A Bone to Pick with All You Northern Kale Eaters
I am a New Englander by birth and certainly by ancestry but I spent most of my childhood in Prince George's County Maryland just south of the Mason-Dixon line. I began working on a farm there in tobacco growing country when I was in High school. It was a beautiful farm and very well run. We grew amazing produce in that hot humid climate. The three things I remember most were the sweet potatoes, the giant watermelons and most of all the Collard Greens ( in caps as they should be). We grew huge thick incredible Collards. Most of the produce we grew ended up in Washington DC and I loved going into the city with the van and meeting all the beautiful older black women who would come pick up our produce and especially those Greens. They were always so excited and had such passion for food and cooking in traditional ways that had been passed down through the community. I think about those times and people often but one time that I always do is whenever I cook Collard Greens. I imagine those women in the market and how happy their families must have been when they got to eat those Greens cooked perfectly with so much love. So here's what I need all you northern kale eaters to do. Eat your Greens, Collard Greens that is! For 7 long years now I've sat idly by and heard how those Greens sit untouched week after week in the barn. In short, Collard Greens are amazing and have everything that kale doesn't: toughness, grit, stamina and loads of things that make you strong and vibrant. But here's the deal, you can't be afraid to cook them. So you can either call your best friend in the south and ask them, consult your Edna Lewis cookbook, or listen to my sorry New England ass tell you how I cook them though I don't know how they would be received at a church super in PG county Maryland we like them. Before I give you the break down theres really only 2 things you need to know to have Collards end up in regular rotation in your family. They need to change to a darker green sort of pail color and the thickest part of the bottom of the stem needs to be able to smush between your fingers for them to be properly cooked. I think that should take about 45 minutes but time is of no mind if those two things don't happen, longer is always better. The all day cook with ham hoc or bacon will not be what I give here but that sure cant be beat.
Slice one onion per large bunch of Collards
get the onions mostly cooked and a little brown in a nice hot pan with 2-4 tablespoons
of lard or olive oil.
Pile the greens and roll them in a tight roll then slice them nice and thin
push the onions to the edges of the pan and toss in a nice big pile of Greens
let them sizzle in the pan a bit then toss them around and let sizzle again
then add a bit of liquid ( we sometimes use Miran or just water)
cover and let cook until done as described above. I sometimes add a bit more liquid as they cook cause you don't want the pan to get dry and the bit of juice left at the end is usually tasty also.
Now sit down with your excited and lucky friends or family and take a moment to celebrate one of the greatest contributions to the American food culture and give thanks to the southern Black folks that have brought so much joy and love to life here. Thats what I do and it helps me stay connected to those important roots I have from my young and formative years and to something that I think is important to remember and think about. I hope you love them and keep coming back for more.
I understand that writing this in this way may be risky but it is meant to be from my own perspective and not more then that and it certainly comes from the heart.
Love, Seth
This Week’s Pick List:
Eggs
Red Gold New Potatoes
Candy and Red Long of Tropea Onions
Evergreen Hardy Scallions
Yaya Carrots
Rhonda Beets
Pink Beauty Radish
Solaris Fennel
Diamond, Money Maker, Beatrice, and Purple Shine Eggplant
Dark Star, Yellowfin, and Cocozelle Summer Squash
Mideast Peace, Silver Slicer, Sweet Marketmore, and Addis Pickle Cucumbers
Taiwan Flat and Caraflex Cabbage
Emiko Napa Cabbage
Old Growth Palm Kale
Champion Collards
Ruby Red Chard
Regiment Spinach
Parsley, Basil, Cilantro, and Dill
Head Lettuce
Tomatoes
Aura, Glow, and/or Jimmy Nardello peppers
Melons or watermelons (we hope!)
Albion Strawberries
Pick your own: padron and shishito peppers, cherry tomatoes and tomatillos, jade and dragon langerie beans. Along with the flowers, there are shiso, purple and thai basil in the annual field.
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Revolution Bread