Cooking Collard Greens

[Geila]

We eat lots of leafy greens, mostly kale, but sometimes kale is unavailable (this winter's frost hurt the kale for a while) and the price has really gone up. I'd like to do collard greens for variety in nutrients and cost but the bitter taste holds us back. I'm hoping to get cooking tips because maybe I'm cooking it wrong.

I cook kale by putting into a large skillet with a tiny amount of water, many times just the water on the leaves from washing it, and I steam it for 6 minutes. If eating with a saucy dish I leave as is, if not I drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper. And that's how I've been cooking the collards too, just with a longer cooking time (about 10-12 mins) but they come out really bitter. The recipes I found online and in cookbooks use a lot of water to boil it and that seems like it would make it into mush.

How do you guys cook your collards?

[ApatheticNoMore]

I have never had collard greens, I'm not sure I even know where to buy them (!), have tried many other greens (nice mild sauteed chard is my fav).

The advice for really bitter tough greens is generally to boil them, cook them briefly in shallow boiling water to reduce bitterness and increase tenderness and then you could drain them and saute them (in olive oil or other fat). Yes ok I memorized a book on cooking greens - the bitter is a basic problem with greens especially the really bitter ones, but shoudn't be if done right.

There's things that as a general principle are used for reducing the bitterness of greens (garlic, hot pepper, raisins - maybe not all at once) but I don't think it really eliminates the need to boil the really bitter greens. The most bitter like mustard probably need the most boiling. I suppose you could try roasting them also (and then there's always stew/soup/etc.).

[SteveinMN]

Collards are naturally more bitter than kale and turnip greens; mustard greens are (to my palate) even sharper-tasting than collards. And all of them are best cooked either for a few moments or for hours. :) I like collards, but I typically cook them as a "mess of greens" -- at least an hour with garlic and a ham hock or chunk of smoked turkey and some salt. If I can, I make half collards and half turnip greens. I serve them with hot sauce, too, which helps cover the bitterness a little. The greens come out quite soft -- not quite mush, but headed there -- but that's okay for me. If you don't like hot sauce, tomatoes might help cut the bitterness.

Things you can try include cutting out the rib, especially of big leaves, before cooking. You could try adding some minced garlic as you're cooking -- or serve it with garlic salt to sprinkle on it at table. I think roasting the collards will make collard chips out of them, which may not be bad (I love kale chips), but much harder to integrate in a dish.

Or skip collards and go for either turnip greens (if you can find them) or frozen collards, which might reduce the cooking time some.

[Rosemary]

For myself, I generally cook them with a little water for about 20 minutes. But when I'm cooking for the family, I have to blanch them first and then continue cooking with a little water. DH is highly sensitive to the component that gives cabbage-family greens that bitter flavor, and won't eat them unless they are blanched first. (But I use that blanching water to make soup, and he can't taste it in there.)

[mtnlaurel]

I can get a lot of flavor out of 1 piece of nice bacon.
Fry it in big pot to render grease. Take out bacon and cut into pieces to add back in later.
Add Greens to pot and saute down in bacon grease.
Add splashes apple cider vinegar & water for liquid to keep from burning. Hot sauce, salt, pepper for flavor.
Cook at mid-low heat until desired doneness.

I'm not a fan of pepper vinegar, but aren't greens the reason it was invented? :)
http://www.gourmetmealsforless.com/blog/2010/09/pepper-vinegar.html
I serve them with plain apple cider vinegar or white vinegar on the table to season to taste.

[SiouzQ.]

I saute the collard greens in a little water, and a little olive oil for about 15 minutes, then add raisins and mandarin oranges along with a little of the mandarin orange juice (low sugar content-type). I cook them just long enough to soften them up until they are tender. I even use the rib part. Sometimes I'll add a little finely cut red onion. A little coarsely ground cracked black pepper and it's to go. I have been known to eat the entire pan in one sitting, it's so good!

[mtnlaurel]

I saute the collard greens in a little water, and a little olive oil for about 15 minutes, then add raisins and mandarin oranges along with a little of the mandarin orange juice (low sugar content-type). I cook them just long enough to soften them up until they are tender. I even use the rib part. Sometimes I'll add a little finely cut red onion. A little coarsely ground cracked black pepper and it's to go. I have been known to eat the entire pan in one sitting, it's so good!

that sounds yummy!
I am the same way with greens and spinach too, there are times when I make them and my body just is in 7th heaven getting all that goodness into it

[Geila]

that sounds yummy!
I am the same way with greens and spinach too, there are times when I make them and my body just is in 7th heaven getting all that goodness into it

Yes, me too! Greens are packed with nutrients and I think our body just craves them.

Thanks for the tips everyone, they were all helpful. I just had a breakfast of eggs and leftover collards and it was delicious!

Last night I steamed my collards for 15 minutes, drained the juice into my soup pot, then drizzled the greens with evoo and sea salt, turned off the stove and left the pan on the burner for about five minutes. They came out good, no bitterness and still enough body left in them. I did remove the ribs and the leaves all looked pretty fresh and young. It might be that I've been buying bunches that were too old. Next time I'll try leaving the ribs on if the leaves look young to keep more of the fiber because this morning I found a small piece of rib in my breakfast and it wasn't very bitter.

I did notice that the olive oil made a big difference - I was quite generous this time. That must be why so many people use bacon.

[puglogic]

I saute the collard greens in a little water, and a little olive oil for about 15 minutes, then add raisins and mandarin oranges along with a little of the mandarin orange juice (low sugar content-type). I cook them just long enough to soften them up until they are tender. I even use the rib part. Sometimes I'll add a little finely cut red onion. A little coarsely ground cracked black pepper and it's to go. I have been known to eat the entire pan in one sitting, it's so good!

I think I just wet myself. (just kidding) This sounds amaaaaaaazing!!!!

I eat collards in lots of different ways but have never tried this. I'm all over it. I grow a mountain of collards every year, and blanch/freeze it for use year-round. Blanching briefly seems to take out a lot of the objectionable flavors that some people find in it (depending on their palate) We shred it and massage it with a lemon vinaigrette, put it in pasta sauces, and saute it with bacon. It has a lot of vitamin C and bioavailable calcium, unlike greens like spinach that have it all tied up with oxalate. I'm a huge fan. Did I mention that? :D

I JUST whirled a double handful of collards (raw/chopped) and a half a steamed sweet potato into a green smoothie with pineapple, banana, orange, and avocado. Makes me feel like a million bucks. And did I mention I've lost 8 pounds since the beginning of the month?

[treehugger]

watergoddess, that is cool that you found a way to cook collards that you like.

I have personally decided that they are my least favorite green. I tried and tried, but just don't care for them (love kale, chard, turnip greens, spinach). But if they arrive in the produce box, I put them into long-simmered soup with lots of other veggies (and a Parmesan rind) and then they are edible. But any other way of cooking leaves a bitterness that I just do not like. But that's OK. Lots of other vegetables I love. More important (in my personal philosophy) to have tried them a few ways, and then move onto to other things.

Radicchio is another one that I have tried several ways and just given up on. Not my thing.

Kara

[SteveinMN]

I did remove the ribs and the leaves all looked pretty fresh and young. It might be that I've been buying bunches that were too old. Next time I'll try leaving the ribs on if the leaves look young to keep more of the fiber because this morning I found a small piece of rib in my breakfast and it wasn't very bitter.
The ribs aren't bitter so much as they can be really tough and unpleasant to eat.

And some people maintain that collards taste better after a frost or two. I guess I have never tried inducing that myself (by tossing them in the freezer first), but it might be worth a try. Then again, freezing greens does not maintain any kind of crisp texture.

[larknm]

I too really value them for their nutrients--plus I'm from the south where collards with sweet potatos keep a lot of people going. I usually eat them steamed and mashed into steamed or baked sw potatos or in any kind of soup.

[mtnlaurel]

I came across this recipe today... it's for kale greens with pasta.
I haven't made it yet, but a nice little post about using slightly outdated produce....

http://jessthomson.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/how-to-defibrillate-dying-kale/

Simple Spaghetti with Kale, Lemon and Garlic (PDF) (http://jessthomson.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/kalelemongarlicspaghetti.pdf)
Made with a few sprigs of leftover kale, great olive oil, and a touch of spice, this simple lunch for one is quick and reasonably healthy. Double or quadruple the recipe as needed, piling the extra kale on top at the end.
TIME: 15 minutes
MAKES: 1 lunch
Spaghetti for one (a bundle about the diameter of a dime)
2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
5 sprigs lacinato kale (droopy kale is fine), very finely chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon wedge
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions.
When the pasta is almost done, heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the kale, red pepper flakes to taste, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 3 or 4 minutes, until the kale starts to get a bit crisp. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add drained pasta, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese, and stir to combine. Serve immediately.