mixed greens with cumin and paprika

"yes, i know i'm not so very pretty but you might be able to dress me up a little with a few bits of vibrant diced red pepper or a big pink polka dot bow perched cockily on my, um, well since i have no head, you might place it to the side of the bowl"

i eat a lot of greens, probably several heads each week. usually cooked up in the most boring manner: sauteed with garlic and red pepper. or stewed, until falling apart tender with tomatoes and a few shakes of creole seasoning. i was getting bored with my limited repretoire and while making further explorations of deborah madison's "vegetarian cooking for everyone", yielded yet another interesting but simple recipe: mixed greens seasoned with cumin and paprika.

this is an interesting dish. i would have never thought of pairing cumin and paprika with greens but it works. the spices are robust enough to stand up to the flavorful greens and the cilantro and parsley layers more green flavor into the dish. sometimes i find the flavor of just kale or chard to have the subtlety of, um, a pile-driver. the additional greens somehow diffuses it's assertiveness. i really like this dish but my man is lukewarm toward it. maybe if i sprinkled some bacon on it it might bring him 'round...

mixed greens with cumin and paprika
12 cups mixed greens
4 large garlic cloves
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
1-3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin

if using tougher greens, remove stems from leafy part and layer in a steamer basket, stems first. steam until tender. cut into 1 inch x 1 inch pieces. if using a softer green, such as chard, you can omit the steaming part and cut. put garlic through a garlic press or pound with salt in a mortar and pestle. heat oil in a large skillet and cook paprika and cumin over medium until just fragrant...be careful not to burn the spices or they will become bitter. stir in garlic, green, chopped cilantro and chopped parsley and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil to serve. if you prefer not to use oil, you can "steam fry" the greens by placing a drizzle of water in the pan before adding greens, spices and parsley/cilantro. being a super-stanky garlic freak i always reserve just a pinch of raw garlic and stir it in after the dish is finished cooking.