Braised Collard Greens

COLLARD GREENS ARE A STAPLE IN THE SOUTH.  All our barbecue restaurants offer them as a side choice. Diners with a meat-and-three type menu will have them. Our children start eating collard greens when they are still in the high chair.

Whenever we have family gatherings, I am volunteered to cook the collards. I am told mine are the best but I often wonder if it is really the fact that I am willing. They are a bit of work. It is work I enjoy; I love to cook, including washing and chopping vegetables with my good cutting board and my excellent sharp knife.

To prepare the collards for cooking, they must be washed and chopped. Some people prefer tearing them and that works just fine. I use a knife. First I cut out the tough inner stem, I stack a few leaves, roll them (a chiffonade if you  will) and slice into strips. I then put them into a sink fulll of cold water. Swish the leaves all around then let them sit for a few minutes. Feel the bottom of the sink. If you feel grit, remove the greens, drain the sink, and rinse away the sand. Refill the sink and rinse the collards again. Repeat until no more grit is detected.

I find the process to be mindful, contemplative, and relaxing.

We serve our collard greens with pepper sauce and by that I don't mean a hot sauce such as Tabasco. Pepper sauce is basically hot peppers and vinegar. If unavailable, just sit a cruet of apple cider vinegar on the table. 

Braised Collard Greens

1 1/2 pounds fresh collard greens, large stems removed, washed, and chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 cups water

Salt and pepper - be generous

Using a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds. Start adding the wet collard greens until the pot is full. Add the water; cover pan and simmer for a few minutes until the greens start cooking down then add the remaining greens.

Simmer until tender but not mushy, about 30 - 50 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Traditional Southern New Year Meal

Happy New Year!

 My first blog post was this meal--The first meal of the year 2009. I called the year, The Year of Hope. My camera was new and my blog was brand new.  I have learned a lot since then about how to better use my camera and so, so, much about blogging.

I declared the year 2010 The Year of Faith. For 2011, I hope and wish for The Year of Peace.  The current political rancor, fiscal atrocities, and general vitriol towards one another, is very disturbing to me. I really hope for more compassion, understanding, patience, and general kindness toward each other, especially those who are different from us.

But enough about that. This is a blog about food.  And we are having the same meal we always have on New Year's Day. 

Collard Greens

Black Skillet Cornbread

16-Hour Pulled Pork

We are also having, of course, Blackeye peas, which I will post more about tomorrow. 



Collard Greens

Yesterday, we finally had a break from the frigidity, with temperatures soaring up to 50 degrees! Like many others, I decided to go to the car wash to rid my car of road salt. I waited patiently as those in line before me drove through the wash. When the car in front of me drove in, I moved ahead to the kiosk, entered my code, and continued to wait. This particular car wash dries your car as you exit and I like that. The blow dry part is always my favorite part of the hair salon experience, and I like it for my Honda as well--prevents streaks and water spots.

The light turned green for me to enter, but as the car ahead of me was still being dried, I waited (a few seconds) for it to finish so I didn't splash water on their clean, dry car. After I finished my wash and was enjoying the drying process, I saw that the person behind me was not waiting until I finished and was going to spash on me. Oh well. Then she blew the horn. I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw her make a gesture for me to move along. Because I had almost 60 seconds left on the very visible drying timer, I ignored her. Then she honked again, a little more insistently this time. Because I continued to ignore her and finish drying my car, she started really getting aggressive, laying down on her horn and gesturing wildly, all while her car was being washed. I wasn't slowing her progress in any way, so why was she so bent out of shape that I was still drying the rear end of my car?

Sigh. . .and my morning inspirational study had just been on the subject of patience and how patience is an active, positive manner, not merely a passive thing. Maybe the honking, gesturing woman needed more vegetables in her diet, specifically greens. Collard greens have an amazing nutrition profile.

Collard Greens
1/4 lb. smoked meat such as ham, salt pork, ham hocks, turkey legs
2 cups water
2 - 3 lbs. collard greens

Place water and meat in a very large stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, tear or cut away the very large stems from collard leaves, chop or tear them into bite size pieces, and place into a sink full of cold water. Swish the water around and let it settle before lifting out the greens. If you feel any grit in the bottom of the sink, drain and rinse sink, and refill with fresh water. Continue until there is no more sand or grit.

Add collards to the pot, cover and cook for about 5 minutes; then add more greens, continuing this process until all the greens have been added. Cook the collards, covered for 20 to 30 minutes, until desired tenderness. Do not overcook.

Serve with salt, pepper, and hot sauce or vinegar. And don't forget the cornbread.

First Meal of the Year

2009 - The Year of Hope

My first meal of the year was a Southern Traditional one: Pulled Pork, Collard
Greens, Hoppin' John, Jalapeno Hushpuppies.

For the pork, I started with a 7 pound Boston Butt, which my husband, Pritchard Parker bought for only $7.42 It served us meals all week. I trimmed off the excess fat, rubbed it on all sides with Spice Rub for Pork, let it sit on the counter for about an hour, then placed into the Crock Pot, with nothing else. I let it cook overnight, on low, about 16 hours in all. It smelled divine and drove our Jack Russell, Jill, nuts. It was falling apart tender, juicy, and delicious.

Spice Rub for Pork

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

Hoppin' John

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas (soaking not necessary)

1 large onion, chopped

3 (at least) large garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

3 cups cooked white rice

1 can tomatoes with green chilis (Rotel)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

Sort through the black-eyed peas. You will be looking for stones, clumps of dirt, peas you don't like the looks of, or any other foreign matter. Rinse thoroughly. In a large Dutch oven, combine black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer gently until beans are tender but not mushy, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, adding more water if necessary. Add rice, tomatoes, salt and cumin. Simmer about 15 minutes until heated through. Serve with hot sauce, such as Texas Pete.

Jalapeno Hushpuppies

1 1/2 cups cornmeal mix

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. hot sauce

1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers seeded and minced

1 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, mix and stir until well blended. Let the mixture stand while you heat about 1/4 cup oil in your big black skillet, over medium high heat. Drop batter by heaping tablespoon into the hot oil, working in batches. Brown on first side, flip and brown the other side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in oven while you cook the remaining hushpuppies.

Collard Greens are a subject in and of themselves and will be covered in detail at another time. Stay tuned if you are a Collard fan like we are.