Garlicky spring greens with lemon

Plan a week with British dishes

Let's cook

1. Pull off any tired outer leaves. Cut the thick stalk out of the middle of each leaf, then stack the leaves, roll them up and slice them into ribbons about 1cm wide. Wash them in a colander and shake off most of the water.
2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the greens and cook for 2 minutes, until bright green and just tender. Drain well in the colander and press them lightly with a spoon to squeeze out extra water.
3. Put the same pan back on a low to medium heat with the olive oil and garlic. Cook gently for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until the garlic is pale golden and smells sweet. Do not let it go brown, or it turns bitter.
4. Add the chilli flakes if using, then tip in the drained greens. Toss for 1 minute so every ribbon is glossy with the garlic oil.
5. Take the pan off the heat. Squeeze over the lemon juice (catch the pips with your other hand), season with the salt and pepper, toss once more and serve.

Tips

• Squeezing the greens after draining stops them spitting in the oil or going watery on the plate.
• Add the lemon at the very end. Cooked for long, its acid dulls the bright green colour.

Swaps

• Out of season: use savoy cabbage, kale or cavolo nero (cook kale and cavolo nero for 3 minutes).
• Buttered greens: stir in a knob of butter with the lemon. They then contain milk and are no longer vegan or dairy free.

More in the British meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.