Recipe: Fried Eggs and Collard Greens Over Polenta

We know the Southerners in the group are going to wonder why these aren't grits instead of polenta; after all, there are collard greens involved. Really, the difference in taste is pretty subtle. We happened to have some stone-ground corn meal from Oxford, Mississippi, which is finer than the grits we know, so we're calling this polenta. Please feel free to debate the topic in the comments.

Our greens are cooked with bacon, but you can easily leave it out for a vegetarian version.

Fried Eggs and Collard Greens over Polenta
serves four

olive oil
4-5 strips of thick cut bacon (you can also use about 1/2 pound of pancetta)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 large bunch of collard greens, leaves stripped and chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 eggs
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Roughly chop the bacon into chunks. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat in a large sauce pan with a lid. Add the bacon and begin to cook. After about 5 minutes, add the onion. Continue to cook both until the bacon is crispy and the onion is soft and beginning to caramelize, about 8 to 10 more minutes.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the collard greens. Stir and toss until the greens are coated in the oil and bacon fat and beginning to wilt. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat slightly and cover the pan. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, adding more chicken broth if the mixture gets dry, until the collard greens are dark green and soft.

Meanwhile, cook the polenta. Bring the milk and water to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the corn meal in a steady stream, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper (about a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper to start, then taste). Continue to cook, whisking, until the polenta begins to thicken. Reduce the heat so that the polenta bubbles slowly and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. The cooking time may vary, depending on how coarse the corn meal is, but the finished polenta should give some resistance when you stir it with a whisk. Add the butter and more salt and pepper to taste. You can turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the polenta warm. When you are ready to serve it, stir to loosen it up and add a bit more milk if necessary.

Add a bit of butter or olive oil to a non-stick skilled and fry the eggs, two by two if necessary. To serve, put a big scoop of polenta on each plate and top it with the greens and bacon mixture and two fried eggs. Sprinkle with parmesan, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, if desired.

(Image: Elizabeth Passarella)

this looks absolutely delicious. i was just telling a friend (who, sadly just ran out of food stamp money this month) that she can make tasty cheap meals with polenta.

posted by pedalpowered on February 24th 2009 at 5:45pm
view pedalpowered's profile

OH MY that looks so good!!!

posted by andrennabird on February 24th 2009 at 7:18pm
view andrennabird's profile

Elizabeth, these look amazing! Can I come over for brunch?

Did you cut the stems out of the collard greens? That seems like a short cooking time, so maybe the ones you had weren't the really big tough looking ones...

posted by VirginiaWestfield on February 24th 2009 at 11:18pm
view VirginiaWestfield's profile

oh, and polenta is made some other way than grits, right?
so "finely ground" grits ain't polenta, bless your little heart. Maybe the Mississippi grits aren't the typical gritty grits, but grits they are. I think polenta is hard to make, while grits are easy. I have vague memories of an article in a magazine on this... polenta gets lumpy easier... or something. I should probably go look it up on that "internet" thing, but I'm too lazy to log on. Wait...

posted by VirginiaWestfield on February 24th 2009 at 11:22pm
view VirginiaWestfield's profile

If you don't want to bother with polenta or grits, this works great with a big fat slice of bread underneath the greens. Toast it, rub the rough surface with a cut clove of raw garlic, then pile on the greens and the egg. (Thanks to Molly at Orangette for the recipe, 'cept she used kale.)

posted by 39520expat on February 25th 2009 at 8:40am
view 39520expat's profile

Virginia: I do strip the leaves away from the stems on the collards. My method is to put the leaves face down on a cutting board and make two long slices along either side of the spine. So you get 2 leaf halves and toss the stem. Then I pile up the leaves and slice them into strips.

posted by Elizabeth P on February 25th 2009 at 9:06am
view Elizabeth P's profile

This looks fantastic. I follow 39520expat's method and use garlic-rubbed toast, since I usually don't have the patience to make grits.

It's also good with sauteed swiss chard or spinach, or even mustard greens, though they have a much stronger flavor.

posted by heather77 on February 25th 2009 at 10:18am
view heather77's profile

Can I recommend dandelloins or escarole instead of collard greens, which may not be as delicate as needed for a properly fired egg (with a runny, French style, yoke).

Vince from http://www.Scordo.com

posted by Scordo.com on February 25th 2009 at 10:38am
view Scordo.com's profile

That looks amazing!
I pretty much polenta all the time instead of grits.
A while ago I made a shrimp with polenta for dinner which was really good.

Growing up in Russia my mom made polenta with feta for Sunday breakfast.

posted by orchidgirl1979 on February 25th 2009 at 10:57am
view orchidgirl1979's profile

Left over rice would work instead of polenta or grits.

posted by Luxeport on February 25th 2009 at 12:35pm
view Luxeport's profile

This is exactly the kind of food I crave for lunch and breakfast. Uncomplicated, but delicious. Also, I would substitute swiss chard, but just because that is my favorite green and I always have it around. Looks great!

posted by sar3j on February 25th 2009 at 10:41pm
view sar3j's profile

oh. my. god.

posted by akostalas on February 26th 2009 at 1:02pm
view akostalas's profile

I just made a version of this. (Eating it right now, in fact...)
I sauteed mushrooms with swiss chard, and added onions and smoked gouda to the grits. The over easy egg on top is what really sucked me into this recipe.
So good...
I really want to try it how it appears above as well, I've been eating collards a ton lately and have totally fallen in love with them.

posted by falconette on February 26th 2009 at 11:00pm
view falconette's profile

Thank you, your account has been registered.

We have sent an email to the address you registered with for verification purposes. Please use the link in the verification email to activate your account.

apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time