Easy Steamed Greens

5 from 2 votes

The most basic way I use to cook fresh, mild-tasting greens like watercress and spinach.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Steaming, Wild greens

Servings: Servings

Calories: 26kcal

Cost: 5

Wash the greens, looking them over for bugs, debris, leaves, or other foreign objects, then dry them well, preferably in a small salad spinner.
Put the steamer basket in a tall pot. Add water until you have at least 2-3 inches in the bottom of the pot. Bring the pot to a boil with the lid on. Add the greens, cover the pot, turn the heat to low.
Cook the greens until they're tender and taste good to you. Serve with soft butter, salt and lemon wedges at the table.

Put a film of water in the bottom of the pot, add the greens—I like to add them until they completely fill the pot--sometimes I add them in batches if I need to feed a lot of people. Put the lid on the pot, and turn the heat to medium high and wait a few minutes until the pan gets very hot.
Take the lid off and stir the greens. Put the lid back on and cook for another minute or two, and repeat until the greens are wilted.
Now taste the greens and judge their tenderness, if they need a little more time, continue cooking, and add a splashes of water if needed to keep it juicy. Keep cooking and tasting the greens--young ones will cook fast, mature leaves could take 15 minutes or more.
When the greens are cooked and taste good to you, turn the heat off. There should be a very small amount of water in the bottom of the pan--drain that off.
Drizzle a little olive oil and salt to taste. Mix very well in a circular motion to distribute everything, taste again, adjust as needed, then serve, with lemon or dashes of vinegar if you like. Many people spread salted butter on them at the table.