crisp lettuce with stout ribs, so when I tear it up I’ll keep the ribs out to add to the greens. The summer crisp also holds up well to the hot dressing, where a more delicate spring lettuce might not. Run it thru the salad spinner or pat dry inside a clean towel.

Reheat your greens in a little fat, such as olive oil or bacon grease, over a med-hi flame until they’re sizzling. Season some more if your greens were lacking.

Add balsamic and sugar, keep it all moving for a minute.

While the balsamic reduces, get the salad ready. I’ve got a base of lettuce, with a tiny purple bell pepper, a carrot, and a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced up on top.

Kill the heat and give the greens and dressing a final stir.

Plop some or all on top of the salad, and pepper it up if it needs it.

There you go. Leftover greens are now a salad topping. If you don’t have any leftover greens or veg, you could just sauté the lettuce ribs (or nothing at all) for a few minutes and then reduce some balsamic, throw in some herbs and oil, mix it up and have a delicious dressing without all the extra nutrition.