Wilted Greens with Prosciutto

Cuisine
Course
Servings 6
Description
Serve these very flavorful greens in place of a salad. The dressed greens are really good even without the prosciutto. The prosciutto just takes the greens over the top. 4/5/2012
Ingredients
    Greens
  • 3 large bunch greens (such as mustard, kale, broccoli rabe, spinach, turnip or beet tops or chard)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 pinch salt
    • Vinaigrette
  • 2 clove garlic (peeled and chopped)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper
    • Serving
  • 12 slice prosciutto (very thinly sliced)
  • Mustard blossoms (optional - I've never been able to find these)
Method
  1. For the greens:
    Wash each leaf and strip them from their center stems. Discard the stems and coarsely chop the leaves into large pieces. Mix them together.
  2. Pour the oil into a large sauté pan set over medium heat. When hot and add just enough greens, with the water still clinging to the leaves, to fill the pan. Cover the pan and wilt the greens for a minute or 2. Add the rest of the greens and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until greens are wilted and tender.
  3. Let the greens cool briefly, then squeeze the greens dry with your hands. Set aside.
    4. For the vinaigrette:
  4. In a mortar, mash the garlic to a paste with pestle, sprinkling in a little salt as you pound.
  5. When the garlic is an absolute paste, mash in the vinegar with the pestle and beat in the oil with a fork. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
    6. To serve:
  6. With tongs, toss the greens in a bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat evenly. Form into a loose mound on a platter.
  7. Arrange slices of proscuitto around the circumference of the greens. Garnish with mustard blossoms if you can possibly find them. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cook's Notes
You can mash the garlic to a paste on a cutting board with a fork and salt instead of using a motar and pestle.
Advance Prep
Wash the greens a few hours ahead of serving. The greens taste great at room temperature - in fact I almost always serve them that way. So go ahead and cook them a couple of hours ahead of time. Dress the greens and garnish with proscuitto right before serving.
Source/Adapted From
Alice Waters recipe in Julia Child's Cooking With Master Chefs