Liangban Huihui Cai Chinese Lambs Quarters Salad Food

LIANGBAN HUIHUI CAI (CHINESE LAMB'S QUARTERS SALAD)

Steps:

• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil.
• Wash lamb's quarters.
• When water is at a rolling boil, submerge lamb's quarters briefly, just until they turn bright green or the water returns to the boil.
• Drain.
• Drizzle and toss lamb's quarters with dressing ingredients as needed to taste.
• Serve with rice, other Chinese dishes, and a clear soup.

CREAMY LAMB'S-QUARTERS GRATIN

Steps:

• Make Filling:
• Preheat the oven to 350° F with the rack in the middle. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
• Bring 1-inch salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Meanwhile, wash lamb's-quarters in a large bowl of cold water and drain well. Trim any coarse, woody stems at bottom (don't go crazy with trimming; young lamb's-quarter stems cook up tender and delicious).
• Add lamb's-quarters to pot and cook over medium heat, covered, until leaves are wilted and stems are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the greens in a large sieve or colander and rinse well under cold running water. Drain again, pressing out excess liquid with the back of a large spoon. Coarsely chop greens and transfer to a bowl. Dry saucepan and reserve.
• Cook scallions in olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in reserved saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Combine scallion mixture with greens in bowl. Reserve saucepan again.
• Melt butter in reserved saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes, then whisk in milk and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer sauce, whisking, 2 minutes (it will be thick). Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg, zest, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix sauce into greens mixture. If the mixture is too thick, thin with a little additional milk; season with salt and pepper. Spread out mixture in baking dish.
• Make Topping:
• Toss together crumbs, cheeses, and oil until combined well. Sprinkle topping evenly over greens mixture and bake in oven until crumbs are golden and mixture is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
• Cooks' Notes:
• The best way to make coarse fresh breadcrumbs is to cube fresh bread, then grind it in small batches in a blender (a food processor is not as good at grinding crusty bread into breadcrumbs because the crusts get stuck in the blade).
• Creamy lamb's-quarters mixture and crumb mixture can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately in airtight containers, chilled.