A venerable side dish, collard greens good enough for top billing
The South may enjoy and cook collards to death, but we weren’t the first to bring them to the culinary stage. Collards have been eaten for thousands of years, and cultivated going as far back as ancient Greek civilization.
If you order “cooked greens,” you are likely getting some of the tough, slightly bitter leaves in your bowl. Paired with some turnip and mustard greens, cooked collards round out many a Southern meal.
“Collards” is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon term “coleworts” (or colewyrts), which means “cabbage plants.” As a “headless” relative of cabbage, collards produce large, thick oval leaves that don’t easily wilt and will survive for several days in your refrigerator. Age affects the texture, but not the flavor.
As a cooking ingredient, collard greens are very forgiving. Give them a quick sauté, or forget about them on the stove, and you probably won’t be able to tell the difference. Collards are easy to select (look for firm, dark green leaves) and cut (roll the leaves like a cigar to chop). The flavor is somewhere between cabbage and the sweetness of kale. And collards are packed to the gills with nutrients, yet are low in calories and fat.
The trouble with greens is the addition of fatty smoked meats. They bring down the health value, but, oh, those meats make the greens taste so good.
Available year-round, Collards can be found in whole leaf form packed in crushed ice (keeps the leaves from wilting) or chopped and bagged. Plus they are quietly present as a side dish at barbecue and white tablecloth restaurants alike.
Expect to get a great side of collards nearly everywhere in town, from Bob’s Barksdale Restaurant and the Four-Way Grill to Abysinnia and Hog & Hominy. Some have the noticeable tweak of vinegar, and some have a touch of fire, but all are worthy (and please don’t let the pot likker go to waste — drink it up).
As with other staple in- 1 Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large saucepan. 2 Blanch greens in boil- gredients that have traditionally been placed on the side, collards are finding a nice spotlight in the center of the plate. Lunchbox Eats adds them to its jicama vegetable slaw, which tops the fish tacos. And Get Fresh Memphis makes collard wraps which encase a savory nut filling or a tempeh and pico de gallo mixture.
It’s almost Spring. It’s a new year, and it’s time to spruce up a time-honored staple. Cook your collards in some orange juice with raisins (see recipe link be- low). Replace your St. Patrick’s day cabbage with a warm collard slaw. Go for a fine shred instead of big pieces. See if you like collards when they are still bright green from a short cooking time. Don’t let this Southern staple become an afterthought. Put your collards at center stage. Melissa Petersen is the editor of Edible Memphis, a magazine that celebrates the abundance of local food, season by season. Contact her at Melissa@ediblememphis.com.