Recipe: Cooked Wild Greens Salad and Preserved Lemon (Moroccan)

COOKED WILD GREENS SALAD

"This dish is made with wild mallow leaves in Morocco, but it's equally good with arugula, Swiss chard, purslane, young kale, or beet greens."

1 pound greens (such as arugula, Swiss chard, purslane, young kale, or beet greens)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pinch hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 of a preserved lemon (recipe)
Moroccan oil-cured olives (for serving)

Wash and roughly chop greens, and cook with parsley and garlic in a vegetable steamer until tender, 10-30 minutes, depending on greens. Remove garlic and set aside. Allow greens to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then chop finely. Set greens aside.

Crush garlic, cilantro, and salt to a paste with a mortar and pestle. Heat 3 tbsp. of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic paste and greens, and lower heat. Cook, stirring often, until mixture is fairly dry, about 5 minutes.

Stir in sweet paprika, hot paprika, cumin, and lemon juice. Cool, then transfer to a bowl, and beat in remaining 3 tbsp. olive oil until greens have a sheen and the texture of whipped potatoes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

TO SERVE:
Before serving, adjust seasoning with salt and lemon juice and whip once more. Rinse the preserved lemon, remove pulp, and slice peel thinly. Serve greens with the sliced peel and Moroccan oil-cured olives.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Saveur magazine, Issue #7