Collard Greens

For as long as I can remember, my family has always eaten collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Years day. My granny always told me that it was supposed to bring financial happiness in the year to come, and that the collards were the "dollars" and the black-eyed peas were the "cents," and that if I didn't eat up, I'd get a paddlin'. 

This recipe for collard greens is directly from my mother, so it's going to be good. I made it this afternoon for Tony and me, along with black-eyed peas and Jiffy corn muffins. It was pretty awesome. No, I didn't have a meat main dish, but Tony didn't seem to notice. Or, he didn't say anything. He's pretty wonderful.

So, here is my mom's (Kaye's) recipe verbatim! Enjoy!

Collards
 

Ingredients:

1 bunch (1 to 2 lbs.) Collard leaves
Pam non-stick cooking spray
3 slices of fat back that is about 50:50 lean:fat (also called Streak-o-Lean) -- BEST
   (If you do not have fat back, you can use slices of bacon or ham for flavoring, but you will have to add some Oil if using ham.  If you don't have any of those either, you can try making it with 2-3 Tablespoons of melted butter or margarine.  Careful! Do NOT let the butter brown!)

Approximately 1 to 2 cups of Water
2 Carrots about 6" long each (adds sweetness)
1 pod HOT red pepper, or just a pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (adds a little "heat")
Salt and pepper to taste 

 

Procedure

Fresh collards are usually sold by the bunch. One bunch for two people should be enough. Look for bunches that have the smallest size dark green leaves, as these are the most tender and will not take as long to cook.  (However, at the end of the growing season they start cutting the entire top out of the plants instead of just breaking off the larger leaves at the bottom.  These "tops" will be a lighter green, since they have new shoots in the center, but that's OK, as they are tender and very good.)

 
Open the bunch and wash the leaves at least twice in a large pot of cold water to get rid of trapped dirt on the leaves.  Look carefully at both sides of each leaf on the last rinse, discarding any yellowed leaves and trimming away any portion of the leaves that are discolored or "dark" spots where they have been badly bruised and are starting to degrade.  Trim off the thick woody stem portion that has no leaves attached.

 

Lay the leaves flat, one on top of the other, until you have a stack 1/2" to 1" thick.  Then roll the stacked leaves into a tube (parallel to the main stem).  Slice the roll of leaves crosswise in 1/4" increments (called a rough CHIFFONADE), and set aside.  You will need the moisture, so leave on whatever water drops cling to them.

 
Spray the bottom of a large pot (a cast iron dutch oven is best) with PAM cooking spray.  Cook the 3 slices of fat back on medium heat in the pot until they are golden brown on both sides and crispy.  Drain these slices on a paper towel and set aside.  (If the fat back is TOO lean, you may have to add a little canola oil for them to sizzle in.)

 
Leave only about 2 Tablespoons of the rendered fat (oil) in the pot and turn up the heat to medium high.  When the oil is hot,  Pour the chopped collard leaves into the pot all at once. (The water on the leaves will make the oil "PoP," but if you put in a lot all at once, the grease won't splatter out on you!).   If they won't all fit at once, wait till the first batch has wilted down enough to add the rest.  Let them sit and saute in the fat for a minute or two, but do NOT let the leaves get brown.  Use TONGS to "turn" the collards over in clumps so that the other leaves have a chance to saute too. 

 
After the leaves have wilted down to about half the original volume, add enough water to just come to the top of the leaves, but not enough to cover them. Add the carrots and the hot pepper pod (or a few Red Pepper Flakes).

 
Once it all comes to a boil, cover the pot and turn the heat down to Medium Low.  Simmer until tender -- at least 30 minutes if they are very tender, but most will take 45-60 minutes.  After 30 minutes, add salt and pepper to TASTE -- DO TASTE it!  (If using Fat Back, remember it is salty and the rendered oil will be salty too.  So add a little salt, stir it in, cook for a couple of minutes more and taste again.)
 
What to do with the Fat Back?  Truly, the only reason you use it is for flavoring and generation of the rendered oil for sauteing the greens before adding any more water.  Some people just eat the Fat back as the meat entree (cooking more though if you actually need to FEED people).  Some cooks nibble on it while they cook!   Optional:  Before serving, you can chop up the slices of fried fat back (discarding the tough rind strip on one edge), and use this as a garnish on top of the dish right before serving,
 
The greens should be tender, tasty, nutritious and have a little "kick" from the hot red pepper.  Serve with corn bread, pork chops and a salad for a filling Southern meal.

***Isn't my mom great!?! She's much more thorough than me when giving instructions, and I have to say that they really came in handy for this recipe.

Here's a photo of our traditional southern New Year's day supper:

 Happy New Year, and thanks Mom!