Fried Greens Food

NEXT-DAY FRIED GREENS

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add neck bones and pigs' tails, or smoked turkey wings or pork chop or ham hock, plus Savannah seasoning, red pepper, bacon grease and 4 tablespoons of butter. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
• Meanwhile, remove the collard stems by holding each leaf in one hand and stripping the leaf down with the thumb and index finger of the other hand. Discard the stems.
• Stack 7 or 8 leaves on top of one another, roll them up tight like a cigar and slice into 1/2-inch-wide strands. Repeat until you have cut all the leaves. Then wash the collards twice, shake them and drain in a large colander.
• Add the collards to the stock, cover and simmer until they are tender. In the summer, they will cook in 45 minutes to an hour, but in winter, they will take only 30 to 45 minutes because the first frost will have tenderized them. Keep a close eye on them; you will know they are done when they are tender but not mushy. Near the end of the cooking, check the amount of liquid left in the pot. If there is too much, more than 1 cup, uncover the pot to cook down the liquid a bit.
• Remove the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Return the meat to the greens and transfer to the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet set over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for a few minutes until it just starts to soften, then add the greens, meat and cooked rice. There should be more greens than rice. Sauté over medium-high heat until the dish is heated through.

PAN-FRIED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Add bacon to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
• Add the onion to the bacon grease and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add the greens, honey, hot sauce and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cook the greens, stirring occasionally, until greens are nice and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if necessary. Serve hot with bacon on top.

FRIED GREENS

Steps:

• Wash the greens, leaving droplets of water on the leaves. Remove any tough stems and tear leaves into bite-sized pieces. In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 5 minutes or until crisp; transfer to paper towels. Pour off all but 1 Tblsp. of the drippings. Add the red bell pepper and onion to the drippings and saute for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the greens and black pepper. Saute 10 minutes longer or until the greens are tender. Top with the bacon.

STIR-FRIED GREENS WITH FISH SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove any discoloured or coarse leaves from the cabbage, then halve it. Remove the hard central ribs and discard them, then shred the leaves. If using purple sprouting broccoli, halve any thicker stems lengthways.
• Heat the oil in a wok. Stir-fry the broccoli for 1 min, then add the garlic and cabbage and cook until the garlic is a pale gold colour. Quickly add the spinach and fish sauce and turn the veg over - the moisture should come out of the spinach and boil off quickly. Add the sugar and toss the vegetables again, then add a little more fish sauce, if you like.

PAN-FRIED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Wash collard greens in a bowl full of water with vinegar and salt. Drain and repeat if needed, until the water is clear. Roll the leaves up into tight bunches and cut into thin strips. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high, and add turkey and ham hock. Boil for 10 minutes, and then rinse and dry the meat. Clean out the pot.
• In a blender or food processor, purée onions and peppers. Return the pot to high heat, and add turkey, ham hock, about three-quarters of the onion and pepper purée, along with broth, chicken seasoning, seasoned salt and Maggi cube if using. Bring to a boil, and cook until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Add the dried fish, if using.
• Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat oil over medium. Add remaining onion and pepper purée, along with collard greens. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until greens are wilted and tender, about 30 minutes.
• Once stock is reduced, lower heat to medium, add cooked greens and cook, stirring well, for 5 to 10 minutes to incorporate flavors and thicken the broth. Serve with rice.