Serves 2-3 as a side dish
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of collard greens
- 1 tblsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 cloves garlic (optional)
Method:
Wash the collard greens, and chop off the thickest part of the stems stems. Place them on a chopping board, and roll them together then slice across, so as to make strips. These can be any thickness, but I prefer about 2-3cm slices.
Place the greens in a pan with boiling water, and simmer for a few minutes. This is to remove any bitterness. Drain them and keep them warm in the pan.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan, while you peel and slice or chop the onion. Toss it into the pan and stir to coat, then cook on medium heat until the onions are beginning to brown. Add the crushed garlic and stir in well for about a minute, then tip in the drained collard greens, which by now should be softened and quite reduced.
Stir well over medium heat until any water has drained off, and the greens are thoroughly wilted. Serve hot as a side dish with any cooked meal.
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Collard greens sound to me like something out of the American south. I've read about them, but until about six months ago, didn't have much idea what they were or how they were cooked.
Further searching revealed many ways of cooking them, but the most basic ones suggested cooking in water, then frying with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of garlic.
So that's what I did the first time, and we liked them very much, but felt they were lacking texture. So the next time I chopped and cooked an onion first, creating the above recipe - and it was (to our tastes) perfect.
Others might prefer to omit the garlic, or perhaps to add in some spices. But this is how we like it, and I now cook them at least a couple of times per month.
