The deep, layered flavor of cooked greens is the best surprise to its original bitterness. I have known some female friends who have brought tears to my eyes, describing the number of generations it took to perfect their recipes. Chef, what're you saying? Collard, mustard, and turnip are the most bitter and fibrous greens. Well, think again!
Here are some tips:
For best results, I recommend taking time and nursing your greens from start to finish. First, clean them well since they can carry dirt and insects, pull the stems. I have found it's a process of flavor: first layer them with aromatics, then seasoning, and the all-time flavor bomb—usually pig fat, a smoked part of a pig, and even sometimes turkey wings. I like to use a large pot and make them with water or stock if you want to get fancy, and most of all, layer those flavors with a lot of time. Yum! Now, they're ready. Add some sweet cornbread to bounce off the flavors of your greens. Enjoy a bowl of them with pot liquor—the sauce left behind in the pot— and a fat slice of cornbread, or at a fish fry with hushpuppies. Yu-hum!
When on a budget …
Give greens a shot and get creative by adding peppers or different spices with/without a smoked protein. Their benefits: they're filling, they'll give you a break from overeating, and they're a hearty treat. Don't discard the pot liquor since it does carry the nutrients that have been expelled. Still too bitter, add some molasses to it, not too much since the liquid reduces the flavors intensify.
Did you happen to know?
Like Indigenous Peoples, the enslaved made use of the food available. They received meager cuts of protein from the main house to flavor their greens and starches. Their Johnny Cakes or corn pone, made from corn, were a learning opportunity for outsiders to use corn more effectively when times were tough on plantations. Depending on their location, they grew gardens and sometimes hunted at night, setting traps to capture their food, like crayfish or wild hog. Gumbo was the melting pot of many influences of African, Choctaw, French, and Spanish. The roux would be made with oil and flour, not butter and flour. Butter would be expensive, and oil was easy to purchase and cheap for that deep rich chocolate-like roux. It would be made for hours on low heat, and as generations past, when new cultures were brought to the gumbo, more ingredients were introduced. When Plymouth Rock hit them, they took what they could on them to the New World. That was okra seeds, okra had this secret ingredient that made the meal fuller. Okra, rice, chicken, sausage( from the Germans), and other proteins were introduced if it was around. Cajun style would have dark smoky roux and use blue crabs, crayfish, and sometimes alligator tail. Creole used tomatoes in theirs and was highly richer with the huge selection of seafood that was added, but fish stock was made to layer the delicious hearty gumbo. I've had both, and it is a delicacy. Try it when you do get to New Orleans, and some beignets.
Till the next blog, I hope you're getting hungry.