You'll want to start snacking while you cook. But it's worth waiting till the end.
The first thing to confess is that I was tasked with developing a recipe for green shakshuka and I took a, um, extreme deviation. I am sorry for veering off course. But I am not sorry for the end result!: Like, a) There are eggs gently cooked in a spicy sauce. And b) You can make it for brunch or dinner or that 4 p.m. on a Sunday…snack? And c) You’ll probably end up eating half of it yourself, even if you think there are going to be leftovers the next day.
But it strays from the traditional Middle Eastern dish in its very foundation: Instead of tomatoes and peppers, you’ve got spinach and kale cooked in a Southeast Asian-style green coconut curry that’s full of the sort of herby-spicy-acidity I crave all summer long. You start by blanching two pounds of greens. Yes, you have to do this: Flash-cooking them in hot, salty water, then quickly wringing them dry seasons them, softens them, and means that they won’t leak their unwanted moisture into your sauce.
You’ll be tempted, if you’re like me, to stop cooking and start eating at two different points in this recipe. First, once you’ve blended the sauce—a creamy and crazy-fragrant mixture of coconut milk, toasted coriander seeds, lemongrass, curry leaves, ginger, chile, and garlic. And, second, after you’ve poured it over the greens and allowed the two to join forces.