Saturday, March 14, 2009

Mixed greens with caramelized onions and prosciutto

Greens are one of the healthiest things you can eat, so I try to incorporate them into my diet on a regular basis. Kale is one of my favorite vegetables, and I also buy a lot of spinach. This time, I decided to go into my produce market without a plan and just buy whatever caught my eye. I immediately saw some dandelion greens that looked interesting, so I picked those up. I also selected a bunch of curly mustard greens.

Now that I had my greens, I had to decide what to actually make with them. I had some onions that needed to be used, so caramelized onions came to mind. Bacon and greens are a natural pairing, but I wanted to do something a little different, so I settled on prosciutto.

I cooked everything in the same pan to save time on dishes later – first, I caramelized the onions with a little butter. It takes a while for onions to caramelize, so be patient. You could even do this step a day in advance. Once the onions were done, I removed them from the pan and wiped the pan out with a paper towel. I added some olive oil and torn prosciutto pieces. I sauteed the prosciutto until it was browned and crispy and removed it from the pan. Next, I put the torn greens into the pan and cooked them until they were wilted. I seasoned with salt and pepper and added the caramelized onions back to the pan. The crispy prosciutto bits went on top.

You can use any type of greens you like for this dish – the sweetness from the caramelized onions tamed the bitter nature of the greens I selected. The crispy prosciutto added nice texture and a pleasant saltiness.


Mixed greens with caramelized onions and prosciutto
Serves about 3

2 large bunches of greens, stemmed and torn into 1-2 inch pieces
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
3 slices of prosciutto, torn into ½ inch pieces
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a sprinkling of salt, cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally. This usually takes at least half and hour.

Remove the onions from the pan, set aside. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in the pan over high heat. Add the prosciutto, sauté until the prosciutto is browned and crispy, about 4 minutes. Transfer the prosciutto to a paper towel to drain.

Add the greens to the pan in batches – once the current batch has cooked down, add more until all the greens are in the pan. Cook until everything has wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir the caramelized onions into the greens, season to taste with salt and pepper.

For serving, place the greens in a bowl and top with the crispy prosciutto.

84 comments:

Elyse said...

Oh man, this sounds heavenly. I think we share in our passion for greens. They're super healthy, but they're also super delicious. I can't wiat to try your mixed green recipe. As of late, I've been wilting greens into my lunch time bowl of soup. It makes the soup so much more filling--not to mention, healthier!

Heather S-G said...

The bite of the greens w/ the salt of the prosciutto and the sweetness of the onion...oh my gosh, this dish is soul satisfying :)

Unknown said...

Those greens are so beautiful! I love caramelized onions too so I definitely need to give this a try!

Dewi said...

Love it Sara, we have the same taste here.
happy week ends,
elra

Jennifer said...

Girl, I do think you are one of the most creative cooks I know, greens, wow!

Cathy said...

That looks great! I'm a sucker for anything with prosciutto.

Pearl said...

i absolutely LOVE greens - but how does kale taste? is it like spinach?

Gera@SweetsFoodsBlog said...

Hi Sara,

I'm a big fan of caramelized onions so this combo of sweetness more the crispy savory prosciutto and the greens make a real beauty this dish. A super-delicious temptation :)

Nice weekend for you!
Gera

Anonymous said...

Three of my favourite things together! I loved mixed greens, am crazy for caramelised onions and adore proscuitto. I love going to the market and seeing what is good and fresh for the day and bringing it home to puzzle over what to cook it with :)

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I have a fridge full of greens from my farm box order, so I'll have to try your method.
Nancy

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Healthy and really appetizing! A great way of preparing greens!

Cheers,

Rosa

Rico said...

that looks delicious, I like the combo really good. One of my next posts you should see what I did with a three leave salad (water cress, spinach & rocket) thx for sharing this one. is great xx

Leslie M. said...

This looks wonderful Sara, I love Greens! I would just leave the prosciutto out, I could always substitute some veggie meat of baked tofu. (veggie, you know!hahah)
Have a great weekend!
Leslie
LeslieVeg@msn.com
http://leslielovesveggies.blogspot.com/

Patsyk said...

Love the combination of the carmelized onions (sweet) with the proscuitto (salty) and the wilted greens... Yum!

Claudia said...

You are quickly becoming my muse. I was just reading about Dandelion greens. Maybe I should go foraging in April! This will be on the menu in a few days. By-the-by, your spinach salad? A keeper.

Anonymous said...

I bet it was delicious with the onions...yummy.

Donna-FFW said...

Sounds great Sara. Wish I was as creative as you to go to a grocery store w/outa list.. I can't. Sure looks great!

Anonymous said...

This salad sounds wonderful with caramelized onions and prosciutto - how delicious!

LaDue & Crew said...

This sounds fabulous. You always have fantastic ideas! Btw. I'm loving the new look of your blog!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sara! I agree you really have fantastic ideas, we must have a greens and you present them with flair!

Anonymous said...

I love greens and I'm always looking for new ways to eat them. This is fantastic.

Cakebrain said...

I love my greens! Combining them with caramelized onions and prosciutto was such a fantastic idea! yum!

Maris said...

This souns amazing. I love love love caramelized onions.

Christina Kim said...

Sara, excellent way to mellow out the bitterness that these greens often have. There's nothing like bacon or prosciutto to make anything more tasty!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

You pretty much always use my favorite things!

Culinary Wannabe said...

Now this is my kinda veggie!! :)

Sara said...

Pearl - When kale is raw, it has a stronger flavor than spinach. But when it's cooked, the flavor mellows considerably, I think it ends up being even milder than spinach.

Claudia - Glad you liked the salad! I noticed at my grocery store yesterday that they had red dandelion greens, can't wait to try those too.

Anonymous said...

Looks great! I like using a lot of different greens too. Dandelion greens are harder to come by here though.

Reeni said...

This looks wonderful! Caramelized onions + prosciutto = heaven!!

Chef Chuck said...

That looks healthy and delish, what more could we ask for! I am glad to have found your blog, Thanks for sharing!

The Caked Crusader said...

I am drooling! For a cake obsessive, I actually have a tremendous love of all leafy greens and your dish looks heavenly.

Kerstin said...

Anyone who claims to not like veggies should try this recipe. Greens with caramelized onions AND prosciutto - sounds fantastic!

Sarah said...

We must both have itailian meats on the mind, tuesday's post has pancetta as a key ingredient! By the way I found fennel seeds in bulk at a great natural store here! If you ever need some send me a email, it's way cheaper in bulk!

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

A spoonful of prosciutto helps the veggies go down. Looks so good!

Diana said...

I love the flavor combinations you've got going on here -- you are so creative with your greens! I tend to error on the side of basic preparations -- spinach sauteed in garlic and lemon zest and such. You make me want to experiment a bit more!

Live.Love.Eat said...

This looks really delicious and healthy. Bonus!

Jan said...

I usually have zillions of dandelions growing in my yard throughout the spring and summer, but have never thought to use the leaves in cooking. I have, however, thought about making dandelion wine, shows where my priorities lie. :-)

Seriously, though, this dish sounds lovely. I so admire your creativeness in the kitchen.

Hayley said...

Looks like we're on the same page with the caramelized onions. Your take looks so tasty. Thanks for sharing!

Zesty Cook said...

Sara!!! This sounds and looks amazing.

Selba said...

Looks yummy and beautiful! :)

Barbara Bakes said...

Another intersting, informative post. I'm new to caramelizing onions and really don't think to serve greens. I'll have to give it a try!

Pam said...

Simply perfect.

Robin said...

I have been looking for dandelion greens but they are not out yet over here, at least not in Whole Foods! When they are out I will try this!

Miette said...

It looks very good ! Colors are marvellous ! What a mouthwatering dish !

Cheers,

Miette

♥Rosie♥ said...

Oh this does look so good! The bright colour of those greens just fantastic not to mention just how good they are for you too..Love it Sara.

Sophia Lee said...

wow! this would get any meat-lover to hunk it down like a juicy piece of steak! bet even my veggie-hating brother would love this too!

grace said...

caramelized onions make me tremendously happy, and that's good, because it's the only way i can eat them. lovely dish, sara!

Lyndas recipe box said...

This looks delicious;It has to be with caramelized onions! I must confess though, that I've not tried dandelion greens before.

The Blonde Duck said...

Those look wonderful!

La Bella Cooks said...

Great recipe! I am always looking for healthy "greens" recipe and I love the addition of prosciutto.

Apples and Butter said...

I have never cooked with dandelion greens! They look delicious here!

stephchows said...

Totally mouthwatering!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

You have a way of making greens look like eye candy!

Anonymous said...

You could put proscuitto and caramelized onions on anything, and I'd eat it. OK, maybe not an old gym sock. But anything else. ;)

NKP said...

Mmm, you make eating greens fun!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I've never eaten dandelion greens. I think I might be missing something good.
Sam

Anonymous said...

Lovely sounding salad. A little prosciutto with dark greens is a great combo.

The Duo Dishes said...

You can put proscuitto in anything, and we'll want to eat it. We're happy you've made this a healthier option!

Karin W. said...

I had to look up the word "kale" in my English Dictionary... Now I know. 'Grön-kål' in Swedish, litterally translated to 'green cabbage' in English.

Anonymous said...

I love anything with greens. And this green salad seems amazing. I looked up my dicitionary for the word "proscuitto", but no results for it.

MaryBeth said...

WOW..this looks very comforting. Great Job Sara!!!

Heidi said...

I love green veggies and caramelized onions are heavenly. This dish looks great!

Karen Brown Letarte said...

What a great combination of ingredients! I love to add beet and radish greens too when I do a mixed greens dish. We love greens in my house-- I can't wait to try your recipe! :) K

Laurie said...

I love dishes like this Sarah! Very yummy.. :)

Anonymous said...

Dandelion greens are one of my all time favorite foods!

Melissa said...

Just saw dandelion greens at the store tonight and started to ponder...

What a great salad. Seriously beautiful and I can completely imagine the taste.

Angie's Recipes said...

ha! Spinach!!! Best vegetable!! My mom loves to quick-fry them with garlic...sometimes, like what you did, with Chinese Jinhua ham.
Spinach in Germany somehow looks different, and tastes....well....not something how I knew.....just not the spinach...like pumpkins here have no taste and aroma of the pumpkin at all.
Do you use DSL camera? The pix look very real and vivid.
Angie

Cakelaw said...

What a great salad - I am eyeing up all that delicious proscuitto on top.

Olga said...

You know what would really be good on top of this? A poached egg or a fried egg!

Maria said...

I love greens! They are so good for you too!

Amanda said...

Gorgeous!

I have yet to try dandelion greens... they sound wonderful, especially prepared this way!

Fitness Foodie said...

Love this side dish, great mix of salt and sweet.

Anonymous said...

Sara, this looks incredible!!

Daziano said...

Curly mustard green? Never heard of that before!!! Interesting recipe!

Kiezie said...

This looks really warm and wonderful!! I don't cook greens often but this makes me want to! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm a sucker for anything with caramelized onions...

Passionate Eater said...

What a healthy and flavorful idea! Your amazing ideas are always so inspiring Sara. I think I just died and went to heaven thinking about those onions and prosciutto.

Sara said...

Karin - Kale is a type of leafy green, and quite delicious!

Zerrin - Prosciutto is a cured pork product, kind of like an italian ham.

Angie - I use a point and shoot with a light box, but that's about to change.

Olga - great idea!

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Caramelized onions and proscuitto make almost anything taste better. I'm not a big fan of the really bitter greens, but I could see making this with some of the milder ones.

Monica H said...

Your pictures are always so colorful and enticing! You make me hungry!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Who says healthy greens can't taste delicious? These look awesome and so does your blog design!

Anonymous said...

yum! I love greens, and the crispy prosciutto sounds perfect

What a Dish! said...

That looks so good- I need to try that with some Portuguese presunto, yum!

Chef E said...

I can imagine how tasty this dish was when you guys ate it! We love prosciutto in our house!