My grandparents grew up in Mississippi and West Virginia. I have been cooking "soul food" all of my life. This recipe for greens is a far cry from the pork-laden version I was raised on, but is a lot healthier and tastes better, according to the die hard meat eaters in my family. Give it a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
Ingredients
- Peanut oil
- Yellow onion
- Chopped garlic (in the jar is best)
- Greens off the top of a bunch of beets (cleaned and cut)
- Collard greens (cleaned and cut, the amount is up to you)
- Hoisen sauce (in the Asian food area of the store)
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
Being a true "soul food" cook, I rarely if ever measure, so you will be working your eyes on this.
The basic instructions are as follows:
- Brown the sliced onion and 3 or more tbs. of garlic in the peanut oil in the pot that you are going to cook the collard greens in.
- Once they have started to brown, add in the fresh beet greens until they are soft and the peanut oil is a little red.
- Add your collard greens and water to just cover the contents of the pot.
- Add 1-3 tbs. of hoisen sauce, depending on how many collard greens you are making and Worcestershire and soy sauce to taste.
- Let simmer on low heat until tender, I cook mine for at least an hour. From time to time, taste the liquid in the pot to adjust the flavor to your liking.
For the cornbread:
Buy your favorite brand and make it according to the directions or you can make it from scratch following the directions on the cornmeal box.
Try it, I promise you won't even miss the hamhocks or salt pork that goes in the regular recipe!
