Some of my favourite favourite meals involve a simple formula. Basically it’s a big bowl of veggies + a sauce + something really tasty.
The veggies can be warm or cold, depending on the weather so it’s super versatile.
I always have a stash of steamed veg in the fridge or freezer so I know there is always a ‘good bowl’ just around the corner.
This combo of salty feta, briny olives and pesto is one I first played around with in a frittata.
But I like the ‘ginormous’ flavours even more in this free form bowl.
And in case you don’t have a 4-year-old in the house ginormous is gigantic + enormous. We’re talking seriously big flavours. Which one day said 4-year-old will grow to appreciate.
I live in hope.
The Good Greens
Ingredients
- 400 g green veg (broccoli / Kale / collard greens / chard / Brussels sprouts / asparagus)
- 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons pesto
- 100 g feta crumbled
- 1 handful pitted olives (50g / 2oz)
Instructions
- Bring 1cm (1/2in) deep salted water to the boil in a medium saucepan. If using broccoli, chop into bite sized trees and slice the stems. If using kale, collards, chard or other greens slice them crosswise into 1cm thick ribbons. (You can remove the stems if you want less chewing – but I generally leave them in). If using brussels sprouts, halve or quarter them. And asparagus can be chopped crosswise into 1/3s.
- Pop prepared veg into the pot and cover with a lid. Simmer rapidly for 5 minutes (for broccoli, brussels sprouts and asparagus) or 2-3 minutes for leafy veg.
- When the veg are no longer crunchy. Drain well – squeeze out the excess moisture from leafy greens.
- Pop the cooked veg in a bowl or chill in the fridge if you prefer the Summer option. Season veg with soy sauce.
- Top with feta, olives and pesto. And prepare for the flavour explosions!
Notes
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – use frozen veg.
short on time – replace veg with baby spinach leaves.
keto / ultra low carb – replace veg with baby spinach leaves.
dairy-free – replace feta with chicken, tuna, chunks or avocado, roasted pine nuts, macadamias or almonds. Or go for the decadence of 2 sauces with some almond hummus or regular hummus. And dairy-free pesto.
more substantial (carb lovers) – cooked pasta, warm pita, rice, tortilla chips.
more substantial (low carb) – more of everything! roast almonds, pine nuts or macadmias. Add chunks or avocado.
Low FODMAP – use baby spinach instead of steamed veg. And make a garlic-free pesto.
different vegetables – feel free to add any raw or cooked veg you happen to have on hand. This is an excellent vehicle for using up different bits and pieces.
different protein – quick pulled chicken, boiled, fried or poached eggs, sausages, bacon, cooked chickpeas, lentils.
different cheese – shaved parmsean, goats cheese, a sharp cheddar, pecorino, creamy ricotta. Bascially whatever cheese you have. Grilled halloumi.
more fancy / for entertaining – It’s pretty impressive as is. Maybe some fresh herbs like basil or parsley.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
broccoli – will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Can be frozen (if you have time chop before freezing so it will defrost quickly in the pan).
kale / collard greens / chard – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag uncooked for 1-2 weeks. Once cooked it will keep for a month or so in the fridge. Can be frozen both cooked or raw.
brussels sprouts – will keep for a few weeks in a plastic bag in the fridge. Can be frozen.
asparagus – can be frozen but best to use for another meal.
soy sauce / pitted olives – keep them in the pantry.
pesto – commercial jars of pesto will keep for months in the pantry. Fresh pesto will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Cover with olive oil to prevent exposure to air and browning reactions. Can be frozen.
feta – keeps for months unopened in its packet. Or can be frozen.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook the veg as per the recipe but keep the feta, olives and pesto separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, use veg chilled or warm them in a pan with a little oil before adding remaining ingredients.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
This is a tasty speedy meal, perfect after a hectic work day. Made this with broccoli and topped with crumbled bacon. Happy tummy!
Bacon is always a good idea Meredith 🙂
Dear Jules, I’ve just subscribed to your meal plans
I made Good greens this evening, after a busy / stressful day. It was delicious , simple & I’d never have thought to put all these things, that I love , individually, together in a “bowl meal” ( which I also love)
It was fabulous, a brilliant end to a tricky day
Thank you
Clare
So glad you were able to turn your tricky day around Clare! Good for you.
Bowl meals are the best 🙂
I had part of a batch of Cooked Greens and some grilled veg, and half a block of feta left over from last week, and was wondering what to do with them for a quick dinner tonight, so this was an easy choice. Very tasty.
Is this one serve, as listed here, or 2, as listed in today’s email? I demolished the lot with no trouble, so I’d say the former. BTW, you keep misspelling Parmesan as ‘parmsean’. Regards.
Thanks for spotting the error – it’s 1 serve – there was an error in the email. Thanks Mark!
And I’ll pay more attention to my parmesan 🙂
I had another go at this using Brussels sprouts (and some carrots, so Good Greens and “Oranges”, as it were)and it was fine, except for the sprouts having woody cores that, even with them halved or quartered axially, took ages to cook. I think that I’ll stick to broccoli in future.
Greens and Oranges sound very Irish Mark!
And thanks for reminding me about frozen Brussels sprouts – I wonder if they will cook more quickly with the freezing process to soften the cores.
Frozen ones would certainly be easier to repair, but I think that broccoli will remain my favourite brassica.
IT is hard to go past broccoli Mark – Although I do love me some cabbage as well 🙂
Perfect Mark! And congrats on being the first one to rate a recipe with the new system. Really appreciate all your comments!
Thanks. I added this to a new collection called Greens, and it’s there, there’s an area which takes me to the recipe page when I click on it, but neither the image nor the title is showing in the collection. Also, I had to add it from my Inbox, because it doesn’t show up for me if I search recipes with either the keyword ‘green’ or ‘greens’.
Sorry Mark!
I’ve just checked and there as an error in the formatting on my end. Should show up properly.
Thanks for picking up the error!
Thanks. For some reason the change didn’t propagate to the links I had in my collections, which I have now deleted, but I could find and collect it from a keyword search on the recipe list.