Week 1 - Braising Mix

[Posted by Ruth]

In our boxes this week we got a half bag of Braising Mix.  If you're unfamiliar with Braising Mix, also known as Saute Mix, its made of up more mature sections of what is normally found in a baby salad greens mix.  It will often consist of shoots from greens that have bolted or gone to seed, a little too rugged to be included in a baby salad mix but still too tender to require as much cooking as a fully mature green.

This makes Braising Mix ideally suited to a quick meal.  It is at its best when given a quick saute or when tossed with a hot dressing for a wilted salad.

Preparation:
As you can see in the earlier photo, Braising Mix is often pretty 'stemmy'.  Although you could tear the leaves off the stems, this is time consuming and will produce too much waste.  The best bet, after a thorough washing and spinning dry, is to take a moment to line them up with the stems pointing in one direction, a few hands full at a time, and chop the stems into approx 1" sections.  This will let them add flavor and crunch to your finished dish, without sticking someone with a mouthful of long, chewy stem.

To preserve the fresh taste and vibrant color of this mix, I went with a quick wilted Salad Dressing

Braising Mix with Warm Honey Mustard Dressing

1 large clove garlic. minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T prepared mustard
1 T honey
4 tsp apple cider or sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 bag Braising Mix 

Prepare Braising Mix as directed above and have it waiting in the bowl you will use to serve it.

Heat oil in a small, heavy pan over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and sizzle gently to cook the garlic a bit.  Do not brown the garlic.  Stir in the honey and mustard until blended in.  Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper, sizzle for just a moment to ensure all it quite hot, but not enough to cook off the vinegar.  The mixture will still look somewhat separated.  Immediately, toss the hot dressing into the Braising Mix until thoroughly blending and wilted a bit.

Serve the same way you would serve a side salad.  We found this went really well with the roasted potatoes we had the same night.  The color was terrific.