‘Tis the season to eat green. When you work with les enfants, you need to take every preventative measure possible in order to avoid catching their cooties, and this means eating lots of delicious veggies which are chock full of vitamins. Knock on wood, but something must be working for me as I’ve managed to stave off the flu that’s been flying around Brittany like wildfire, and I haven’t even caught so much as a cold. Whereas last year I was sick 4 times during the school year. Whether it’s all the veggies, my compulsive hand washing throughout the school day or my reluctance to ever touch my face for fear of spreading germs, I’m not sure but I’m rolling with it. Maybe my immune system has simply adjsted to the French germs by now, but I’ll still keep on munching away on the greens, you know, just in case.

Lately my favorite has been broccoli greens. They go great with Asian flavor profiles, so one of my favorite preparations it to throw them in a wok with a few dashes each of sesame oil, fish sauce, soy sauce and water chestnuts. I cook them on high heat for just a few minutes as I prefer them to be crunchy and vibrant. Towards the end of cooking I might toss in minced garlic, sesame seeds and some sort of spicy pepper.

But lately I’ve been going outside of my norm and have prepared them with just olive oil, roasted garlic and salt and pepper and paired them with traditional French food, like la tartiflette or saumon baked in the oven with chutney. As it’s taken a turn for the cold recently (it even snowed/slushed today and it’s supposed to grow increasingly colder by this weekend), all I’ve wanted is hot creamy potatoes.  Surprisingly, the pairing was perfect. Soft, rich tartiflette up against vibrant, fresh and crunchy broccoli greens.

Sautéed Broccoli Greens with Whole Cloves of Roasted Garlic served with Salmon Baked in Foil with Apple Plum Chutney

Wilted Broccoli Greens with Tartiflette

Eat your greens! Stay warm and healthy and cozy! Et bon appétit!