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Collard greens . . kale? Just plain "Greens" . . new food for us. How do you cook it? Just like spinach? Do you add . . . grits? Cheese? Butter? Just wondering how to cook it. Seems healthy enough. Can you use it in salads? Or on a sandwich?
All good questions. I think when most people refer to "green" they mean collard or turnip greens. There's practically no difference between the two although I guess there must be some difference...collards tend to be a little smaller than turnip greens? Just a guess.
Here's a link to some recipes that might start you off. Basically, the worst part of greens is cleaning them. And I would get real greens at a farmers market or store...don't bother with the canned variety if you want a geniune experience. But clean them, cut the stalks out & toss them in the trash, put the greens/leaves in boiling water (you'll need a lot of them...they wilt down a lot), when they start to get tender, put them down to a slow simmer (or move them to a crock pot) and add a ham hock or bacon to give it some flavor. Cook for awhile...seems like my grandmother would have them on the stove all day. Add salt towards the end. No grits, no butter. That's how I remember my grandmother making them.
They're pretty much a side unto themselves. I've never heard of anyone making a sandwich out of it.
I know that's not a specific recipe, but its all I can remember. Hope that helps.
My grandmother always made greens using a combination of green leafy vegetables. She mixed turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, and spinach together. A little salt pork, salt, and pepper mixed in while cooking. And top it off with a bit of white vinegar. Yum.
Collard greens . . kale? Just plain "Greens" . . new food for us. How do you cook it? Just like spinach? Do you add . . . grits? Cheese? Butter? Just wondering how to cook it. Seems healthy enough. Can you use it in salads? Or on a sandwich?
What are "collards"?
Collard greens are IMO, the mildest of the various greens that you will find down south and if picked "young" will be the most tender. Here is some more information:
In general, you need to cook the greens. I will defer to some of the others as to how to do it. Generally, I use smoked pork neck bones and red pepper flakes. I do NOT add salt as you get enough from the meat. I let them simmer for at least a couple of hours.
Another way to cook collard greens that you won't generally find in the south is to remove the stems from the collard greens and to julienne the greens into thin strips. When that is done, saute them with garlic in olive oil. I know that sounds unusual but it cooks up quicker and has a great taste. I saw it at a Brazilian steakhouse.
I disagree about the canned greens. While some are pretty bad, I think that Glory Foods does an excellent can of greens when you cannot make your own.
We've gotten collards, turnip greens and kale in our CSA box at various times, and after a lot of trial and error, I have to say that the crockpot seems to offer the best solution. We can put 'em in there in the morning with a ham hock or some bacon, maybe a rough-chopped onion and some black pepper, leave 'em simmering all day, and by the time we get home from work, they're a lovely, flavorful mass of deliciousness.
We first tried treating them like spinach, and that was not at all successful - they're way too tough and chewy for a quick saute in olive oil, which is how we generally fix spinach. And I'd never try eating them raw, unless I wanted to spend about half an hour chewing each bite.
I definitely concur on the need to wash them well; they hold onto the sand something fierce. We start by soaking them in a dishpan-full of cold water for about 20 minutes, then slosh them around, take them out, change the water (rinsing out the coating of mud that'll have collected on the bottom), and repeat. Most greens take at least two good soakings, and if there's still a lot of grit at the bottom of the pan after the second time, we go for a third soak.
Somewhere I've got a recipe that we got from our food co-op for a marinated kale salad with sesame seeds that's really good. If I can dig it up, I'll come back and post it.
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Fatback (or bacon or ham), vinegar and black pepper is what you want!
