apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've reduced my collard greens stress by blanching for 3 minutes in boiling water for 4 minutes or so and then using them as I do spinach, chard and kale.

After blanching, I squish out the cold water and put them in a baggy for later use. Since my box tends to come with four greens, I do them one by one with the same pot of boiling water (1 minute or so for chard)

I then grab a green ball when I need one. Usually i chop two balls up for a quiche type thing or one ball for a stir fy or one ball for risotto etc.

I think I picked up the blanching trip from this blog- from somebody that didn't have enough fridge space for all the greens.

I have sauteed them before. It took a while longer than with kale and chard. Chop the greens into 2 inch pieces, pour some cooking oil into a pan, sautee on medium heat, turn frequently, season with salt and pepper, finish with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

In Brazil they saute thin shreds of collards and toss them with lemon or vinegar. They are divine this way, though more prep-intensive than the braised way.

Of course, as a daughter of the South, to me there is nothing better than a good pot of collard greens with pork and cider vinegar and plenty of salt.

I make mine like this.

I grew up with the pot of collards, that is how my family has made them for generations. My mom teases me that my relatives would roll over in their graves with how I do them.

I do the same collard prep... remove mid-rib, fold accordion style and cut in 2" strips. I differ with then thinly slicing shallots and placing in pan with oil to cook shallots, add collards and a little veggie broth. Toss with shallots and cook til broth evaporates. Season with white pepper, top with sesame oil or vinegar.

Take out the tough center stem, slice into thin ribbons, saute in olive or sesame oil, add a bit water and cook til tender, add garlic, vinegar, Quickest, tastiest, healthiest way

@Kate (NC)
I agree wholeheartedly. Garlicky greens are the way to go!
If you want, you can blanch them first, but I actually prefer the al dente texture quite a bit. Definitely rip the leaves off of the stalks, though. The stalks can be not only uber tough, but very bitter.
I serve my greens (Sometimes do Kale instead) sauteed with a polish sausage, or even sauteed in the juices and meat of browned ground pork, fresh garlic and white beans like cannellini thrown in at the end. Garnish with tarragon and balsamic vinegar. Very yum!

Oh, and you can serve that on top of a pasta for a complete meal.

LOL, As a girl with Southern Roots, I agree with the other post- they should definitely be cooked in a large pot, simmered until tender with some smoked meat (preferrably hamhocks!) Quite recently, Ive been using smoked turkey wings- SOOOO GOOD, and presumably healthier. One pot meal.

What we do in my house is boil the smoked meat in the pot until fork tender (can take up to an hour) making sure the meat stays submerged in liquid.

Clean, and by clean I mean wash thoroughly with a handful of salt (to get rid of any little buggies)- de-rib and chop into thin ribbons (the thicker, the longer it takes to cook).

After the meat is tender, add the greens with seasonings- which can include whatever you can think of, but typically garlic, an onion, seasoning salt, and Italian seasoning.

Boil until tender, serve and enjoy!

Marusky is right, in Brazil (where I grew up) we flash cook collards just for a couple of minutes in oil and garlic until they are wilted but still very green. It is, for me, the best way to eat them, as well as preserving more nutrients. The key is to slice them super thin. I am not a fan of the long cooking process as the leaves loose colour and nutrients.
I have posted about collards when I made Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup that requires the same preparation of the collards. On this post there is a step-by-step photo on prepping collards, Brazilian way.

http://www.pinkbites.com/2009/01/caldo-verde.html

If you've got leftover collards after you cook them up (whatever way hyou choose!), they are great in a strata:

-2 3/4 cups of milk
-8 eggs
-a couple of tablespoons of mustard
-1/2 to 3/4 of a loaf of stale crusty artisan bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
-2 to 3 cups of leftover collards, kale, spinach, or other greens
-salt and pepper to taste
-a cup of grated gruyere cheese
-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Whisk the milk, eggs, mustard, and salt & pepper to taste in a bowl. Butter a baking dish big enough to hold the bread and greens. Layer the bread, greens, and gruyere in the baking dish in a couple of layers. Pour over the milk mixture and then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Cover and let sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, then preheat the oven to 350 and let the strata sit at room temp for 30 minutes. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

fwiw- collards are my favorite green to put into a raw green smoothie. They go really well with frozen mangos and an apple.

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the great information!

I ended up sauteing them, and they turned out so delicious that I'm seriously kicking myself for not having made them sooner. A Pic and the recipe I used are on my website:

http://blog.delementals.com/2009/03/03/collards-peagreens/

Thanks again!
Del

Here is one variation - this Latin Black Bean Salad adds peaches, mint, cilantro and parsley to collard greens to create a fun, more summery flare. Enjoy!