With much anticipation, I picked up the 2nd installment of produce from our Farm today. Our box contained red leaf lettuce, spring onions, cherries, strawberries, a handful of asparagus, a cute little cilantro plant, and a big bunch of collard greens. That's a picture of them on the left there. Unpacking them, I realized I have never seen uncooked collard greens before. They look like weeds I have tossed out while cleaning out our flower beds. And after cleaning them (tossing out the stems), there is nothing left but a pile of unimpressive-looking leaves.
Good news is I found a recipe online that turned those piles of leaves into a tasty, traditional Southern dish: Collards with Bacon (Canadian bacon, to be exact). In my opinion, this recipe tasted better than last week's kale. But my husband thought the kale was more tasty. As for my boys, it was a toss-up for them. In case you have been looking for a nice and relatively quick-cooking recipe for collard greens, here goes:
Short-Cut Collards
1 and 1/4 lbs. collard greens, stems removed and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1T. Water
2 slices Canadian bacon
1 T. Olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 T. cider vinegar
1 T. maple syrup
dash of pepper flakes
3/4 cup chicken broth
salt, to taste
Place greens in a large microwave safe bowl with water and cover tightly. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. In the meantime, preheat large skillet and cook bacon 2 minutes on each side. Remove and chop up. Add oil and onion to pan and cook until soft. Add collard greens, vinegar, maple syrup, red pepper flakes, and broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes or until tender. Add chopped bacon and season with salt. Serves 4
Keith Lorren Invents Collard Greens
visit www.KeithLorren.com for complete recipe
2-3 tablespoons Keith's Collard Green Seasoning
2.5 lbs chopped Collard greens
2.5 lbs chopped Turnip greens
1 Onion
1 Green Bell pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 large smoked ham hock split
1/4 lb smoked pork neck bones
1/4 lb smoked pig tails
1/4 lb smoked turkey wings
3 strips smoked bacon
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Directions:
Fill a large pot with water and simmer smoked meat until water has reduced by 3/4 ( about 1 to 1.5 hours)
In a saute pan render bacon in olive oil until crispy. Remove bacon from oil.
in the same bacon oil Add chopped onion and Bell pepper to saute pan. Saute until vegetables are tender and translucent. Remove from heat.
Add chopped collard greens to broth simmer for 10 minutes. Add chopped Turnip Greens to Broth.
Add Keith's Collard Green Seasoning, vinegars and Scotch bonnet to broth.
Simmer greens for 15 minutes and add sauteed vegetables and crumpled crisp bacon.
Simmer until tender (45 minutes to 1 hour)
Enjoy!!
Visit www.KeithLorren.com for more great authentic recipes!!!
Collard Green Throwdown
The first ever collard green throwdown is over! Too bad that you missed it! My colleagues and I enjoyed our share of collard greens, mac 'n cheese, cornbread, and iced tea. Everything was quite delicious.
I am not sure if Amanda will ever prepare collard greens my way, nor I hers. However, it was fun to try another method and I gained a higher level of respect for a different way to make a dish that I consider mine. I believe that being open to new ideas is always a good thing. Culture should not only be preserved, but shared. So, on that note, we accomplished our goal.
When southerners prepare greens, they never use a recipe. They are cooked by taste and personal preference. For that reason, the list and amount of ingredients are not exact. Salt may need to be adjusted according to the saltiness of the neck bones. Instead of ground pepper, pepper flakes can be used or dried pod. If you don't quite like the first batch of collard greens that you prepare, keep trying (besides greens are very nutritious). As with most things you get better with practice. The same is true for Asian style cooking.
If you decide to try collard greens, here are my Southern Collard Greens and Amanda's Asian Style. Below the recipes are pictures on how to cut and wash the greens.
Southern Collard Greens
Ingredients:
1 pound collard greens
About 4 smoked neck bones, depending on size
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, cover neck bones with about 2 cups of water. Cook until tender.
2. Remove the main stem of the greens. Slice diagonally into 1/2 inch wide slices. Wash greens in at least two changes of water.
3. Drain was much water from the washed greens as possible. Place greens in saucepan with neck bones. Cover with lid and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir and add the seasonings. Continue to cook until greens reach the desired degree of doneness.
**Southerners will sometimes add condiments to their greens. Chopped onions, chow chow (pronounced "cha cha" by Southerners), and hot pepper vinegar are common addition to greens. These are usually added at the table.
Collard Green Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
1½ Tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
1teaspoon ginger, finely minced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 pound collard greens
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce (more or less to taste)
⅛ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Directions:
1. Remove main stem from collard greens. Stack leaves on top of each other and roll them into a cigar shape. Cut across greens into 1/2 inch strips. Wash greens well and drain off water.
2. Add oil to a saute pan over medium high heat until oil is hot. Add ginger and garlic and fry for 30 seconds (or until fragrant). Constantly move ginger and garlic with a spatula to keep them from burning.
3. Add washed collard greens to the pan. Move the greens around in the pan until the greens are wilted.
4. Add red pepper flakes, vinegar, soy sauce, and black pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes longer. Taste the greens and add more of any ingredient according to your preference.
How to Cut and Wash Collard Greens
