With some sweet red onion, cooked chickpeas, and a reduced balsamic dressing, mustard greens quickly become a complete, light meal.
If necessity is the mother of invention, hunger is the mother of new recipes. Well, hunger, laziness, and a sadly depleted refrigerator.
On a recent Sunday, I was out of everything I would normally eat for lunch–no lettuce, no spinach, no cabbage, nothing fresh and green and salad-worthy. I was also sadly lacking the desire to run to the store to get any of these items because that would take a lazy Sunday and turn it into a shopping Sunday, and who wants that? So I checked to see what green vegetables I did have in the house and found only mustard greens.
Mustard greens. Until recently I thought I didn’t like them. Just the name “mustard” convinced me, erroneously I now see, that these greens were more bitter than collards and turnips (which, truth be told, I only started liking within the past five years). But a few months ago, my mother persuaded me to give them a chance. She described them, her personal favorite green, as milder than collards.
And she was right. More peppery than other greens–they get that from their mustard lineage–they lack the somewhat cabbagey taste of collards. I find they cook more quickly than collards, too, which made them perfect for a quick-fix lunch for two on a slow, summer Sunday. With some sweet red onion, cooked chickpeas, and a reduced balsamic dressing, they quickly became a complete, light meal.
Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens
Ingredients
- 10 ounces mustard greens
- 1/2 large red onion , thinly sliced
- 4-6 tablespoons vegetable broth , divided
- 4 cloves garlic , chopped
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon agave nectar or sugar
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas , rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Remove any large stems from the greens and discard. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- In a deep pot or wok, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth until mostly faded to pink, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper and another tablespoon of broth and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the mustard greens, 2 tablespoons of broth, and cook, stirring, until greens are wilted but still bright green, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the salt, if using. Remove greens and onions from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish, leaving any liquid in pan.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and agave or sugar to the liquid in the pan (if there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons of broth). Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half. Spoon the chickpeas over the greens and drizzle the sauce over all.
- Serve warm, with additional balsamic vinegar at the table.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
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moonwatcher
July 21, 2009 at 2:02 pmHi Susan,
a few years ago I took a variety of mustard starts from a friend called “Red Giant”–dark leaves, spicy taste, and they have been volunteering like mad all over my garden since then. They have just all gone to seed after weeks of eating mustard greens, but this looks like a delicious way to serve them, and sort of reminds me of an Italian omni dish my Mom used to make–sausage and endives. .a little fennel might be nice in this dish, too, along with the peppery greens. My neighbor still has another variety of mustard in his salad mix patch, so maybe I’ll pilfer some of his and try this! I definitely will make it sometime!
Here’s to necessity–and not wanting to go the darn store!–be the mother of delicious invention. 🙂
moonwatcher
Kim Quinn
April 18, 2017 at 9:36 amAmen! Totally agree. We just need a healthy dose of hunger, curiosity, courage to try the new, and a drive we don’t wish to make!☺ Voila! A new dish is born!
guanyue
July 21, 2009 at 2:03 pmYum! I made this today for lunch, using leftover bok choy as Josiane mentioned. I used white wine vinegar and sweet onion instead as well, based on what I had in stock. I put it over a bed of couscous and it was quite yummy!
AndreaQ
September 28, 2009 at 11:50 amThis looks wonderful! Can't wait to try it!
Heather
September 29, 2009 at 7:26 amThis is one of my favorite FFV recipes. It is fast, DELICIOUS, and easy to make.
We had it last night for the 2nd time, and it was so, so good.
I put the mix over pasta for my husband, and he was crazy about it. We also had some roasted brussel sprouts on the side.
This is definitely going to be one of my quick and easy "go-to" meals.
Thanks Susan! 🙂
Meredith
October 4, 2009 at 6:13 pmI just made this, but used Kale instead of mustard greens because that was what was in my house. This was fast, easy and super duper delicious!!!! I cannot stop eating it. Thanks for another winner 🙂
thunder
January 14, 2010 at 1:48 pmI made this last night and served it with mashed sweet potatoes. My family and I loved it and I highly recommend this recipe!
DnJ
February 3, 2010 at 1:29 amWednesday this week is a crock-pot day… I'm going to try this with canned (i know, canned ain't quite right) chickpeas and collards in the slow cooker for the afternoon and hope there's enough liquid in the recipe to keep it stewing till J gets home from evening class. couldn't find mustard greens, and this will be our first time trying collards- hope it works! thanks for the recipes!
Mona
February 9, 2011 at 7:52 pmI was wondering how the crock pot turned out. I am going to be making this on Friday and am hoping it will turn out well 🙂
Cap_Lady1225
February 6, 2010 at 3:23 pmgreat flavor and easy to make
Karen
May 21, 2010 at 9:36 pmI made this for the second time tonight, subbing white beans for the chick peas. Delicious again! So quick, simple and the entire house smells lucious! I am going to try it over sweet potatoe, as one of the other commenters suggested. That sounds wonderful. Thank you for being so creative!
Kellyzkool
June 10, 2010 at 4:25 pmI made this for lunch today (my first time cooking mustard greens). I thought it was tasty but the greens were pretty tough and required a lot of chewing. Is this normal for them or did I do something wrong?
SusanV
June 10, 2010 at 5:07 pmSorry that yours came out so tough! I think that it varies by the age of the greens. Younger ones are more tender, but more mature, larger leaves are tougher and take longer to cook.
Kellyzkool
June 11, 2010 at 3:54 pmThanks for the tip! I’ll cook them longer (or taste them along the way) next time. I’ll still eat the leftovers!
crystal
March 2, 2011 at 3:30 pmBalsamic glazed chick peas and mustard greens are absolutely awesome. I love new recipes using greens without the meat of fatback, bacon or hog jaw and the seasons are perfect as directed. Thanks!!
Claire
March 15, 2011 at 10:34 pmI made this today for my lunch after realizing that my food choices for the last week were sorely lacking. I ate the whole thing by myself and Oh My! I thought the mustard greens would still have that bitter bite to them, but they were so smooth & tasty. I am in love.
It was just the right amount of balsamic flavor, and I used low-sodium soy sauce to keep the salt from overwhelming the dish.
Thanks Susan!
Kathryn
April 29, 2012 at 10:36 amI found your recipe on Pinterest and made it this week. I wrote about it on my on blog today. The only thing I changed was to add a spritz of lemon to finish. I like the variations the others have suggested and will try them with my own crop of mustard greens soon.
Daniel Dombak
May 7, 2012 at 8:37 pmI tried this recipe tonight having found Mustard Greens at the Farmer’s Market — and it was spectacular. I love the greens being prepared separately, as not to over-cook them, and the glazed chickpeas were an excellent complement (I mixed the red pepper flakes and garlic with the other sauce elements which worked out very well). This quick & easy dish will definitely be back at my table in the future!