Collard Greens

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First Frost Collards
By: Amanda Dew Manning

As soon as the first frost came, we harvested collards from my grandmother's garden. Most old folks would not eat collards until after the first frost had fallen because they thought it made them sweeter. Grandmama's collards were sweet and delicious. I loved drinking the pot likker that was left when the collards were all gone.

Score the ham hock before putting it into the water. This will help it cook faster and release its flavors. If you can't find a ham hock, you may lightly fry 3 slices of hog jowl and use that instead.

1 large bunch fresh collards
1 medium-size ham hock
1 quart water
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste

Wash the collards thoroughly. Remove the stems. Rolls leaves up and cut up diagonally.

In an 8-quart pot, bring the ham hock to a boil in 1 quart of water. Once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer the hock for 1 hour. Add the chopped collards and cook for approximately 1 hour, or until tender.

When done, add the sugar. The ham hock will be salty, so taste the collards before adding salt.

Serves 6.

From: www.ediblelowcountry.com/pages/recipes.htm#collards

chitterlings.com/collards.html

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Here is a lovely looking pasta recipe.


Pasta with Greens & Tomato Sauce

Contributed By: EatingWell
Recipe by: Marie Simmons, Photo by: Ken Burris

This homey pasta dish uses pancetta (Italian bacon) in the tomato sauce, but for vegetarians it can be easily omitted. The collards and Parmesan elevate the calcium count.

Ingredients
1 pound Collard greens (about 12 cups), stripped from thick stems, washed, dried and coarsely chopped (1/2 inch pieces)
2 ounces Sliced pancetta or bacon, finely diced (3/4 cup)
2 tsp Extra-virgin olive oil
1 Medium onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/8 tsp Crushed red pepper
1 28 ounce Can diced tomatoes (not drained)
1/4 cup Water
8 ounces Medium pasta shells (3 cups)
1/4 tsp Salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. Bring 2 cups lightly salted water to a boil in a large wide pan. Add collards and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and press out excess moisture. Set aside.

2. Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil for cooking pasta.

3. Cook pancetta (or bacon) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, 5 minutes. Drain; discard fat.

4. Add oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, for 30 to 60 seconds. Add pancetta (or bacon), tomatoes and water; bring to a simmer, mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher or the side of a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

5. About 10 minutes before the sauce is ready, cook pasta in the boiling water, stirring often, until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

6. Add the pasta, collards and reserved pasta-cooking water to the tomato sauce. Heat, stirring, until the pasta has absorbed some of the flavors, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into pasta bowls, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

From: www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/9995