Month: August 2012

mmm-yoso!!! is a foodblog. Kirk posts the most about his cooking and eating at home and in restaurants around the world. He lets Cathy and Ed (from Yuma) post about eating and cooking as well. Today, Ed is sharing a favorite easy meal he likes to fix.

I still remember the first time I ever tasted stewed greens. I was picking up an order of fried chicken to go, and the clerk asked which two side dishes I wanted. On a whim, I decided to try the greens because I had heard about greens but never tasted them. It was love at first bite.

Since then, I have worked at learning how to make greens. Nowadays, some version of stewed greens is my default choice to bring to a Super Bowl party or other potluck. Of course, I never make it exactly the same, but I thought I would share my basic recipe with my friends at mmm-yoso!!!

To make a mess of greens as a main course for two or three people, I would start with a couple of bunches of greens:

The greens on the right are collards, the ones on the left mustard greens. Collards tend to have a firm texture and a very mild cabbage like flavor. To my taste about 1/2 to 1/3 of the greens should be collards. Mustard and turnip greens have a more pronounced flavor and a softer texture. I usually choose whichever one is available and looks the best in the store. It is perfectly okay to mix all three.

Then I remove all of the large central stems. I know some people leave them in, but the stems have little flavor and cook at a different rate:

Then I always wash the greens:

One thing that can really ruin greens is having dirt and grit in the final product. Rinsing also gets rid of any dust and reduces lingering pesticide – if any – I hope.

I then spread the leaves on top of each other on a cutting board and cut through them horizontally and vertically so that most pieces will be 1-2 inch squares:

The other ingredients are even easier to prepare. I cut an onion in half, peel it, lay it down on the cut sides, and slice it lengthwise:

Then slice it horizontally to produce a pile of onion:

Half an onion would have been sufficient for two bunches of greens, but little extra onion doesn't hurt.

To make good greens, I always use some type of smoked/salted meat. My absolute favorite is Bruce Aidells Cajun Style Andouille smoked pork sausage:

This sausage adds complex spicy notes to the smoked meat flavors. I think of it as Looozanna style greens when fixed this way. This particular evening, I sliced up three links to put in the pot:

The number of sausages can vary without changing the basic recipe. In general, one to two sausages per bunch of greens is great if I'm serving the dish as a main course. If I'm bringing it to a potluck or serving it as a side dish, I might use one sausage link for every 3 or 4 bunches of greens.

The cooking process for the greens is very simple. On this evening, I used Tina's 12 inch Dutch oven:

I began by sautéing the onions in a couple three tablespoons (I actually did not measure) of oil:

After they were softened and turning translucent, I added the sliced Andouille sausage and just cooked long enough to warm the sausage slices:

I then put in the collards, nearly filling the pot:

After I stirred them quickly, I dumped in the mustard greens:

Now you can see why using a large Dutch oven or similar stewpot comes in handy.

At this point, I always add some chicken stock. This particular time, I used Kitchen Basics unsalted broth since the sausages are salty themselves:

Two scant cups of stock were plenty of liquid:

I also added a half teaspoon (or so) of black pepper and at least as much red pepper. Sometimes I have used Korean crushed red chilies, sometimes Italian style hot pepper flakes, but Tina's friend Krystal had sent us some excellent spicy and flavorful Basque ground red peppers, which added a nice zing to the dish:

When the greens began to stew, they still had a fresh green color:

45 min. later, the greens were cooked tender and looked like this:

Just before it was time to serve them, I added 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar:

The finishing touch was some freshly grated nutmeg:

A bowl of the greens looked like this:

Tasty. Even the broth (called pot liquor) is really flavorful. Add a pan of cornbread, and this is a meal for 2 adults and a couple of kids easy.

Written out, this is the list of ingredients.

            2 bunches greens (1 collard, 1 mustard)

            3 Aidells Andouille smoked pork sausage links

            1 chopped onion

            3 Tbs olive or other cooking oil        

            2 cups chicken stock

            Black and red pepper to taste

            Salt to taste

            2 Tbs cider or red wine vinegar

            2-3 pinches grated nutmeg

I hope you like this easy recipe as much as I do.