Heather says:
The new year will be here before long and in the Lowcountry that means it’s time to cook up some greens. Collards are a traditional New Year’s dish eaten to bring wealth in the coming year. Their peak season is from January to April and they are packed with calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C.
Whatever you do, do not cook collards in an aluminum pot. The aluminum reacts with the collards. Finally, I should note that collards have an extremely high water content and lose a lot of volume in the cooking process. If you don’t have a huge pot, just add the collards a handful or two at a time as they begin to shrink.
If you don’t have sausage, consider using bacon. If you are vegetarian or vegan consider sauteeing some onion in several tablespoons of olive oil before adding the collards to the pot.
Be aware that collards have a somewhat funky odor. I would only buy them the day before or the day of preparation. Crumpled newspaper will absorb the funky smell.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb sausage (smoked or kielbasa) cut into coins
- 2 large bunches of collards
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Rinse the collards three times. Three shalt be the number thou shalt rinse, and the number of the rinsing shall be three. Four shalt thou not rinse, nor either rinse thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then. . .
Sorry, I got carried away. Once the collards have been rinsed tear from the main stem and into bite sized pieces. Discard the tough woody stems.
In a large, non-aluminum pot heat the sausage , covered over medium heat until browned. Add the collards. Cover, stir occasionally until they have reached their desired tenderness. Season to taste.
I like mine with hot sauce.
Enjoy.
