Paprika Parsnips and the "Perfect" Greens

In efforts to really kick off this blog, I am trying to do a lot of posts these first couple of weeks. It's funny how many ideas have come to mind once I started. I am looking forward to sharing more bits of my life and joys with you :)

This evening I am giving two great recipes for vegetables. You can make them as sides, or if you just want something light/vegetarian for dinner, they can serve as a meal to themselves. They are two of our go-to items on nights when we aren't experimenting. They are easy and downright delicious. 

First up is Paprika Parsnips and Carrots. 

Only the parsnips are shown in these pictures. I left out the carrots when I made them for dinner last night. It is great with the parsnips alone, but I think I like it best when carrots are in the mix. 

Ingredients: 

- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into fry-size wedges
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into fry-size wedges 
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1-2 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano (I was growing some spicy oregano that went well with this dish)
- salt and pepper

Directions:

- Peel your parsnips and carrots. Cut off the ends and chop into small wedges or the typical discs. Either way works well. 

- Heat olive oil in large skillet. Toss the parsnips and carrots in the oil until coated. 
- Add cayenne pepper, paprika, and then a dash of salt and pepper. Toss. Add oregano if you have it. 

- Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft (approximately 15 minutes). 
- If you like it browned on the edges, which I do, turn up the heat and cook for 5 minutes longer on high heat. 

All done. Super easy. Super good.

Next up is our "Perfect" Greens.

I know, perfect seems like an exaggeration. Maybe it is. But let me just tell you that Joseph and I love our greens, and this is one of the best ways we've found to cook them. This recipe is great for collards, mustard, kale, chard, or just about any other green that sautés well. 

Image is shown with kale as the primary green.

We found it when we went to a nearby restaurant called no. 246 in Decatur, GA. We are beyond blessed to live two miles from downtown Decatur and the Decatur square, the home of many, many exceptional restaurants and bars. If you're from Georgia, you may have heard of Paper Planes, the Brick Store Pub, Iberian Pig, etc. I'm a huge foodie. It gives me so much pleasure to try these places out! 

To make a long story short, we were at 246 and we ordered a special side they were serving that night. I think it was collards and chard. It was something and chard, at least. They brought it out with our dinner and we fell in love. It was so flavorful and rich. The waitress talked to the chef for us and found out it was fairly simple. It was cooked in almost equal parts olive oil, butter, broth, and white wine. Needless to say, we tried to recreate this meal at home. We tend to use a little more broth than the original because it's cheaper than the other ingredients. It is still pretty tasty. Here is my guestimate at the measurements we use on a regular basis:

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter (grass fed, such as Kerrygold, is best)
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8-10 cups greens of your choice
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes 
- 2-3 tsp salt
- ground black pepper

Directions:

- Loosely chop a medium sweet onion. It doesn't need to be perfect; I usually leave it in large slivers for this recipe.

- Heat olive oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onions and simmer until translucent. 
- Chop up your greens, if needed. For kale, I try to separate out most of the stalky bits.

- Add the butter to your saucepan. Yum yum. Butter makes everything taste good. 
- Add half your greens to the pot. Mix and allow them to shrink down a bit before you add the broth. 
- Pour in your broth, mix, then add the remainder of your greens. If there is not enough room in the pot, wait until they have simmered for a bit and shrunk down. 
- Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. I enjoy using a special kind of seasoned salt called Borsari. You can get it at the meat section of Whole Foods. It adds fantastic flavor, especially when rubbed into beef or chicken. 
- Add 1/2 cup white wine. It's okay to drink some at this time. I always do ;)
- Simmer until fully cooked, approximately 10-15 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Best wishes for great dinners,
Madi