Collarding Up

I love fall food.

One of my VERY favorites is, well, ANYTHING in the Leafy Greens Family.

Collards, Turnips, Mustard, even Poke Salad. (You have to be careful with Poke Salad—it can be poisonous. But it was my Granny’s favorite, and she taught me how to find it. In the wild.)

Well, yesterday, I found a beautiful bunch of local Savannah collards at our favorite little grocer near us in Habersham Village.

If you have read a bit on my blog, you know that HR (Husband Robert) is the fancy pants chef, and I’m the I-cook-what-Mama-taught-me fellow. Usually in cast iron.

So last night I pulled out our cast iron (heavy!) Dutch oven. (Okay, technically Robert pulled it out.)

And I went to work.

First, you gotta wash the greens, if you buy them fresh. And why wouldn’t you? A time-consuming task.

My Washed-Collards Bouquet.

I cut the thickest stems away from the leaves.

But don’t throw them away! I make homemade vegetable broth with them.

After cooking the ham hocks in water to provide the base for the “pot liquor,” I sauté onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil in the Dutch oven, pour the liquid from the ham hocks in, layer the ham hocks on top, and cover until the greens wilt.

Two hours of slow simmering later …

HR loves my pickled jalapeños, so he had to put some of that “sauce” and pickles on his greens.

The beautifully delicious “pot liquor” …

Oh, and what to do with the leftovers? Well, give some to ex-wife Donna, of course.

With a side of “healthy corn.”

And freeze the rest.

Fall Collard Joy