A natural hybrid made from wild green amaranth growing next to burgundy amaranth: some purple, some green, some in-between, all beautiful.

I’ve been eating more and more amaranth in the past few years, for some reason I forgot I could wilt it like spinach. For a year or two all I did was put it in salads, and then it needs to be blended with other greens. If you use it raw, it can be a little tough for some people, even if it’s only the young clouches/tender tops,

If your amaranth is older you may want to peel the stalks, but often I find the whole plant is tender enough to toss in the pan chopped up.

I was reminded how good it is cooked after a dinner where  foreign exchange students came to a my girlfriend’s farm near Menomanie for dinner. The guests ended up all being female culinary entrepreneurs from different parts of Africa. I was surprised to hear over dinner that they all ate foods and fruits that the others didn’t in their region (they also spoke different languages as their native tongue. One similarity though, was that they all knew what the wilted amaranth at the table was. Food is the ultimate culture-bridging topic, and one I think is fascinating when the subject is traditional foods, especially plants and mushrooms.

A few summer mushrooms from Minnesota Top L t R: Unknown Boletes, Claviradelphus truncatus, Hygrophorous russula, young Laetiporus sulphureus. I also threw in some chanterelles I remembered I’d hidden in the fridge-not pictured.

A couple days later, I was thinking of how much I enjoyed the dinner that I got a craving for amaranth so I made a panful during mushroom season. It’s a simple variation on my favorite wilted green prep: garlic, olive oil, lemon and chili. It’s a great way to use up a nice pile of greens from thinning the garden.

Print Recipe

3 from 1 vote

Wilted Amaranth With Chesnok Garlic, Chili, and Summer Wild Mushrooms

Wilted amaranth greens with mushrooms, garlic and chili

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time7 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Amaranth, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Garlic

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fresh young amaranth washed, dried, and separated into leaves and small clusters of leaves
• 4 ounces fresh wild mushrooms cleaned and set on towels to dry
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chesnok garlic or another hardneck garlic variety
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

• In a large saute pan, (preferably 10 inch) heat the garlic with the butter and oil on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is golden and aromatic-turn the heat down low towards the end to really get the garlic brown and toasty.
• When the garlic is lightly browned, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and stir.
• Continue to cook slowly until the mushrooms have released some of their juice and are completely cooked and wilted. Add the greens, chili flakes, and cover the pan, with the heat on low and allow the greens to gently steam and wilt, about 2-3 minutes more.
• Season with some fresh lemon juice to taste, then stir, double check the seasoning and adjust as needed, then transfer quickly to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up any excess juice and serve immediately.

Notes

The garlic is part of the key here, I like to use different varieties when I can like the Chesnok Red, which has a strong flavor.

Use any garlic you want, but one bonus of cured heirloom varieties (besides improved flavor) is that I find they're much easier to work with. *Most* varieties I've worked with have larger cloves that are easy to peel, especially if they've been properly cured in a dry place for a while, like a barn.