First clean your greens. Many cookbooks recommend rinsing greens in running water, an effective method but not viable in drought country.

To wash greens in drought country:

Fill your largest bowl with cold water. Immerse the greens, allowing them to sit from 10 minutes to all day. This also refreshes wilted leaves.

When ready to cook, make sure leaves are grit-free; if not, fill the bowl with fresh water and swish each leaf individually, rubbing off dirt with your fingers. Remove leaves to a cutting board.

Fill a large pot with salted water. Bring to a boil.

The potato can be treated a couple ways. To avoid waterlogged spuds, Wolfert cooks hers whole, unpeeled. As the potato is cooked further, I don’t find waterlogging a problem. Quartering the potato allows it to cook more quickly. The choice is yours. Either way, drop the potato into the boiling water.

Roughly chop the greens. Add to the pot and stir, keeping the greens submerged.

Allow potato and greens to cook about 10 minutes. Potato should be soft and greens completely softened. If the potato is whole, it will take longer to cook than the greens.

Ladle the greens to a colander, pressing down on them to extract as much moisture as possible. Allow to cool.

When potato is cooked, remove from water to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, remove the peel–it should slip off easily–and eat it as cook’s treat. It will be lightly salted and delicious. Break potatoes into small pieces. Or, if you’re lazy, wait until the next step to break them up in the pot.

Once greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze any remaining water out with your hands. Chop greens well, taking care to slice stems into manageable pieces.

The next step calls for sauteeing the potato and greens in olive oil. You can do this in a clean skillet, but why dirty another pot? Pour a generous 2 tablespoons olive oil into your dirty pot and turn heat to low.

Add potato, pancetta, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and hot pepper. Take care not to burn the rosemary and garlic. If you haven’t broken up the potato, do it now with a wooden spoon or other suitable implement. You want bite-sized pieces, not mash.

Add greens and turn up the heat a little, stirring to blend everything. Cook about 8-10 minutes. You aren’t looking to brown the potatoes, just meld the ingredients. Add a little more oil if contents look dry or begin sticking.

Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or hot pepper if wished. Try not to eat it all yourself at the stove.

Notes:

One bunch of greens will feed only two or three people; if feeding more, scale up, adding a little more olive oil.

In her recipe, Wolfert suggests using a variety of leafy greens. This is great place to toss in stray leaves, leftover parsley, the last half-bag of designer salad mix.

This recipe isn’t about the potato or the pork. Both are there as complements to the greens.

Take care with rosemary. Too much rapidly overtakes a dish.