Cultural Exploration: Collard Greens

Thanks to Cait and Porsche, I have an amazing cookbook called "The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook" which includes almost 600 pages of southern favorites from all different regions. After trying collard greens at Comfort a few weeks ago and loving them, I really wanted to see if I had the capacity to make this dish, of if there was some kind of genetic factor involved in the art of Southern cooking.

While I can't claim to make collard greens anywhere near as wonderful as Comfort's, I actually think that these are good enough that I would make them again. Now I'm envisioning some kind of big 'Return to Richmond' party, complete with greens, grits, fried chicken and all the other good stuff that the Lee Brothers offer. Except for boiled peanuts. There will be no boiled peanuts at my imaginary party.

So that you can make your own greens, here is the Lee Bros. recipe for Sunday Collards.

SUNDAY COLLARDS (serves 6):

1 T extra-virgin olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil
1 smoked ham hock, smoked hog jowl or 1/4 lb slab bacon, diced
8 C water
3 dried chile peppers or 1 T crushed red pepper flakes
1 T kosher salt
3 3/4 lb collard greens, ribbed, washed, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips

1. Pour the oil into an 8-quart stockpot over medium-high heat and swirl it around so it covers the bottom. Score the ham hock with a small sharp knife, and when the oil begins to shimmer, set it in the pot. Sear the hock all over as best you can and allow it to render some fat, about 6 minutes.

2. Pour the water into the pot; it will his and pop for a few seconds. Add the chiles and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat do medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, until the stock is deeply flavored with smoke and spiciness.

3. Add a few handfuls of the collards to the pot. The greens will float on the surface, so stir them frequently, submerging them with the spoon, until they have turned a bright kelly green (3 to 5 minutes) and become floppier and more compact, so you can add more handfuls. Continue adding handfuls of collards, stirring and submerging them, until all the greens are in the pot (6 to 10 minutes). Turn the heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 hour. The greens will be very dark matte green and completely tender.

4. Place on plates with a slotted spoon, and pass a cruet of Pepper Vinegar at the table.