Seasonal pressure cooking: Why don't we all eat more collards?
(A little break from book writing)
I am finding it hard to work on my book today. I just had to go and pick up my son from school, thanks to the egg sized lump he acquired on his head (dodgy rugby tackle). He is fine but restless and it is making me antsy. So as I do not want to move away from my desk (aka the kitchen table, this is part of the problem, what I am going to do during half term I don’t know), and as a break is as good as a rest, I thought I’d write a newsletter instead of the recipes I should be writing up.
So, collards are on my mind.
They are without doubt, in my top 5 for leafy greens - the others being Brussels sprout tops, cime di rapa, (also known as broccoli raab or rapini, I have been buying in huge quantities from Ealing Grocers the last week or two), spigarello (if cavolo nero and cime di rapa had a love child. Actually, cavolo nero and cime di rapa probably DID have a love child), and any kind of radicchio/endive.
They are not the easiest to buy in the UK, but now is the time. Natoora do them for a very short season (and by extension, Ocado do too) and I buy them up avidly wherever I find them. Yesterday was the first day I managed to buy them this season. According to the staff in their Chiswick shop, apart from a few American expats, I am the only person who buys them, and, by the way, how should they be cooked? I picked over the leaves, glossy, green and soiled by Cornish sand, as I told them.
£5.00 worth gave me enough that shredded, had to be pushed down and wilted into my 5 litre pressure cooker before I could get them all in. More on this below.
If you are a fan of the vegetable box delivery model, Abel and Cole also sell them. And for a short while, I managed to get Wild Country Organics - stalwarts of London (and beyond?) farmers markets, to grow them. They appeared for a few weeks, but apparently I was just about the only person to buy them - no one knew what to do with them - and so they didn’t bring them again. I offered help and recipes to no avail.
I have tried to grow them - but 3 years in a row I have been neglectful and my precious seedlings have been brutally decapitated by the slugs. Not so precious if I allow them to be treated so, you might say and you would be right on the reality if not on intent. I resolve to do better. And I mean this - they can grow fast, are tolerant of heat and cold and if I grow them myself, it means I’ll also be able to get get the softer hearts when they form (a bit like a sprout top) and even later in the season, after they have overwintered, they sprout, just like sprouting broccoli, rapa and asparagus kale (another one I’d like to see in the shops). So you get an extra crop right there and then.
Anyway, we all need to be asking our producers and costermongers and greengrocers about collards because they are the best. Honestly. They are NOT like spring greens so unless you want to cry bitter tears when you open your pressure cooker, do not substitute. Spring greens, like cabbages and sprouts do not do well when overcooked and will collapse into a soggy, sulforous mess if you go just a few seconds beyond what is proper. Collard greens are the opposite. They positively revel in long, slow cooking. It isn’t unusual for them to be cooked low and slow for hours - and I mean hours, 2, 3 even longer. And what you end up is a pot of absolute joy. It won’t be anything to look at as bright green will dull to a mossy and murky greenish brown. But the flavour! It has a hint of everything you want in a green - intensely savoury - almost meaty. A hint of spice, a hint of bright acidity, even after the long cook. They are robust in texture - totally keep their integrity, much better than kale or chard - and taste, and they feel good for you. I love them. Please seek them out if you haven’t tried them. I am determined for them to become a UK staple.
And just in case you do grow or buy them - and for everyone in the US who might not pressure cook them yet - here is how I cook them.
Smothered Collard Greens
This is my favourite way to make collards. You can of course give them a minimal cook - saute them for a minute or two, then cook at high pressure for just a minute, fast release and they will be very good. But this slow cooked version is my idea of comfort food.
There is a lot more liquid in this recipe than I usually use when cooking greens, that is because I am also making a collard green flavoured broth (often called the pot liquor or likker) at the same time. You can drink this on the side as a broth or use it as the base for a soup - it would make a good minestrone base I think, or add meat or mushrooms, kimchi and noodles for a really good noodle soup . What improves it even more is the addition of some chicken - maybe a few wings or a couple of drumsticks, pushed under the collards. The chicken will add flavour and you can shred the meat off into the broth afterwards.
Ingredients:
A large bunch of collard greens (around 500g), well washed
2 tbsp olive oil or lard
100g bacon lardons/salt pork
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
600ml chicken or ham stock or water
Trim your collards and then cut lengthways down the middle. I lay mine on top of one another, cut half way along and then tear. It is very satisfying. Shred or roughly chop the leaves and stems. I don’t bother separating them out - the pressure cooker makes fast work of tenderising the slightly tougher stems so you don’t need to discard or cook separately.
Heat your pressure cooker and when it is hot, add the bacon or pork. Fry until crisp, then stir in the garlic. Add the greens to the pot.
If they fill it (they probably will), stir and push down until they have collapsed down a bit and some steam has started forming.
Pour in the vinegar and stock or water and season generously with salt and pepper.
Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. If using a stove top, remember to adjust the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure. Cook for at least 15 minutes for tender collards but I often go for 30 minutes for a silkier texture. Leave them to drop pressure naturally.
Eat as you like. As a side, probably, but I can happily eat a bowl of them on just on their own.
Right, I am now going back to some work on pressure cooker curries. Lamb saag for dinner tonight….
It depends on the texture you want - and are you going to pressure cook the soup? If so, for how long?
I’ll give them a go. I’ve ordered from Ocado and will try your recipe. I’m not sure I will convince Mike who thinks Brussels sprouts are the work of the Devil. I had to laugh reading the preamble to your recipe. It took me right back to the 1950s when my mother used to insist we drank cabbage water whenever she cooked it (fairly frequently) she was convinced it staved off colds.