"Bitter Erbs" Casserole

Preheat oven to 350°F

Bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Blanche bitter greens in small batches one at a time, by placing a handful into the boiling water for up to 1 min then immediately into a cold water bath. This will soften the bitter taste of the greens.

In a pan, heat up 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Add crushed garlic (3 cloves) and blanched bitter greens.

While the garlic and greens cook, heat up/prepare broth (1 cup) and melt the butter. Set both aside.

Once garlic is browned and greens are softened but not turned to mush, transfer them to casserole dish along with the melted butter. Add egg noodles (200 g) to casserole dish, making sure they are evenly distributed.

Combine warm broth with milk (1 cup), buttermilk (1 cup), and egg (optional). Mix in pepper (1 tsp.) and mustard seeds (1 Tbsp.). Slowly pour over egg noodles and greens until the noodles are mostly covered. Cover with foil, bake for 25 min.

Mix together grated parmesan (1/2 cup) and breadcrumbs (1/2 cup).

Crank oven up to 400°F. Carefully remove foil and top with breadcrumbs and parmesan mix, bake for an additional 15-20 min, or until most of the broth has boiled off and the top layer of the casserole is slightly browned and crisped.

The idea of this dish first came to us when we were trying to figure out what to do with a mystery green leafy vegetable in our fridge. The grocery order had said it was supposed to be chicory, but the leaves out of the box looked very different from the google image search results for 'chicory greens'. In fact, it most closely resembled thick-stocked weeds that had been left to run wild in an uncared-for yard.

We first tried smelling it, smelled a bit like grass. Then we tried tasting it raw, and spat it out right away overwhelmed by the harsh bitterness. Still a little unsure of how to use it, we thought... what if we baked it with a lot of cheese? How about we try making a casserole?

The name "Bitter Erbs" is borrowed from one year's Passover dinner, where a cousin explained the Seder plate without being able to say his 'R's. His pronunciation of "bitter herbs" was just the cutest and funniest thing, and now is part of our regular vocabulary.