Creamed Collards

I hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving feasting with family and friends. I'm still in a thrall over the myriad tastes and treats that were part of my Thanksgiving meal.

My dear friend, John Barrentine, is the best non-professional cook I know. He made a collard dish that was so luxuriously delicious; when I saw collards in today's box, I knew I had to share this recipe.

Turns out, it's a recipe that appeared in this month's issue of Bon Appetit. Of course, John enhanced it a little with a few additions of his own. I'm not sure there is any higher calling for collards than this luscious and creamy dish.

1 bunch collard greens, center stems removed and cut into 1/2" strips
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 t vegetable oil
1/2 C thick-cut smoked bacon, cut into 1/3# pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
1 T + 1 t flour
1 t smoked paprika (or to taste)
3/4 C whole milk
3/4 C heavy cream
salt and pepper

1. Blanch the chopped collards in a large pot of boiling salted water with 1/4 C cider vinegar until bright green and beginning to soften, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook untiol crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel, reserving the rendered bacon fat.

3. Remove all but 1 T bacon fat and save the rest for another use.

4. Over medium heat, add the chopped shallot and leek to the bacon fat and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the flour and the smoked paprika. Stir constantly for 2 minutes.

6. Whisk in the milk and cream and bring to a soft boil, whisking often.

7. Stir in the blanched greens. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the greens are tender and the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes.

8. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Garnish with the bacon before serving.

Vegetarians may omit the bacon and use vegetable oil instead.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: colored cauliflower, red leaf lettuce, orange carrots, Easter radishes, spinach, red bell pepper, celery, Satsuma tangerines, and Fuji apples;

From Sage Mountain Farms: baby Torpedo spring onions, collard greens, and acorn squash;

And from Silver Lake Farms: fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Collard Wraps

Jed digs local fruit

Walker shares loquats and nasturtium blossoms from her garden

Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Silver Lake pick-up this week:

Garlic
Beets, red and gold
Arugula
Mustard greens
Butter lettuce
Green chard
Russian kale
Collard greens
Mint
Red romaine
Chamomile

Collard greens are often prepared chopped and cooked slowly with a ham hock. This traditional preparation produces tender greens and a smoky pot liquor that's intoxicatingly delicious.

Jed suggested a completely different approach to collard greens - using them as a wrap with a vegan filling of vegetables and grains. What a great idea!

Collard Wraps

For 4 wraps:
5 medium collard leaves
2-3 T finely chopped red onion
1 C sliced mushrooms, shittake are particularly tasty
1/2 C grated carrot
1 C cooked brown rice, or quinoa, or barley
1 T canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by selecting 4 medium collard leaves that are intact (no holes). Bring a 3-4 qt pot of water to a boil and blanch the 4 leaves, one at a time, by holding the stem and dipping the leaf in the boiling water for 5 seconds. Set aside and repeat with the other leaves.

2. Remove the stems from the blanched greens and slice them thinly. Set aside.

3. Take the remaining unblanched collard leaf: Chop the leaf in coarse strips and chop the stem thinly, same as the others.

4. In a 10-inch skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 1 minute.

5. Add the thinly sliced collard stems and the mushrooms. Cover and turn down the heat a little. Cook until the mushrooms have exuded their moisture.

6. Add the chopped collard leaf and cover again until the it has wilted and softened somewhat.

7. Uncover the pan, turn the heat back up a little. When most of the water has cooked off, add the grated carrots and the cooked brown rice (or quinoa or barley). Cook until the carrots are slightly softened and the grain is heated through, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste

8. Remove the filling from the heat and assemble the wraps: Take one-fourth of the filling and place it in the center of one blanched leaf. Fold the top of the leaf over the filling, then fold each side in toward the center, leaving the stem end open [or use the whatever wrapping technique you prefer]. Repeat with remaining blanched leaves and filling.

Enjoy!

Shelley