Spring greens with coconut and chilli
In Samoa, one of the national dishes is palusami, which consists of a foil-wrapped parcel of young taro leaves, coconut cream and garlic placed in a stone oven and cooked slowly for several hours. We have emulated this using spring greens, which do look a bit like taro leaves. It is quite a rich dish and makes a lovely accompaniment to spicy grilled chicken or fish. It would also work using spinach.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch spring greens, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
- 2 dried chillies, chopped
- 400ml coconut milk
- juice of ½ lemon
Method
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Step 1
Blanch the greens in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain, refresh in cold water and squeeze out the excess. Set aside.
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Step 2
Heat the sunflower oil in a pan, add the garlic and chillies and fry over a low heat for a minute or so.
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Step 3
Add the coconut milk and simmer over a high heat for 10 minutes, until reduced by about half.
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Step 4
Stir in the spring greens and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the coconut milk is just coating the greens.
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Step 5
Finish with the lemon juice.
