Green Cabbage Rose

You've got to love these collard greens. They keep going on and on. Makes me feel like I've got a green thumb (I don't). I clip all the leaves, except a cluster of small ones in the center, and the next thing you know, there is another head ready. It looks a bit like a cabbage rose.

I've found the fastest way to cook them by far (would you believe 30 seconds) is from Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby's Big Flavors of the Hot Sun, a terrific book with lots of good tropical and hot zone recipes. The trick is to heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat, til beginning to smoke. Then, quickly saute the shredded, washed and de-stemmed greens , throwing in some salt and pepper (I also throw in some minced garlic). You stir like crazy for 30 seconds until they have wilted a bit and turned a nice bright green. After removing from the heat, add the juice of a lime, and some hot sauce. Yoww!

Then, there is the slow cooked with ham hocks, Southern method. I'm usually short on time, when I figure out what to fix for dinner, but after watching Dave fix collards on his video, I did try the longer cook method. I especially liked how he took those stems off in record time.