Lemony Collards for Lunch (and how to Chiffonade)

I went to the local Japanese produce store last week, and I had some things threatening to lose their freshness.  My friend Bunnary and I were both in the mood for collard greens today, and so we took to the fridge and concocted the following lunch dish made from leftover pasta, 3 day-old grape tomatoes, and some gorgeous brown cap mushrooms which had gotten a little too close to the back of the fridge and were wilting under a slight ice glaze.  Sounds horrible, right?  No.  This stuff was insanely good, and it was just what the stomach wanted for a hot, sunny midday.

Bunnary's Lemony Collard Lunch
1 bunch Collard Greens, washed and cut chiffonade (see picture below)
1 small Yellow Onion, small dice
5-10 Grape Tomatoes, halved
Mushrooms of your choice, chopped to bite-size pieces
1/2 Lemon, zest and juice
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 good handful Fresh Basil, cut chiffonade
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
2 servings Cooked Pasta, your choice

In a hot pan, sauté the onion and red pepper flakes in about 1T of vegan butter or olive oil.  When the onions are soft (about 3 minutes), add the mushroom, garlic, and collards...in that order.  Stir fry until the collards begin to wilt.  Add the tomato, lemon zest, lemon juice, and basil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  When the collards are al dente, the dish is ready to eat.  Make sure all the flavors are well mixed.  Remove from heat, stir in the already-prepared pasta, and enjoy!

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How to Cut Collards (or any other leafy vegetable/herb) in a Chiffonade
The lovely Bunnary Land demonstrates while I take pictures...

Remember that you can click on any of these thumbnails for a larger, detailed view.

 

First, cut the thick stems off to the base of the leaves.  Stack your leaves as best you can on top of one another.  Next, roll the leaves up into a nice tube shape.

  

Cut the roll in half, and then assemble the halves next to one another facing the same direction.  Using a sharp knife, slice across the cut face of the rolls in the desired thickness.

  

What you end up with is a nice pile of these beautiful ribbons.  This is perfect for stir-frying.  With fresh basil leaves, you follow this same process, just a smaller scale.  The cooked greens look like our last photo here in the recipe above.  They were just perfect.  And that...is how you cut collard greens in a chiffonade.