Southern Greens Food

SHERLA'S SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• Hot sauce, such as Aardvark or your favorite
• Roughly chop the collards and kale into 1/2-inch pieces. Wash well under cold water. Drain and set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, add a film of olive oil followed by the turkey wings. Cook until the wings are just about crisped on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and a large pinch of salt and sweat until the vegetables are softened and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the greens along with the jalapenos, vinegar, sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and cook until the greens are nicely wilted, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and check the seasoning, adding salt and vinegar as needed. Add hot sauce to taste and serve.

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN GREENS (MUSTARD, TURNIP OR COLLARDS)

Steps:

• Fill sink with cold water.
• Put in greens, making sure they have room to float.
• The greens will rise to the top, while the dirt will sink.
• Let greens sit in water for about 20 minutes.
• Scoop out greens being careful not to stir up the dirt on bottom.
• If they still look dirty, change water and repeat process.
• Finish the cleaning by rinsing under running water.
• Tear greens into pieces, throwing away thick veins and stems.
• In a large pot, heat the bacon grease over med-high.
• Add the greens and toss well with bacon grease for a couple of minutes.
• Add ham stock, salt and pepper and sugar and stir.
• Cover and simmer gently until very tender (DO NOT BOIL).
• As the greens cook, they will produce a lot of liquid that will cook down. Add water as needed to prevent burning, but only use what is necessary so your pot liquor won't be watered down.
• Cook time will vary but usually about 3 hours The flavor of collards is much better if you can cook for about 6 hours.

BEST EVER SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• Begin cooking bacon on medium-high heat until edges start to brown.
• Add onion and Turnip and continue cooking until onions are translucent.
• Add garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, and Tabasco and cook until garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute).
• Add apple cider vinegar and continue cooking until reduced by about half (looks syrupy).
• Transfer to stock pot scraping bits from the bottom of the pan, add chicken stock and greens, bring to a simmer, wilting down greens.
• Reduce heat to medium low cover and let simmer stirring occasionally for 2 hours (or until desired doneness).

SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, add the margarine, onion and ham hock. Saute until onions seem translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except the turnip greens, and mix together. Add the turnip greens and cook on medium heat, partially covered until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When the greens and turnips are tender it's time to eat.

SOUTHERN COOKED GREENS

Steps:

• In a large pot, saute the bacon until slightly crisp. Add the onions and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, until the onions are wilted and golden. Add the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the water and vinegar and mix well. Begin adding the greens, a third at a time, pressing them down as they begin to wilt. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until the greens are soft, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve hot.

SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the onions, garlic, and vinegar until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the greens, molasses, Worcestershire, hot sauce, 1 cup water, and salt and pepper. Cover with wax or parchment paper and simmer until the greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed.

SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove about half the bacon to a plate. Add the collard greens to the skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until they start to get tender, about 5 minutes.
• Mix together the apple cider vinegar, sugar and hot sauce. Pour over the collard greens and cook, stirring, until the greens absorb some of the moisture, about 8 minutes. Crumble the reserved bacon over the top and serve hot.

SOUTHERN STYLE GREENS

Steps:

• Spray the bottom of your largest stock or soup pot with non-stick spray and brown the ham hocks for a few minutes over med-high heat.
• Add the water to pot and scrape up any brown bits - but leave them in the pot for flavor.
• Add the diced turnips.
• Wash the greens to remove any dirt or sand and chop coarsely (removing large or tough stems.).
• Add greens to your pot - you can do this as you chop them and turn heat to medium-low. Stir the greens occasionally and add more water as neccesary.
• Season to taste with your greens seasoning mix. Appx. 1-3 tablespoons per pound of fresh greens.
• Let simmer, covered, for at least one hour - the longer, the better. Greens should be completely wilted and any stems should be very tender.
• Remove ham hocks from pot, let cool for a few minutes and then remove fat and bone.
• Chop the meat into small bits and add back to the pot.
• Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Serve with hot pepper vinegar to splash over the top.
• ***if a ready-made greens seasoning is not available - try using salt, pepper, garlic powder, dehydrated onions, paprika, etc. - or your favorite seasoning blend.
• ***this can also be a vegetarian dish - just leave out the ham hocks - but you might want to add a bit of "Liquid Smoke" to get that smoky flavor.

SOUTHERN GREENS WITH A KICK

Steps:

• Tear the greens into large pieces, wash under running water to clean well, drain.
• Preheat a heavy skillet with olive oil, add sliced onion and garlic; cook stirring frequently until onions begin to lightly brown, add minced jalapeño peppers.
• Place the cooked onions in the bottom of the crockpot, add the drained greens,ham hock, crushed red pepper and water.
• Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until greens are tender.
• Remove meat from bones, discarding bone and fat.
• Shred the meat and return to pot, mixing well; adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Top each serving of the greens with balsamic vinegar to taste.

SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• Combine water and smoked pork in heavy large pot. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Season cooking liquid with salt and pepper.
• Bring liquid to boil. Add greens and cook over high heat until just tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer greens and pork to platter. Moisten greens with 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

VEGAN SOUTHERN GREENS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add garlic and cook until it begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add kale and chard, a handful at a time; continue to cook, stirring often, until greens brighten, about 3 minutes.
• Add black-eyed peas, okra, and vegetable broth; stir until incorporated with greens. Add cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, cayenne, and salt; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
• Serve topped with sliced tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon juice.