Collard Greens

This is my recipe for collard greens.  It was not passed down through the ages.  I read a recipe in the ATK Vegetarian Cookbook and changed it significantly.

• 6 lbs of fresh Collard Greeens
• 4 tbsp Butter or Earth Balance (if being Vegan or Dairy-Free)
• 4 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1.5 tsp Chipotle Powder
• 4 cups of Vegetable Stock
• 1/4 Apple Cider Vinegar
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Destem the Collards.  This will take some time, count on it being 45 minutes to an hour.  Either fold the collard and cut the stem out, or purchase a tool from Amazon.  I make this enough that I bought the tool.  Once de-stemmed, cut into 2-inch squares as best you can.  There’s no need to be extra militant over your square size.  1 inch and 3 inch squares will happen.
2. Melt the butter in a saute pan with a lid over medium-low heat (or if using an InstantPot, set it to saute’ at the middle level).
3. Once the butter is melted, put in the garlic, paprika, and chipotle powder.  Stir it around for about 30 seconds.
4. Working in hand sized batches, wilt the collards in the cooking vessel of choice.  It will take 3-5 minutes to wilt a handful, I use tongs to keep things moving and prevent too much browning.  You have to keep things moving, leaving it alone for 30 seconds may cause excess browning or burning.  Season with pinches of salt as you go.
5. Once all the greens are wilted, pour in the vegetable stock and scrape up any brown bits off the bottom.  The stock should almost cover the greens.  Stir in the vinegar.
6. Simmer:
   1. If on the stove top, cover and simmer over low heat for 3 hours.  Stirring every 30 minutes or so.  If you are losing too much liquid, add more stock or water as needed.
   2. If in the InstantPot, affix the lid, set it to Manual, High Pressure for 1 hour.  Then do a quick release.  If you let it natural release you risk over-cooking and getting mushy greens.  If you need to do a natural release, you’ll need to reduce your cook time to like 40 minutes (I don’t know, I’m guessing – but it sounds right).
7. Take a taste, you might need another pat of butter for some richness, a splash of vinegar for some tang, or a shot of hot sauce for some heat.  If bland, chuck in some salt to taste.

This is kind of a production to make.  So balance how many greens you make with how much you think are going to get eaten.  The most involved amount of time is the de-stemming.  This can be done the day before and the greens can be stored in an airtight container for that day.  If the vagaries of pressure cooking are too much (like it was for me), do half the greens on the stove and the other half in the multi-cooker.   Lots of anxiety, especially after you spend an hour de-stemming.

That’s it good luck and let me know how it goes.