Slow Roasted Specialty Onions With Collard Greens Food

SLOW-COOKED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• To prepare the greens: cut away the tough stalks and stems from the collards, and discard any leaves that are bruised or yellow. Wash the collards thoroughly to remove the grit, 2 or 3 times, until the water runs clear. Dry thoroughly. Tear the leaves into large pieces.
• Place a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and ham hock. Cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pack in the greens, pushing them down into the pot. Add the broth, vinegar, and sugar. Bring up to a boil turning the greens over occasionally with a wooden spoon as they wilt. Lower to a simmer, cover the pot, and let cook for 45 minutes. Taste the "pot liquor" (broth) and check the seasoning, add salt and pepper. Cover and let cook for 15 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Rinse and dry the collard greens. Cut each leaf in half, removing and discarding the center rib. Stack a few leaves on top of each other, tightly roll together and thinly slice. Continue with the remaining leaves. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the smoked turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sliced collard greens, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder and onion powder; season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir to incorporate (a pair of tongs works great for this).
• Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are wilted, tender and darker in color, 30 to 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

SAUTEED COLLARD GREENS WITH GARLIC, PEPPERS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Remove and discard all but 1 inch of the collard stems. Cut the remaining stems out of the leaves, separating the leaves and stems. Cut the leaves into 2-inch squares. Slice the stems into thin slices.
• Wash the leaves in a big basin of water. Leave the water in the basin or sink and use a strainer to dip the leaves out of the water. Don't wash the leaves inside a colander or pour the water off the container with the leaves inside; this would allow any sand to stay with the greens. Wash the stems separately in the same basin of water, using the same method as the leaves.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Have a colander ready in the sink to drain the greens and a bowl of water with ice cubes in it to chill the greens.
• Cook the stems for 1 minute. Add the leaves, and once they turn bright green, fish out a small leaf to taste it. The greens are done when they taste tender. You can't really tell whether the greens are done without tasting them.
• Pour the cooked greens into the colander to drain. Once the hot water has drained off, carefully put the hot greens into the ice water. Once the greens feel cool to the touch, drain them in a colander again. Drain for about 10 to 15 minutes so that they are quite dry. (At this point, the greens may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)
• Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions gently in the oil. Raise the heat and add the peppers, and then the garlic. Add the blanched greens and saute until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

SMOKY COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, paprika, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to the pot and once the water is simmering, add the greens (you may have to pack them in). Season generously with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, toss the greens well with tongs, and continue simmering on low heat, until the greens are completely cooked and nearly all of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes more.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.

LOWCOUNTRY COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Tear the greens from their stems. Take a handful of greens, roll them up lengthwise and slice them into bite-size pieces. Add the sliced greens to an empty, clean sink full of cool water and wash them, removing all grit, sand and debris. Drain sink and rinse greens thoroughly with cold water until water becomes clear.
• Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add 4 cups of water to the pot. (This will become your potlikker.) Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the cleaned greens by the handful, stirring them until wilted before adding more.
• Add the smoked turkey, bouillon cubes, garlic and onion powders, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and red-pepper flakes to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook until greens are completely tender, at least 2 hours. Most of the water should have evaporated by this point, with just enough left to cover the bottom of the pot, and the meat should pull away from the bones.
• Take the meat out of the pot, transfer to a cutting board, and shred the meat with two forks. Add the shredded meat back to the pot and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and onion powder as needed. To cut bitterness, add sugar; if you'd like more tang, add more vinegar. Serve hot.

PASTA WITH COLLARD GREENS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the collard greens. Blanch for 2 minutes, then using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer to a bowl of cold water and drain. Squeeze out excess water and cut crosswise into thin ribbons.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large lidded frying pan and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes, and add a generous pinch of salt, the red pepper flakes and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute, and add the collard greens and salt and pepper to taste. When the greens begin to sizzle, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the greens are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Bring the water in the pot back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the timing instructions on the package.
• Before draining the pasta, ladle 1/2 cup of the cooking water from the pot into the frying pan with the collard greens and onions. Drain the pasta and toss with the greens. Serve, topping each serving with Parmesan to taste.

SLOW ROASTED SPECIALTY ONIONS WITH COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the onions into wedges and arrange on a sheet of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap up the onions.
• In a small bowl, toss together the butter, 2 cloves garlic, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and paprika.
• Sprinkle the mixture over the onion wedges and seal the aluminum foil.
• Bake the onions in the center of the oven for approximately 45 minutes.
• About 10 minutes before the onions are finished roasting, rinse the collard greens well, trim off the stems and chop into 2" pieces. (You should have about 8 cups of greens.).
• Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and cook the remaining clove of garlic over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn!
• Stir in the chopped greens and cook, stirring occasionally until the green start to turn limp, about 2 minutes. DO NOT overcook!
• To serve the dish, set the collard greens on a serving platter and arrange the onion wedges on top.