Preserved (Salted) Mustard Greens with Garlic

I picked up some mustard greens at the Farmer’s Market (in Central Square) on Monday. While I was a kid, I often saw my mom salting her own mustard greens. I decided to try the same thing.

Wash the mustard greens well. Sprinkle some salt (like 1-2 shakes of a saltshaker) on both sides of each leaf and lightly rub the salt all over the leaf. Do this with every leaf. Store the leaves in a covered container at least overnight (if not several days) in the refrigerator.

The next day (or after several days), squeeze the leaves to remove excess water, and drain off the salt water. Rinse the leaves to wash off any excess salt.

Finely chop the leaves (into 1 cm pieces). [note – because I only waited overnight, the leaves have not lost that much water. Waiting several more days would result in a more wilted looking leaf]

pictured: Shun Santoku 7-inch knife. This knife is awesome. Be careful, ’cause it’s super sharp, but it makes cutting so much easier!

Stir fry in a wok with some crushed garlic and hot red pepper flakes (to taste)! You should not need to add salt, but if you don’t think it’s salty enough, you can always add more salt.

Yum.