Getting to the greens...

Yesterday I wanted to tackle some of the greens I'd been collecting the past two weeks.  I had collard greens (2 weeks' worth) as well as kale, mustard greens and some beet greens I'd let get pretty wilted. First I gave them a nice soak and a couple of rinses in the sink:

After rinsing, I took out the big step from the collards, rolled and chopped them fine.  I had almost 2 lbs when I was done.  I also added the mustard greens to the mix.

I put these in a 8 qt pot that I'd filled about 1/2 of the way with water that I'd previously simmered a smoked turkey wing in for about 30-40 minutes.  I also added some salt  and a tsp of red chili flakes to the broth.  I brought the greens up to a boil, and let them simmer for about 45 minutes.

Wow, that is a really bad picture.  But you can see the turkey wing, and that the greens had cooked down a lot!  Afterward, I sauteed about 1-1.5 cups of onion and 2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic in olive oil until tender (5-7 minutes), and then added the strained collards to that and let them simmer together for a few minutes. Then I put them in the fridge (I may freeze them today) until I'm ready to eat them!

Here's the overall recipe (this one calls for a hamhock, as I mentioned, I substituted a smoked turkey wing I'd made and frozen a few weeks ago).
Collard Greens
(this is really by feel...I got a two sentence recipe from a lady at the farmer's market and have adapted it)

• 1-2 bunches collard greens (they're better after the first frost)
• 1/2 to 1 onion, chopped (could be more than one!)
• some garlic cloves (1-2 chopped...depends on how much you like)
• 1 ham hock (or side meat, or slice of country ham with bone...you can find all this stuff in the grocery store or at the farmer's market...it's usually not refrigerated. Look for a ham hock with some meat on it!)

Directions:
Put some water in a pot (if you use a 5 qt dutch oven fill it about 3/4 of the way up)
put the ham hock in, bring to a boil,lower heat and simmer for at least an hour or longer (you're making a stock here!).
At this point, I'll take out the hamhock (save it!), chill the stock overnight and take the fat off.  That's pretty "New Age" southern cooking wise!). Take the fat and skin off the hamhock, chop the meat and add back in if you like. Some folks find it wonderful, some find it too salty! I'm in the wonderful camp, but I grew up on this stuff.

Cleaning the greens:
Pull apart the leaves of the collards and WASH THEM WELL! I usually fill the sink with water, and swish the leaves around, changing the water once or twice. The collards you get from the grocery store are pretty clean, but sometimes the ones from the farmer's market, while tasty, can be a bit gritty and buggy.

Chop the greens.
To do this I will cut out the stem (you can cut out all of it if you're just going to cook the greens a short time, but I usually leave a little in and take out the bottom thickest part). Roll together several leaves (as though you were going to chiffonade basil) and slice across the leaves into thin strips (I might cut them in half too depending on how wide the leaves are.

Cooking the greens
Place in pot, cover with ham stock and simmer until tender  (30-45 minutes or so Some folks cook them for hours, some a few minutes...I tend to do longer but I like my greens tender). Drain (you can save the "pot likker" some folks really like this...I hate throwing it away...it would probably make good soup).

You can use olive oil or render out a few slices of side meat or bacon for this next part. You just need a little fat to saute the onion and garlic in until it's tender. Then add the drained cooked greens and saute them a bit as well. Add in some of the meat from the ham hock if you like and you're done!

Salt (probably won't need much with the ham hock) and pepper to taste. Some folks like to season collards with cider (or hot pepper) vinegar and/or tobasco.