Name: Tender Greens with Cumin, Tomatoes, and Cilantro
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 small onion , minced; 2 medium cloves garlic , minced; 1/2 medium jalapeño chile , seeded and minced; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 2 plum tomatoes , seeded and chopped; 2 pounds fresh spinach ,beet greens or Swiss chard, cleaned and stemmed per illustrations below, (do not dry); 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves; Salt and ground black pepper; lime wedges (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

Between blanching, steaming, microwaving, and wilting, the simplest, most straightforward tender greens recipe proved to be wilting on the stovetop. We simply tossed the leaves, wet from washing, into a heated sauté pan, covered it, and cooked, stirring occasionally, until the greens were wilted by the steam from their own liquid. We then found that we got even better results when combining this technique with sautéing—we heated oil in a sauté pan, added the wet greens, covered and steamed them until wilted, and then uncovered the pan and cooked on high until all the liquid had evaporated.

Instructions

Heat oil in large, nonreactive sauté pan or Dutch oven. Add onion; sauté until partially softened, about 1 minute. Add garlic, jalapeño and cumin; sauté until onion softens fully; about 2 minutes longer. Add tomatoes; cook until thier juices release, about 1 minute. Add wet greens, cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until greens completely wilt, but are still bright green, about 5 minutes. Uncover, add cilantro, salt and pepper. Cook over high heat until liquid evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Serve immediately, with lime wedges, if desired.