This was literally something I threw together. I got a bunch of collards in my farm share, and while I think I’ve eaten them before, I had no idea exactly how to go about making them delicious. I tried Googling things, but everything was either super complicated and involved fancy schmancy ingredients, or boiling the poor greens….and in my experience vegetables + boiling = bleh. Thus, here is my easy take on them based on what was in my kitchen! I’m sure they are far from “Southern Style”, but they were yummy!
WTF are Collards?!: Easy Collards with Potatoes and Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 bunch collards rinsed and cut into manageable pieces
- 1 medium red potato cut into squarish pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced or chopped small
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance/oil/margarine etc. (the EB adds a nice flavor though)
- 1/3 block tofu cut into triangles or anything really
- 1-2 tbsp. canola/veg oil for tofu
- a handful of raisins
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Agave/Maple syrup mixture or 1 tbsp. maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the collards, shake of excess water and place on cutting board. I just took a big knife and shopped them perpendicular to the stem, until the stem got too big, then I ripped the remaining leaves from the stem (this is just so you don't get big chunks of stem in your dish a.k.a. same with kale). A little bit of stem in the middle is fine. Set aside.
- Chop potato.
- Put garlic and earth balance in a saucepan, add potato and turn on medium-low heat.
- Stir and add water (just to keep it from burning).
- Cover and let simmer until potatoes are soft, making sure not to let anything burn to a crisp (a.k.a. stir occasionally).
- While that's going, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and put in your tofu in one layer.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fry on medium heat.
- Once bottoms are browned, flip all the pieces over and sprinkle the other side with salt and pepper.
- Once done, put pieces on a plate and set aside.
- By this time your potatoes should be ready.
- Put all of the chopped collards in the sauce pan, along with a handful of raisins. Stir and cover.
- In 2-3 minutes, once collards are wilted and ready, add in the maple-agave syrup or regular maple syrup (I got the Maple Agave from Trader Joe's) and stir.
- Transfer to a plate/bowl and add your tofu.
- Eat!
I was skeptical of the maple addition, but goddamn, was it good! I particularly like the subtlety of the maple-agave, but I’m sure regular maple would work too if you use a little less.
What’s your favorite easy way to cook collards? Anyone have any non-traditional ways of incorporating them into meals?