· By Honest Toil
Potatoes and Greens braised in Olive Oil
This blog & recipe is by Despina Siahuli
Despina is a London-based chef and recipe developer whose heart belongs to Athens, where she grew up.
You can follow Despina's Substack here.
A simple dish inspired by the cooking of Greek monasteries, where spring greens and ladera - vegetables or pulses slowly and gently cooked in generous extra-virgin olive oil - are part of everyday nourishment. It is naturally vegan, humble, and deeply pleasing.
Here, potatoes and greens are braised together with Honest Toil extra-virgin olive oil, harvested only a few months ago, so fresh, vibrant and gently peppery!
The inspiration comes from a dish called patates me spanaki, which I first came across in a book about the tradition of monastery cooking and Lent, Ta Míla tou Mageíra (“The Cook’s Apples,” more or less!). While testing and researching the recipe, I discovered two very similar dishes: the Croatian blitva, and an Italian version made with rapini and potatoes. It’s a beautiful reminder that food really knows no border! The same simple ideas appearing in different kitchens, shaped by the land and the seasons.
The recipe in the book is wonderfully loose and generous in spirit, leaving plenty of room to cook by instinct and make it your own. Traditionally it’s made with fresh spinach, but in my version I use rainbow chard, which cooks down beautifully and brings its own gentle sweetness. It comes together in about 30 minutes, yet feels both bright and comforting. You can taste every single ingredient, and that, to me, is the real beauty of the dish.
Juli recently reminded me that it’s horta (χόρτα) season in Greece! The time when people head out to the hills to forage for wild greens. I miss those flavours deeply. Still, after seventeen years living in London, I’ve come to appreciate the beautiful produce we have here too. At this time of year, the bunches of rainbow chard appearing in markets and greengrocers always give me a small sense of home.
Alongside the dish, I like to make a quick little side of lemon macerated in extra-virgin olive oil. It’s sharp, bitter, and intensely fragrant. When you spoon it over the greens and potatoes, it brings a brightness that reminds me — just a little — of the wild greens of Greece.
Enjoy it as a main dish with good bread, or serve it as a side alongside fish or meat. It’s also wonderful the next morning with eggs and cheese. And if you happen to have leftovers, they stretch beautifully: add a jar of good butter beans, some simply boiled lentils, or even a handful of pasta and you suddenly have something close to a quick, brothy minestrone.
Potatoes and Greens braised in Honest Toil
Ingredients
750 g potatoes, about 3–4 medium/large ones, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bay leaf, optional
500 g greens, I used rainbow chard, but spinach, kale or cime di rapa will also work
A bunch of spring onions, about 5–6 medium, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Small bunch of dill or parsley, or mixed herbs if you like
Plenty Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Optional macerated lemon to serve
1 unwaxed lemon, halved and very finely sliced
2 pinches salt
4–5 tbsp Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil
Optional spices: fennel seeds, coriander seeds, chilli flakes or cumin
Method
- Make the macerated lemons, optional. Finely slice the lemon and place it in a bowl with two pinches of sea salt. Press it firmly with a spoon to release the juices. Add the extra virgin olive oil and mix well, pressing and stirring until the lemon softens and becomes glossy. Add any spices you like. I added two pinches of fennel seeds. Leave it somewhere warm to soften while the dish cooks.
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Place the prepared potatoes in a pot with the bay leaf and cover with water about 2–3 cm above them. Add a couple of pinches of salt and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, until just tender but still holding their shape.
When ready, remove from the heat and leave them in their cooking liquid. Do not discard the water, you will use some of it later. - Prepare the greens, wash them thoroughly and roughly chop. If your greens have hard stalks, chop them off and cook them with the onions and garlic first, before adding the leafy parts.
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In a large pot heat 4–5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over gentle heat. Add the spring onions, garlic and any chopped green stalks. Cook slowly, stirring often, until soft and translucent.
- Add the chopped greens in two batches, letting the first batch wilt before adding the rest. Stir in the dill and season with salt and pepper.
- Add 3–4 ladles of the potato cooking water and simmer gently for about 7–10 minutes, until the greens soften and become sweet.
- Toss in the cooked potatoes to the greens. Drizzle in another tablespoon or two of olive oil and simmer very gently for about 10 minutes. Add a little more potato cooking water if needed to keep everything moist. Stir carefully as you want the potatoes to keep their shape. As they cook, the edges will soften and the broth will become lightly starchy and cloudy.
- Toward the end, avoid stirring too much. Instead, gently shake the pot to move everything around without breaking the potatoes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve your potatoes and greens warm with plenty of good bread to soak up the juices. The macerated lemon can be served on the side for brightness, though the dish is also beautiful without it!
If you’d like to add some protein, it pairs beautifully with feta, tinned fish, or a legume spread such as fava or hummus. Simple, clean, pleasing flavours, a little like horta meets potato stew, inspired by monastery cooking and the spirit of fasting food!
