LCBF and I are still visiting South Carolina, but we haven't really done much in the way of Southern food eating. This is mostly because vegetarian food can be hard to come by down here (restaurants serving only ham-cooked vegetables, I'm looking at you!). So this morning we paid a visit to the Port Royal Farmer's Market and picked up some wonderful fresh collard greens and green tomatoes, so that I could make my own.
The market was small, but the produce looked great and the people were friendly. I was especially fond of the woman who forced a fork containing a sample of pound cake on me and wasn't taking no for an answer (edit: mom tells me that her name is Jean). It was damn fine pound cake. LCBF found a pulled pork sandwich with slaw that he was pretty happy about as well.
Then we went home and cooked, naturally. The collards were so fresh that they turned out to be mouth-meltingly tender after cooking. Really fantastic. LCBF was a big fan: "Totally awesome. Not even ham could have made them more delicious." Now that is some high carnivore praise. Recipe for vegetarian collard greens and black-eyed peas with fried green tomatoes after the jump:
First, a few notes:
*Collard greens and black-eyed peas are usually cooked with a ham hock, the fat in which helps to soften the leaves. I used both olive oil and butter in this recipe to make up for losing the meat fat.
*Like kale or chard, the fresher the collard greens, the quicker they cook and less bitter they taste. That being said, collards can take a long time to cook. Plan on one to one and a half hours to cook them to tenderness. If they're from the grocery store or are of unknown age, it can take longer.
*Most recipes call for dried black-eyed peas, but I didn't have the soaking time today, so I went with canned (you can too! I won't tell anyone.)
*Scroll down for Fried Green Tomato recipe.
Vegetarian Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
1 bunch collard greens, washed, stemmed and cut into ribbons
1 12 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 tbl. fresh thyme, chopped
2 bay leaves
2-3 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. butter
salt & pepper
Chop onion and thyme, dice garlic. Prepare collards: Wash well, De-stem (hold each leaf upside down and run a sharp knife along the stem to separate it from the leaf; discard stems), and Cut into ribbons (stack leaves on top of each other, roll up, and slice).
Heat olive oil and butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften and become translucent (about 5 min.). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (no more than a minute).
Add greens and vegetable broth. Bring broth to a boil (you'll have to do some poking and stirring of the greens at the beginning to get them to wilt a bit). Add thyme and bay leaves. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Cook covered until tender--about an hour. Stir in black-eyed peas and cook for another 10 minutes. Most of the liquid should have been absorbed or evaporated. Serve hot.
Fried Green Tomatoes
1-2 green tomatoes
~1 c. flour
2 eggs
~1 c. panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper
oil for frying
Heat about 1/4" oil in a deep pan. Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick.
Set out three rimmed plates or dishes. Place flour in one. Beat the eggs together in a bowl, then place in the second dish. Mix bread crumbs with salt and pepper in the third.
Coat the tomato slices first with the flour, then with the egg mixture. Dredge through bread crumbs to cover. Place tomatoes into the hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.
Drain over paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while draining. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
First, a few notes:
*Collard greens and black-eyed peas are usually cooked with a ham hock, the fat in which helps to soften the leaves. I used both olive oil and butter in this recipe to make up for losing the meat fat.
*Like kale or chard, the fresher the collard greens, the quicker they cook and less bitter they taste. That being said, collards can take a long time to cook. Plan on one to one and a half hours to cook them to tenderness. If they're from the grocery store or are of unknown age, it can take longer.
*Most recipes call for dried black-eyed peas, but I didn't have the soaking time today, so I went with canned (you can too! I won't tell anyone.)
*Scroll down for Fried Green Tomato recipe.
Vegetarian Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
1 bunch collard greens, washed, stemmed and cut into ribbons
1 12 oz. can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 med. yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 tbl. fresh thyme, chopped
2 bay leaves
2-3 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. butter
salt & pepper
Chop onion and thyme, dice garlic. Prepare collards: Wash well, De-stem (hold each leaf upside down and run a sharp knife along the stem to separate it from the leaf; discard stems), and Cut into ribbons (stack leaves on top of each other, roll up, and slice).
Fully Awesome
Fried Green Tomatoes
1-2 green tomatoes
~1 c. flour
2 eggs
~1 c. panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper
oil for frying
Heat about 1/4" oil in a deep pan. Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick.
(mom thought this picture needed to include red tomatoes--I didn't fry those)
Set out three rimmed plates or dishes. Place flour in one. Beat the eggs together in a bowl, then place in the second dish. Mix bread crumbs with salt and pepper in the third.
Coat the tomato slices first with the flour, then with the egg mixture. Dredge through bread crumbs to cover. Place tomatoes into the hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.
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