Kale, collards, turnips are autumn greens with zing

Published: December 4, 2012

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Guide to greens In “The New Southern Garden Cookbook,” Sheri Castle shares her secrets to preparing both quick-cooking greens and their long-cooking cousins, which must be simmered “until they are the texture of crushed velvet.” “The art of cooking greens is matching the right green with the right cooking technique,” Castle writes. These are good candidates for quick cooking in a little liquid or fat: spinach, chard, escarole, young or small leaves of kale, collards, mustard greens and turnip greens. Sturdy greens such as kale and collards need to simmer, slowly, in seasoned liquid known as pot likker. (See Fred Thompson’s recipe for Mama’s Collards.) To find out whether a green needs to cook fast or slow, Castle offers this tip: “If the leaf and center rib are chewable, it’s fine. If the leaf is leathery and the stem is tough and stringy, it will require longer cooking.”

Mama’s Collards From “Fred Thompson’s Southern Sides: 250 Recipes that Really Make the Plate,” by Fred Thompson (UNC Press). 4 strips thick-cut bacon 3 large onions, chopped 1 quart water, vegetable broth or low-sodium chicken broth 4 garlic cloves, peeled 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 large meaty smoked ham hock or a smoked turkey part 2 bunches cabbage collards, about 5 pounds, cleaned in several rinses of water, stems removed and roughly chopped Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Vinegar and hot sauce for serving PLACE a stockpot over low heat. Add bacon and slowly cook to render the fat. When the bacon is crisp, remove and reserve. COOK onion in the bacon drippings until “lazy” and slightly colored, about 5 minutes. Pour in the liquid and add the water, garlic cloves, red pepper, cider vinegar and ham hock. Increase your heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes. This is the “pot likker.” ADD collards, a handful at a time, stirring each addition until wilted. Believe it or not, they will all go in the pot. Cook over low heat for 2 hours or until tender. REMOVE the hock and let cook. Drain the collards, reserving the liquid. Place the liquid in the refrigerator for a quick cool-down. Chop the collards if desired. Taste for salt and pepper. Break apart the hock, separating the fat and the meat, finely dice the meat, and stir into the collards. Reserve the liquid for dipping cornbread. TRANSFER collards to a bowl and top with crumbled bacon. Serve with vinegar and hot sauce for the table. Freeze any leftovers. Yield: 8-10 servings

Autumn Turnips with Indian Spices and Brown Basmati Author Liana Krissoff offers this aromatic green rice made from pureed turnip greens, turnip root, carrot and brown basmati. As a time-saver, Krissoff suggests using frozen spinach in place of the pureed turnips, and though the ice-water bath ensures that the blanched turnips don’t turn to mush, you could easily omit that step. Just don’t over-boil or over-stir the saute. If turnips are too bitter for you, consider collards or kale paired with sweet potato or cauliflower. Don’t have brown basmati? Use any rice of choice. Adapted from “Whole Grains for a New Generation” by Liana Krissoff (Stewart, Tabori & Chang). 2 medium turnips, peeled and diced (about 2 cups) 1 large carrot, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup) 5 packed cups chopped turnip greens (about 8 ounces) 1 hot green chile, seeded and chopped (optional) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 onion, diced Salt 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 / 2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon turmeric 3 cups cooked brown basmati rice (or other rice of your choice) FILL a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the turnips and carrot; return to a boil and cook until just barely tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to the ice water to cool. Add the turnip greens to the boiling water, shoving them down into the water as they wilt. Cook until the stems are tender, about 8 minutes, then pour into a sieve to drain. Put the greens in a food processor with the chile and a splash of water (up to about 1/4 cup) and puree until smooth. Set the blanched vegetables and pureed greens aside. HEAT the oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and 1 teaspoon salt and stir for 30 seconds. Add the blanched turnips and carrot and stir to coat them with the onion-spice mixture. Add the greens puree and stir until evenly incorporated. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the turnips and carrot are tender, about 5 minutes, uncovering the pan at the end to let excess moisture evaporate. Gently fold in the rice and cook to just heat through, about 2 minutes. Serve. Yield: 4 servings PER SERVING: 245 calories (18 percent from fat), 5 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 77 milligrams sodium

Easy Kale Chips These chips are a cinch to make and a healthy, low-calorie alternative to fried potato chips. Feel free to doctor up with your favorite spices or seasoning salt. 1 bunch kale 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons vinegar (optional) 1 teaspoon sea salt RINSE kale in a colander. Remove the tough inner stems. If using curly-leaved kale, discard the stems and tear kale into potato-chip size pieces. If using lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale, black kale, Tuscan kale, etc.) remove stems with a sharp knife, leaving two long strips. Thoroughly dry the kale pieces, preferably with a salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner, gently dry with a soft dish towel. HEAT oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. DUMP the kale into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until the chips are evenly coated. Add vinegar (if using) and toss again. Place kale on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the chips are just crisp. (You may need to bake in more than one batch. Be careful not to over-bake; kale chips burn easily.) Remove from oven. Season with sea salt. Serve immediately. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Yield: 4 servings PER SERVING: 39 calories (77 percent from fat), 1 gram protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 3 grams fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 177 milligrams sodium

Collard Cassoulet By adding a bit more meat and cheese, you can turn Alabama chef Frank Stitt’s collard gratin into a main dish. I found that a 1-pound bag of pre-washed collards worked perfectly; canned beans would also taste fine and save time. Adapted from “The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook” (UGA Press). 1 pound collard greens, stems and tough ribs removed 5 garlic cloves, 1 crushed and 4 chopped 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 medium onion, chopped 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 3 cups cooked white beans, 1/2 cup cooking liquid reserved 1/2 cup (plus more, if desired) diced or chopped cooked ham-hock meat, sausage, chorizo or bacon 1/3 cup (plus more, if desired) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves Salt and pepper 1/2 cup (plus more, as needed) medium-coarse fresh bread crumbs PLACE collards in a large pot. Cover them with salted water and boil over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well and chop into small pieces. Set aside. HEAT the oven to 475 degrees. Vigorously rub the inside of a 10- or 12-inch gratin dish with the crushed garlic. Discard the crushed garlic and set the dish aside. HEAT 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the collard greens, stir to coat, and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl. STIR in the beans, meat, roughly half the Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too dry, add enough of the reserved bean cooking liquid to moisten. (If you don’t have liquid, use water.) Spread the mixture in the prepared dish. Top with the bread crumbs and remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. COVER the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the filling is hot and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top of the gratin is golden and crusty, another 10 minutes. Serve hot. Yield: 6 side-dish servings PER SERVING (based on 6): 294 calories (37 percent from fat), 15 grams protein, 33 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 273 milligrams sodium

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Cookbooks put a new spin on kale, collards and turnips

By Wendell Brock — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

We Southerners think we own greens. We even romanticize collards, saying that first frost imparts a sweetness that removes their natural bitterness.

Now I love a pot of long-simmered, pork-scented mustard, turnips, collards or kale as much as anybody.

Yet there’s complexity of flavors and techniques to be found throughout the world of greens.

Brazilians slice kale into chiffonade, saute it with olive oil and garlic and serve it as an accompaniment to pork-laden feijoada. Italians add greens to hearty full-meal soups and stews.

The French bathe spinach in cream and butter, an elegant treatment that suits collards and kale just as well. Just lately, baked kale leaves have been hailed as a healthy answer to potato chips.

Bet you can’t eat just one.

Everywhere you look, American cooks celebrate leafy greens in ways both fresh and old-fashioned.

North Carolina food writer Sheri Castle’s “The New Southern Garden Cookbook” devotes an entire chapter to greens, from Melted Tuscan Kale to Creamed Collard and Country Ham Pot Pie with Cornmeal Pastry. Atlanta’s Miller Union serves kale and squash toasts.

Raleigh cookbook author Fred Thompson, who writes The N&O’s Weekend Gourmet column, is so proud of his mama’s collards that he prepared them on the Live Well Network’s “My Family Recipe Rocks” show earlier this year.

In “The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook,” Birmingham, Ala., chef Frank Stitt offers collard green and white bean gratin, a delicious peasant dish that’s kind of like a Southern cassoulet.

After cooking through a bunch of recipes for this article, I ended up with a big mess of turnips and kale. Using olive oil, bacon, onion, celery, garlic, hot pepper, vinegar and a splash of molasses, I simmered up a basic pot of greens.

I dumped in leftover white beans and chopped new potatoes and topped it off with grilled sausage.

With a little fooling around, you, too, can create a dish that gives mama’s pot likker a shot of flair.

For a printable version of the recipes, click the links:

Easy Kale Chips

Collard Cassoulet

Autumn Turnips with Indian Spices and Brown Basmati

Mama’s Collards

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