What can I say about creamed greens? Alison speaks of them like they’re classic American food. Like anyone who’s had a steak and a baked potato has also had creamed greens. Apparently every good steakhouse serves them? Either I’ve never been to a proper steakhouse, or my mother’s aversion to cooking anything with excess fat or olive oil has kept me from experiencing the richness of some creamed greens.
But for a first eating of creamed greens, I’ll say Alisons’ were pretty great.
The recipe begins with breadcrumbs, as all good recipes tend to do. Crisp up fresh crumbs in oil, salt and pepper to a golden perfection. I might go wild next time and add some Aleppo pepper to the crumbs for a bit more heat.
Next, bring heavy cream to a simmer and drop in several smashed garlic cloves and a dash of nutmeg (yes, nutmeg). Alison calls for freshly grated nutmeg, but I want to know who, if anyone ever, has made this recipe with fresh nutmeg. Where would one find such a thing? And who has the time? I don’t think she’d mind using ground nutmeg… the title of her other cookbook is “nothing fancy” after all. This creamy deliciousness cooks down to a thicker sauce that truly tastes like Alfredo (even though no cheese is involved!). The whole process took about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, cook down two bunches of Dino kale. At first, I thought, this is too much kale! But no. It’s perfect. It cooks down so much that you’re left with a medium sized bowl that’s halfway full of them by the end. The key here is to cook them in batches at a medium temp, so they don’t overcrowd or get browned. Once wilted, stir in the cream sauce and creme fraiche.
Ah, creme fraiche. The golden ingredient of every recipe it’s in. If Alison can claim these are the “greatest” creamed greens, it’s because of this ingredient, which adds a tangy depth without making it all taste even heavier. Creme fraiche is unskippable, so don’t even think about jettison-ing it. A mandatory fancieness.
164 recipes cooked, 61 to go.
