Every southern knows you cannot have a holiday meal or get
together without this awesome dish.
Collards are a leafy plant in the same family as cabbage and
broccoli. They are usually cooked with
pork fat. My grandma made them with
something called “strick of lean, strick of fat” also known as pork belly. Many people believe that you cannot cook a
decent post of collard greens without the meat, however I can honestly say that
these are the best collard greens I've ever had.
Here are your ingredients.
One half of a large white onion
Two bunches of collard greens
Water
Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Apple Cider Vinegar
Just a quick note:
The first thing I do is buy the collards on the day before I
want to cook them. That way they’re
fresh and I have time to toss them in the freezer. Collards can be bitter if you eat them before
the first frost of the season. Because
many of our veggies are not being grown traditionally and most are in hot
houses and so on, I like to toss my collard greens in the freezer. This can be done overnight or even just for a
few hours. You’ll need to be careful
here because the collard greens will get very brittle. If you drop them on the floor you’ll be
finding shattered collards around the kitchen for days.
Now on to the process…
Dice ½ of a white onion
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Melt about 3 tablespoons of butter in a pot large enough for
your collards
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Add the onions to the pot and lightly sauté
Remove the collards from the freezer and break off the
larger stems
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Add to the pot
Add enough water to the pot to cover the collard greens
Allow to softly boil until tender
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Drain off all the water; I literally squeeze the moisture
out of them
Chop finely
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
At this point you can add salt and pepper to taste. Some people add other things like hot
sauce. I add a capful of apple cider
vinegar after I've plated mine.
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Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
That’s all there is to it. I've found that a sweet onion can be the vegetarians best friend.
What traditional “meated” food have you turned into
vegetarian? Love to hear your feedback!
Namaste and Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(