VEGETARIAN COLLARD GREENS plus ROASTED PLANTAINS

Happy New Year!  Oh is it a little late for that?  Well I made collard greens and it was after New Year’s Day.  Most of y’all know that collard greens are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day with black eyed peas (the beans, not the singing group) to ensure wealth in the coming year.  I’m not superstitious, so I didn’t bother making them for New Year’s.

I bought collard greens because they were BOGO at my super market.  I am such a sucker for BOGO (buy one get one); so even though I was only cooking for two, I went for the BOGO collard greens.  Two bunches of collard greens; that’s a lot of green.

Collard greens are low in calories, high in fiber, an excellent source of folates, vitamin A, and vitamin K, rich in B vitamins and vitamin C, good for calcium, copper, manganese, selenium and zinc.  Without getting all scientific; collard greens help to control cholesterol, protect against cancer and free radicals, and help with immunity to bacteria and virus.  You can find out more by reading Nutrition Facts From Food.

 

I decided to go all Caribbean on my greens, so I got plantains to go with, and topped both of them with this Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar. 

I served my meal with rice; black beans would be great too.  Did you notice that I didn’t use any fat in this meal?  This is not the usual for me…fat = flavor.  Really and truly there was no fat needed, if there was I would have added it, because that’s how I roll.

I know I said that I’m not superstitious, and that we ate our collard greens after New Year’s…but if you read my last post you will know that as of Sunday, Billy is back to work. Cue the eerie music.  Really though, I think it’s just plain smart, not to mention delicious, to eat collard greens!

I made a lot of collard greens, so I used the leftovers to make the tastiest, savory Collard Green and Mushroom Bread Pudding.  Trust me you’re gonna wanna have leftovers so that you can make it.  

Here’s what you do.  It’s so easy that it’s almost silly.

FOR THE VEGETARIAN COLLARD GREENS

 

Wrap one hand around the stem at the base of the collard green, and pull the stem with the other hand to remove the stem from the greens.

 

Lay the de-stemmed (is that a word?)greens one on top of the other.

 

Roll the greens into a cigar shape.

Cut the cigar into about ½ inch strips.  This is known as chiffonade.

 

Put half of the collard greens into a 6 quart pan.  Add the diced onions and minced garlic.  Top with the remaining greens and 3 cups of water.  Put the lid on and cook over medium heat, until the water comes to a simmer. 

 

When the water comes to a simmer the greens will be wilted down, add the salt and pepper and give it a toss.  Turn the heat to medium low and put the lid back on, to cook for 40 minutes more.

 

I ate a big bowl of Vegetarian Collard Greens on rice.  The greens are really delicious just the way they are...

 

... but I topped them with Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar for another layer of flavor.

You may prefer to eat you collard greens with corn bread so that you can sop up the pot liquor.

Meanwhile; FOR THE PLANTAINS

Preheat the oven to 400.

 

You can see that a plantain is not a banana.  It is starchy so it needs to be cooked.  For roasted plantains, you want it to be ripe like this.

 

Slice lengthwise, just through the peel.  The plantain is going to expand as it roasts, the slit allows for expansion.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to clean an exploded plantain off of my oven walls.

Wrap it in aluminum foil and place the wrapped plantain on a baking dish.  Roast for 35 to 40 minutes.  The plantain will be tender, but not mushy.

 

Unwrap the roasted plantain.  It’s really too hot to try and remove from the peel (trust me I know) so allow it to cool for just a minute before remove the peel.

 

I sliced my plantains into pretty, diagonal slices.

 

And I topped it with more Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar.

VEGETARIAN COLLARD GREENS

Serves 6

2              bunches                  Collard greens, about 16 cups

1                                           Medium onion, small dice

3              cloves                     Garlic, minced

3              cups                       Water

½             tsp.                        Salt

½             tsp.                        Pepper

1.  Remove and discard the stems from the collard greens.  Chop (chiffonade) the leaves of the collard greens.

      2.    Put half of the collard greens into a 6 quart pan; add the onions and garlic, top with the remaining collard greens.  Pour the water over the greens.  Put the lid on the pan and cook over medium heat to bring the water up to a simmer.

      3.   When the water has come up to a simmer the greens will have wilted, season with the salt and pepper and use tongs to toss the greens; turn the heat to medium low.  Replace the lid and cook the greens for 40 minutes more, tossing the greens a couple of times.

Serve as is, or with pepper vinegar.

ROASTED PLANTAINS

1 ripe plantain will serve 2 people as a side dish.

  1.        Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.

  2.        Use a knife to make a slit in the peel down the length of the ripe plantain, don’t cut through the plantain.

  3.       Wrap individual plantains in aluminum foil

  4.       Roast in the hot oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the plantain is tender, but not mushy.

  5.       Remove the plantains from the foil and from their peels.

Serving suggestions:

*Roasted plantains can be sliced or mashed. 

 

*Top with Sweet and Spicy Pepper Vinegar.

*Drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

*Top with garlic oil, parmesan, salt and pepper.