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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
During the low-fat diet craze of the 1990s, cookbook author Julia Child rebuffed the anti-lipid mob with her famous quip, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” While Child made her comment with tongue firmly implanted in cheek, we should all be using more cream, even if we’re not afraid of butter. Cream makes food delicious.
Old-school steak houses understood how cream worked. They’ve been serving creamed spinach to meat eaters for more than a century, but you can trade spinach for a hearty brassica, in this case the dark green, nubbly leaves of Italian kale. It tastes better, and unlike the incredible shrinking spinach, kale retains most of its volume after cooking. Adding subtly flavored leeks provides a more sophisticated oniony note, and some bacon shows just how well cream and pork play together. You could serve this as a side dish, but mounded on a slice of grilled rustic bread, these creamed greens deserve the center of the plate.
Creamed Greens and Leeks on Toast
- 1–2 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large or 2 small leeks, split and sliced thinly*
- 1 bunch Italian kale, chopped**
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cream
- 1–2 teaspoons Kosher-style sea salt
- Sliced rustic bread to serve
*Leaving the root end intact, slice the leeks in half lengthwise. Trim the green tops at the point where they begin to branch away (look at the underside and you can see this), then slice crosswise.
**Stack 3-4 leaves of kale and roll into a tight bundle. Start at the stem end and slice thinly, then cut the sliced part crosswise. Repeat for the remaining leaves.
Cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium heat until it’s lightly browned. Add the leek with 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for another few minutes. Add the kale and water, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, checking occasionally and adding a little water if the bottom of the pot is dry.
Remove the lid and continue to cook until most of the liquid has cooked off. Stir in the cream and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Taste and add salt if needed. Use a heavy skillet to grill the sliced bread in a little olive oil. Put a slice of grilled bread on a plate and spoon some of the greens on top.