Winter Greens Fettucine

Are you looking for a way to put more dark greens into your diet? If you aren't, well--you should. I didn't grow up on these greens, because I grew up in Arizona, they just weren't part of our food culture in the 70s-and 80s. Big, leafy, dark greens were not something that came to the weeknight dinner table in our house growing up. To my mother's credit, I am sure we wouldn't have eaten them (but only because we didn't understand them.) The nutritional value of these greens (kale, collards, mizuna, spinach, Swiss chard) are astounding. Too much to write about here, but you can look it up when you have time. This dish feels super light, even though it is loaded with dark greens. the Sauce is barely there with just enough tang and richness to be very satisfying.
Don't fear the amount of greens this dish calls for--it cooks down to the 4-servings that this dish makes. Trust me.

Ingredients: (Makes 4 dinner servings)

• 16 cups loose packed winter greens** (any combination of kale, collards, mizuna, spinach, Swiss chard) Wash these and loosely tear or chop. Size and shape do not matter much. The water from the rinsing, helps them cook--so do not spin dry. (**Notes: this amount would be about 4 large bunches of these kinds of greens from the grocery or your farmshare. If using greens with tough stems--kale, Swiss chard--remove the spine and stems from the greens.) 
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 5 tbs good balsamic
• 1/4 tsp. red chile flake (use a pinch instead if you want less heat)
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1/4 cup grated or shaved parmesean cheese
• 1 package of GF fettuccine noodles (or use regular GF spaghetti noddles)

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, in a deep soup or stock pot, over medium-high heat, place the greens. Salt and pepper them to season. Cook the greens, turning them with a wooden spoon until they are all wilted down and cooked, about 6-8 minutes or so. There should be some liquid in the pot at the bottom, if not--add 1/4 cup of water to the pot. Once simmering, add the olive oil, butter, red chile flake and balsamic vinegar.

Drain the noodles and add to the greens in the pot. Turn the heat off and stir the noodles with the greens mixture until it is coated.

Serve in bowls and add 1-2 tbs of parmesean cheese on top.