Horta, Greek Boiled Greens with Lemon
Horta just means greens, and across Greece it is the most everyday dish there is: whatever leaves are in season, wild or cultivated, boiled soft and dressed simply. It is usually finished with a heavy pour of olive oil and salt, but the greens themselves are so mineral and full-flavored that a generous squeeze of lemon and some raw garlic carry them on their own. Chard and kale are a reliable, sturdy pairing, though the dish is a template for any greens you have. Do not throw out the cooking water, which the Greeks call the potberry and drink for its dissolved nutrients. This is one of the cheapest and most nutrient-dense sides you can put on a table, and it is as good cold the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves and stems separated, chopped
- 1 bunch Kale, stemmed and torn
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- 1 Lemon, juiced, plus wedges to serve
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Add the chopped chard stems first and boil 2 minutes, since the stems are denser and need the head start to finish at the same time as the leaves.
- Add the chard leaves and kale and boil until they are tender but still bright, 4 to 6 minutes. Greek horta is cooked fully soft, not crisp-tender, so let them go until a stem piece bends easily, but pull them before the color dulls to olive.
- Drain the greens well and press out the excess water with the back of a spoon. Wet greens dilute the dressing, so getting them fairly dry is what lets the lemon and garlic actually coat them. Save the green cooking water if you like; it is drunk in Greece as a mineral-rich broth.
- While the greens are still warm, toss them with the grated raw garlic and a generous amount of the lemon juice. Warm leaves absorb the dressing far better than cold ones, and the residual heat softens the raw garlic just enough.
- Grind over the black pepper and serve warm or at room temperature with extra lemon wedges. The lemon is doing the work salt and olive oil normally would, so be generous with it and add more at the table.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 65 calories, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber, 85 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
