COLLARDS

Photo credit: Thadah Wah

Collards (or Collard Greens) are a staple of southern cuisine, but there are so many more ways to use those big, round collard leaves than slow-cooking them endlessly with a ham bone! See the recipes below for some unexpected flavor combinations that are guaranteed to change the way you think of collard greens!

STORAGE: Collards can be stored for 5-7 days. The key is to avoid excess moisture, so do not wash it until you are ready to use it. Wrap the whole bunch in a paper towel or tea towel and store it in a sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator.

RECIPE: Julia's Braised Collards with Peanut Butter and Hot Honey from Peter Meehan's Lucky Peach Presents Power Vegetables! (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 yellow onions, finely diced
• 1-2 chili peppers, like habanero or Fresno, sliced into rings or halfmoons
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly slice
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 lb collard greens, stemmed and torn into 2" pieces
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• freshly ground pepper and salt
• 2 thick slices sourdough bread + Hot Honey (see below)
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Method:

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions pick up some color, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and continue cooking until the onions are totally soft, about 20 minutes.

Add the sliced chili and cook for a couple of minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes until it starts to soften. Stir in the tomato paste, coating the vegetables with it, and cook until it darkens a few shades, 3-4 minutes. Add the cider vinegar and use it to help scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the collards, a handful at a time, wilting them between additions. Pour two cups of the water into the pot, season with a pinch of salt, cover, and simmer the greens for 10 minutes.

Uncover the pot and stir. Add the peanut butter and swirl until it dissolves into the pot liquor. Add the remaining 1 cup water to the pot, cover, and simmer the greens until they are tender, about 30 minutes longer. Season with salt, if needed, and pepper. At this point the collards can be cooled and refrigerated up to 3 days.

When ready to serve, warm the collards. Grill or toast slices of sourdough bread until charred. Break into large bites and place in the bottom of shallow bowls. Spoon the collards and juices over the bread and drizzle with the hot honey. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

Hot Honey

• 2 Tbsp Frank's RedHot sauce
• 2 Tbsp honey
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the honey hot: Stir the hot sauce and honey in a small bowl until smooth. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Reserve for serving.

Recipe: Coconut Braised Collard Greens from NY Times Cooking (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch collard greens (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 bunch (6 to 8) scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
•  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Cut off and discard any dry or wilted bits from the collard greens and wash the remaining collards in cold water. Transfer to a colander to drain, then coarsely chop the stems and leaves into 2- to 3-inch pieces.

In a large wok or skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-high until rippling. Add scallions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add collards and cook, stirring, just until wilted, about 1 minute.

Add coconut milk and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until collards are cooked to your taste, about 7 minutes for bright and crisp greens or 10 minutes for darker, softer greens.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Recipe: The Kale (or Collard) Salad That Started it All from Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons (serves 2-4)

There are many ways to make a good kale (or collard) salad but this is the best one yet. And the dressing is good on loads of other salads too: try it on arugula, lettuce, or salad mix.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale, any variety works, but Dino/Lacinato Kale is best for this recipe (thick ribs cut out) OR collards 
• 1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped or pounded into a paste
• 1/4 cup pecorino or parmesan cheese, finely grated (plus more to garnish)
• olive oil
• juice of one lemon
• 1/8 tsp dried chile flakes
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (made from whole grain bread)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

• Make the breadcrumbs (can be done ahead of time---we like to make a big batch to have on hand in the freezer).
  • Heat oven to lowest setting (about 250). The better the bread the better the breadcrumbs. Take a good whole grain loaf. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices, leaving crust on. Cut slices into cubes and spread out on a sheet pan or two. Bake until fully dry but not browned (may take up to an hour or so, depending on how moist the bread is). 
  • Cool fully and use a food processor to turn it into crumbs. In the end, you want them to look like Grape Nuts. You don't want them to turn into a powder, so you may want to stop once or twice and shake through a colander and then continue to crush the remaining bigger pieces. Store fully dried crumbs in an airtight container for a few weeks or in the freezer for a few months. 

• Make the salad:
  • Stack several de-ribbed kale leaves on top of one another and roll them into a tight pile. Slice crosswise into very thin ribbons (this is called a chiffonade). If it needs washing, put the kale in a salad spinner, rinse in cool water, and spin until completely dry. Pile the kale into a big bowl.

• Make the dressing:
  • Pound the garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle, or chop it finely and use the side of your knife to smash it into a paste. Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl, add 1/4 cup grated cheese, a healthy glug of olive oil, the lemon juice, chile flakes, 1/4 tsp salt, and plenty of black pepper, and whisk to combine.

• Dress the salad:
  • Pour the dressing over the kale and use clean hands to toss well to combine thoroughly. If the kale seems a touch tough, you can 'massage' it by squeezing it a bit between your fingers. If the kale is tender, just tossing is fine. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, chile flakes, or black pepper. Let the salad sit for about 5 minutes so the kale softens slightly. Top with the bread crumbs, more cheese, and drizzle with more oil.