Celebrate New Year’s Day Southern Style

Nom de plume of Francine Wolfe Schwartz

Although born a Yankee, I’ve always had a love affair with all things Southern, especially Southern food.

I’m in heaven with a plateful of fried chicken, collard greens, stewed okra, grits and a fluffy biscuit dripping with honey.

What, a “veggie-phile” like me eating southern style vegetables with a reputation of being overcooked?

Whoa, not true.  Gone are the potfuls of leafy collards sitting on the back burner cooking down to mush.  Instead the new Southern cuisine emphasizes fresh taste and cooking a green – green.

Collards (and other greens), a mainstay on the Southern table, appear on fine dining menus in risotto, gratins, pesto, pasta dishes and served over polenta.

But one Southern food tradition remains.  Eating collards and black-eyed peas on New Years’ Day brings good fortune and prosperity.

(see last week’s blog for preparation tips)

Tradition is a comfort soup. 

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Andouille and Collards

serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (12 ounce) package fully cooked Andouille or smoked sausage links, chopped*
6 cups chicken stock
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen black-eyed peas
4 cups collard greens, cleaned and coarsely chopped
3 – 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Hot sauce (optional)

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook onions until softened. Add Andouille and sauté until heated through.

Add chicken stock and black-eyed peas to the pot. Bring contents to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook on low until peas are cooked, approximately 45 minutes.

Stir in collard greens and continue cooking until greens are wilted, approximately 5-10 minutes. Season with cider vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes, adjusting to personal taste.

Serve with cornbread and hot sauce.

• source: Nealey Dozier, www.kitchn.com

*NOTE: omit Andouille for vegetarian version

Brown sugar and crushed red pepper flakes adds complex flavor to collard greens.

COLLARD GREENS WITH RED ONION 

Serves 8

2 slices bacon, chopped
2 medium red onions, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 pounds collard greens, preferably small leaves, coarse stems and ribs discarded, leaves and thin stems washed, drained, and chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, transfer to paper towels and drain. Sauté onions in bacon drippings, stirring occasionally, until browned slightly and softened. Add stock, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and bacon, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add about half of the collards, tossing until slightly wilted, add remaining collards, toss to combine. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer collards until tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

Source: Virginia Willis Culinary Productions

www.virginiawillis.com/recipes

             Viriginia Willis, Bon Appétit, Y’all

A interesting take on traditional grits and eggs

Fried Eggs and Collard Greens over Polenta
serves four

olive oil
4-5 strips of thick cut bacon (you can also use about 1/2 pound of pancetta)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 large bunch of collard greens, leaves stripped and chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 eggs
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Roughly chop the bacon into chunks. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat in a large sauce pan with a lid. Add the bacon and begin to cook. After about 5 minutes, add the onion. Continue to cook both until the bacon is crispy and the onion is soft and beginning to caramelize, about 8 to 10 more minutes.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the collard greens. Stir and toss until the greens are coated in the oil and bacon fat and beginning to wilt. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat slightly and cover the pan. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, adding more chicken broth if the mixture gets dry, until the collard greens are dark green and soft.

Meanwhile, cook the polenta. Bring the milk and water to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the corn meal in a steady stream, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper (about a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper to start, then taste). Continue to cook, whisking, until the polenta begins to thicken. Reduce the heat so that the polenta bubbles slowly and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. The cooking time may vary, depending on how coarse the corn meal is, but the finished polenta should give some resistance when you stir it with a whisk. Add the butter and more salt and pepper to taste. You can turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the polenta warm. When you are ready to serve it, stir to loosen it up and add a bit more milk if necessary.

(or substitute grits using your favorite recipe)

Add a bit of butter or olive oil to a nonstick skilled and fry the eggs, two by two if necessary. To serve, put a big scoop of polenta on each plate and top it with the greens and bacon mixture and two fried eggs. Sprinkle with parmesan, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, if desired.

Delicious variation: Serve collard greens on thick slices of toasted Italian bread topped with the fried egg.

Source: www.thekitchn.com