Spring greens with egg noodles

Working with The University of Sheffield

Season: SpringWinter

The spotlight this week turns to the organic Spring Greens cabbages getting packed in most of our veg boxes. Here’s a really simple but lovely way to cook and eat them – recipe from Nigel Slater.

Make sure everything is prepped and ready before you heat the wok. When I make this dish, I’ll chuck in some finely cut shards of carrot and some mushrooms too. Top each bowl with crushed toasted peanuts or cashews if you like.

Alternatively, Spring greens are great with pasta, with plenty of garlic, good olive oil, parmesan and a bit of chilli. Or have them as a side dish: sweat down the chopped greens in a pan, with some butter, and add lemon juice at the end.

Ingredients

Spring greens, 175g

Garlic, 3 cloves

Spring onions, 6 (or 1 regular onion)

Groundnut oil, 2 tbsp

Fresh egg noodles, 150g (or 2 portions of dried egg noodles)

Mild chilli sauce, 1 tbsp

Dark soy sauce, 3 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves from 4 or 5 sprigs

Method

Chop the spring onions into thin rounds. If using a regular onion, peel it, halve it, and cut the halves into thin slices.

Peel and finely chop the garlic.

Snap off the leaves of the spring greens, pile them on top of one another, roll them up, then shred them into ribbons (finger-width).

If using dried noodles, cook them according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

Heat a wok to a high heat. Pour in the oil, swirl it round, then, as it shimmers and starts to smoke, add the chopped onions and garlic. Move them quickly round the pan for a minute or two till they start to soften and colour.

Add the noodles. As they cook, drop in the shredded greens and stir or toss them around the pan as they cook for 2 mins.

Stir in the chilli sauce and soy, add the coriander leaves and continue cooking for a minute or so till all is soft, glossy and sizzling. Then serve!