Collard greens are a versatile vegetable.

Think about it: you serve them alongside fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and they’re “comfort food!” Serve them with tofu and brown rice, and it’s a meal fit for a macrobiotic. Granted, the former uses a lot more butter, but even the biggest health food hater will eat a big pile of these greens in a certain context.

For those of you who are feeding both hearty and healthy eaters, this is the perfect recipe. It’s a hybrid of all the soul food goodness of traditional Southern collard greens, combined with the healthiness of lightly sauteed ones. The chipotle peppers add such an incredible smokiness that you won’t even miss the ham hock, and I’m kind of obsessed with the shiitake bacon…despite being the biggest mushroom hater on the planet. This recipe was created for our Friday Night Dinner by a classmate who has become the collard green queen. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to eat them another way!

Smokey Collard Greens

Created by the members of CTP 203 at the Natural Gourmet Institute

Yield: 6-8 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
  • 3/4 pound onions, minced (about 2 medium onions)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 pounds (about 4 bunches) collard greens, stemmed and cut into 2″ squares
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 4 chipotle peppers, seeded (cut single slit down side to open)
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup shiitake bacon, finely chopped (recipe below)
Procedure:
  1. In large skillet, sweat onions in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add garlic, saute for about a minute.
  3. Add collard greens and saute until wilted, 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add vegetable stock, chipotle peppers and salt. Stir to infuse with chipotle flavor, about 1 minute.
  5. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until greens are tender. Toss occasionally.
  6. Remove chipotle peppers. Continue simmering uncovered until liquid has evaporated.
  7. Add shiitake bacon and toss to incorporate; serve immediately.

Shiitake Bacon

Created by members of CTP 203 at the Natural Gourmet Institute

Yield: about 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 pounds shiitake mushrooms, cut into thin strips
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Procedure
  1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
  2. Pour olive oil and salt over mushrooms and stir to incorporate.
  3. Spread in single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  4. Bake 25-30 minutes until dehydrated, but still pliable.

After our Friday Night Dinner, I ate three huge consecutive bowls of this stuff. Three. In a row. Even for me, eating that much green in one sitting is unheard of. (And then I proceeded to eat two tart crusts standing up, but that’s another story.) These are smokey, flavorful and would make a phenomenal side dish for just about any meal. Fried chicken to tofu.

What’s your favorite leafy green? How do you usually prepare it?