If you're browsing to find some healthy and delicious side dishes to go with your roast lamb or other meat, look no further! Spring greens are coming into season and we are making our side dish of Spring Greens in Thyme & Lemon Butter to complement our Easter Lamb dish!
Jump to:
- Perfect Side Dish For Sunday Roast In Spring
- What Are Spring Greens Exactly?
- Ingredients and Substitutes
- Method: How To Cook Spring Greens?
- Spring Greens Recipe Variations
- What To Serve Sauteed Spring Greens With?
- Storage and Leftovers
- Other Delicious Side Dishes For Sunday Roast
- Spring Greens Recipe with Thyme and Lemon Butter
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Perfect Side Dish For Sunday Roast In Spring
Roast dinner only gets better in spring! It's finally time to swap starchy root vegetables for lighter spring greens. We love green vegetables here, at Somebody Feed Seb, especially when they are in season and served alongside something just as delicious.
This year with our Herby Apricot Stuffed Lamb, we decided to serve a simple yet tasty Spring Greens side dish, that doesn't detract from the main centrepiece but adds subtle and delicate flavours and textures to enhance it.
And what's the best way to cook spring greens? Sautee them in a flavoursome lemon and thyme butter!
If you can't find any Spring Greens, or would rather use something that's in season at the time you are making this, try replacing it with green or sweetheart cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, tenderstem broccoli, swiss chard, turnip greens or even kale or cavolo nero (although some may take a couple of minutes longer to cook).
What Are Spring Greens Exactly?
Spring greens are a type of leafy green vegetable, specifically young cabbages, that belong to the Brassica family. They have dark leaves and are packed with nutrients. These leafy greens are great for your immune system because they are high in vitamin K and are known for their anti-inflammatory properties.
The perfect time to cook with spring greens is between March and June.
Are Collard Greens The Same As Spring Greens?
Collard greens and spring greens are not the same, but they both have dark green leaves and come from the Brassica family. Collard greens have a slightly different texture and taste, but will work perfectly well in this recipe too!
Ingredients and Substitutes
You will only need 6 everyday ingredients for this great recipe:
- vegetable stock: chicken stock works well too.
- spring greens: can be replaced with collard greens, savoy or sweetheart cabbage, swiss chard or turnip greens, amongst others.
- double cream: aka heavy creamy.
- thyme fresh: may be replaced with dried herbs.
- butter: salted or unsalted - you choose!
- unwaxed lemon: juice and zest
Method: How To Cook Spring Greens?
If you're using a ready-shredded bag of spring greens that you can buy in most supermarkets, this side is even easier to put together. We opted for a head of spring greens, separated and washed the leaves and then sliced them into thin strips.
1. Pour the stock (we used vegetable stock, but you can experiment with other flavours depending on what you're going to serve these with) into a large skillet and bring to a simmer. Add the shredded spring greens and spring onions and simmer for 2-3 minutes until softened. The stock will mostly evaporate.
2. Stir in the double cream and thyme and stir fry over medium heat just enough to warm through (about 1 minute on low heat). Then take off the heat and stir in the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Serve immediately garnished with extra spring onion, chilli flakes or fresh herbs.
Spring Greens Recipe Variations
Make this simple recipe your own by changing things up. Here are some tasty suggestions:
- Add some wild garlic or minced garlic cloves to this spring greens recipe.
- Stir in some ground mustard seeds just before you add the cream.
- Scatter toasted pine nuts or pecan nuts for extra texture.
What To Serve Sauteed Spring Greens With?
This Buttered Spring Greens recipe is a versatile and healthy side dish that goes particularly well with meat and poultry dishes. Try serving it alongside:
- Lamb with Herby Apricot Stuffing
- Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder
- Slow Cooker Duck Confit with Cherry Sauce
- Poutine with Chicken
Storage and Leftovers
If you made more than you can eat, cool the spring greens to room temperature, then spoon them into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for a couple of days.
You can simply reheat them in a large frying pan with some extra butter and serve as a side dish again. But another delicious way is to stir the leftovers through a creamy risotto or various pasta dishes. It's a delicious way to prevent food waste.
We suggest adding them to Tahini Pasta, Mushroom Risotto or simply using the spring greens instead of spinach in Eggs Florentine.
Other Delicious Side Dishes For Sunday Roast
These simple Spring Greens with Thyme & Lemon Butter go particularly well with lamb dishes, making it a delicious side dish for your Easter table! Our recipe for Lamb with Herby Apricot Stuffing is here.
For other side dish ideas, have a look at our recipes below:
- Lemon & Garlic Tenderstem Broccoli (Broccolini)
- Sourdough Yorkshire Puddings
- Garlicky Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Reduction
- Orange-Glazed Carrots in a Pan
- Stir-Fried Savoy Cabbage
Spring Greens Recipe with Thyme and Lemon Butter
Ingredients
- 80 ml (⅓ cups) vegetable stock
- 160 g (4 cups) spring greens shredded
- 30 ml (3 tablespoon) double cream
- 1 teaspoon thyme fresh or dried
- 20 g (1½ tablespoon) butter chopped
- ¼ lemon juice and zest
Instructions
- Pour the stock into a large frying pan and bring to a simmer. Add the shredded spring greens and spring onions and simmer for 2-3 minutes until softened. The stock should have evaporated at this stage.
- Stir in the double cream and thyme and cook just enough to warm through (about 1 minute on low heat). Then take off the heat and stir in the butter, lemon zest and juice. Serve immediately!
Nutrition
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