Collard Greens and Potatoes...In One Dish!

When I first saw a recipe for collard greens and potatoes in one dish, I thought 'OMG some non-Southerner is messing up collard greens...again'.  After all, who would put this together.  Just because collard greens are one of the new 'in' vegetables doesn't give you permission to mess 'em up. 

This recipe did have a few things going for it.  It was from Deborah Madison, a chef well known for her work with vegetables.  It contained that 'b' ingredient - bacon.  If it was really bad, I could at least pick out the bacon.  And finally, I had collard greens in the garden.  I could afford to 'mess up' a few. 


Collards with Potatoes

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 bunches collard greens or a mixture of collards and kale
3 medium potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 slices of bacon, diced 
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Hot pepper sauce or vinegar for the table

Directions:

1.  Remove the tough center stem.  Slice greens crosswise into ½-inch strips.  Wash in several changes of water.  Drain.  Set aside.  (This can be done ahead of time.  Refrigerate until ready to cook.)

2.  Wash potatoes and cut into about 1-inch cubes.  Set aside.

3.  Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil.  Add about 2 teaspoons of salt.  Add greens and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes.  (This will change depending on the toughness of your greens and how tender you like your greens.)  Add potatoes and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes. 

4.  Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon and set aside.  Pour out all but one tablespoon fat.  Add the olive oil.  Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook for about 1 minute. 

5.  Drain greens and potatoes.  Add to onion mixture.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Stir occasionally.  Cook until water evaporates. Add bacon.  Taste and re-season, if necessary. 

Final Thoughts

It was good!  I was pleasantly surprised.  As I tell my students, keep an open mind.  You won't know if you like it until you have tried it. 

Vegetarian Soul Food...You Kidding?

Vegetarian and Soul Food?  Now is that an oxymoron or what?  I just could not believe it.  Now I can see vegetables as a central part of the soul food diet, but no meat.  I had issues with that. 

While discussing soul food with a colleague, she mentioned the book, Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry.  I had heard of the book, but did not pay a lot of attention to it.  After all, vegan and soul food do not go together, at least not in my mind.  I always tell my students to keep an open mind and try new things.  Be careful of what you tell students.

I decided to give this book a try.  I was skeptical, very skeptical.  Upon examining the book, I found a few recipes that sounded interesting.  One was Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux.  My colleague assured me this was a good recipe.  Since she has good taste, I decided to try this recipe first. If she was wrong, I basically would loose a little time and some good collard greens would be lost. 

To say that I was surprised at how good these collards tasted, is an understatement.  They knocked my socks off.  They are a touch sweet, with none of the bitterness typically found in brassica vegetables.  I used freshly squeezed orange juice.  I think you need freshly squeezed with this recipe.
This recipe most definitely will be made again at my house. 

Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:

Coarse sea salt
2 bunches collard greens
2 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions:

1.  To prepare the collards, start by removing the large rib from the center.  Lay several leaves together.  Roll up and cut into a chiffonade. 

2.  In a large pot over high heat, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add one tablespoon salt.  Add the collards and cook, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened.  Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water to cool the collards.

3.  Remove the collards from the heat, drain, and plunge them into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking and set the color of the greens.  Drain and set aside.

4.  In a large saute pan, combine the olive oil and the garlic and raise the heat to medium.  Saute for one minute.  Add the collards and salt; stir to combine.  Sprinkle raisins on top and cover to allow raisins to soften, about 3 minutes.

5.  Add orange juice and cook for an additional minute or so.  Do not overcook.  Collards should still be bright green.

If you have a favorite soul food recipe that you have altered, we'd like to hear about it.

Soul Food Junkies

Recently public television aired the documentary Soul Food Junkies.  It was an excellent documentary and very nicely done.  I applaude the producer Bryon Hurt and public televison for tackling this sensitive and diverse subject.  African Americans hold soul food close to their hearts.  Even if we no longer consume soul food on a regular basis, it is still a part of our culture.  Soul food is also very diverse, with everything from collard greens to gumbo.  And no, we don't fry everything we eat.

The soul food diet encompasses lots of healthy foods, such as black-eyed peas, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, watermelon, collard greens, turnips, cabbage.  The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that we consume these foods.  They are good sources of fiber and beta-carotene.  Collards, turnips and cabbage are member of the brassica family of vegetables.  Research suggests that consumption of these vegetables may reduce risk of certain forms of cancer. 

While the soul food diet is not all bad, it can be high in sodium and fat.  And those things need to change.  But let's don't toss out the baby with the wash water. 

The website for Soul Food Junkies has a 'Pin It to Win It' section.  You can go on the website and find healthier soul food recipes and you can also pin your masterpiece.

I am posting my new 'classic', Black-eyed Pea Salad with Sriracha Vinaigrette.  It's a twist on black-eyed peas. 

Black-eyed Pea Salad with Sriracha Vinaigrette

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

2½ Tablespoons white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 to 1½ Tablespoons Sriracha sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1 bag (16 ounce) frozen black-eyed peas
3 celery ribs
2 carrots
1 red or yellow bell pepper
1 cup lean ham, about 4 ounces
⅓ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, Sriracha sauce, and salt.  Set aside.
2.  Cook black-eyed peas according to package directions.  Drain.  Rinse in tap water.  Drain and set aside. 
3.  Chop the celery.  Peel and grate the carrots.  Chop the bell pepper and ham.  Combine in a large bowl.  Add black-eyed peas and parsley.  Stir to combine.
4.  Add vinaigrette and stir.  Allow salad to sit for at least 10 minutes or up to one day before serving.

Source:  Whole Foods Market

Holding On!

I hold on to things, like a comb my grandmother gave me, pictures of relatives that passed from this world long before I was born.  These things give me comfort and connect me to my ancestors.

I also hold on to food.  And I have the body to prove it!  Food connects us all.  It provides nourishment for the body and the soul.  There is just something joyful about sitting down at the table with friends and sharing a meal. 

All of us have food from our culture and our childhood that we tend to hold on to.  For me that food is soul food.  I am a southerner and an African American.  And I hold on to traditional soul food.  I have heard some arguments against soul food.  It's high in fat and sodium.  It is also high in green leafy vegetables, like turnips, collards, mustard, and cabbage.  OK, soul food is not perfect.  However, I would rather see people eat traditional soul food than a fast food diet of hamburgers and french fries.  Before you lose it, I also don't eat a traditional soul food diet everyday.  I also do not believe we should consume a traditional soul food diet everyday.  Maybe we should reserve it for special occasions.

In honor of Black History Month, I thought I would do a post on soul food.  Soul food is a part of American history and food culture.  It is one contribution African Americans made to this country.  It is a food cobbled together by slaves who could neither read nor write.  These people left an indelible mark on this country.  So ocassionally, we need to think about those who came before us.  They did not get the opportunities that we have.  Yet, they made lasting contributions to the world.  And, we truly owe them a debt of gratitude. 

As my contribution to Black History Month, I am posting on something you may want to forget - Head cheese or Souse.  In my family, we make this dish around New Years.  I will warn you, it is quite messy to make and takes a little time.  So, don't enter into this endeaver lightly.

There is no real recipe for head cheese or souse.  It is simple a list of ingredients.  You make it by tasting as you go.  With a little practice, you will know when you have the product you want

Head Cheese

Ingredients:

Pig feet
Fresh ham hocks
White or apple cider vinegar
Red pepper flakes
hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1.  Place feet and hocks in a large saucepan and cover with water.  You can also add a bay leaf or sage if you desire.  (If you can not find fresh ham hocks, just use all feet.)

2.  Feet are completely cooked when the meat is falling off the bones.  Remove from broth.  Leave until cool enough to handle.  Hint:  When you make head cheese, you are essentially making jello.  You will need to work quickly.  If you allow the feet to cool too much, they will be more difficult to work with.  If this happens, simple heat up slightly.



3.  Pull meat from bones.  Place into a food processor and grind.  Dump ground meat into a bowl and continue until all meat is ground.  In the old days a meat grinder would have been used.

4.  Add vinegar and red pepper flakes.  Continue to mix. (Feel for small bones and remove.)  Taste as you go.  The mixture should have a slightly acidic taste.  Add red pepper until you have the level of hotness that you desire.  You may want to add more red pepper flakes or hot sauce.  As this mixture cools, you will not be able to perceive the spiciness as much.

5.  Pour into desired container.  Cover and refrigerate.  When cool, cut as desired.  Serve with saltine crackers and extra hot sauce.