Alabama Collard Green Pizza Recipes

MEAT AND COLLARDS PIZZA

Steps:

• Put an inverted baking sheet or pizza stone on the top rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay a sheet of parchment on another inverted baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal.
• Form the pizza dough into a large rectangle, about the size of the baking sheet, and put on top of the parchment. Cover the dough with the sliced onion and season with 1 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil. Slide the parchment onto the hot baking sheet. Bake until the dough is fully cooked and the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, the garlic, paprika and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until soft and they begin to caramelize, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and ground beef, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring, until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the collard greens, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water and cook until heated through. Season as needed.
• Spread the beef and collards evenly over the flatbread. Sprinkle with additional cheese, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon oil, and cut into squares or strips.

ALABAMA COLLARD GREEN PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stretch dough and press into an 8-inch pizza pan.
• In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and 1/2 cup marinara sauce.
• Coat the pizza dough with the mixture.
• Top with drained greens, ham hock meat, and bacon.
• Cover with cheese and remaining 1/4 cup marinara sauce.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
• Slice and serve warm.

COLLARD GREENS AND CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Make the stock: In a large heavy stockpot, bring 3 quarts water, the smoked meat, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and simmer, partially covered, until the flavors are well blended, about 2 hours.
• Remove the meat from the broth. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones (discard the skin, fat, and bones). Chop the meat and reserve for another use. (The meat can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.) Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the stock into a container. Refrigerate the stock until the fat floats to the top or skim the fat using a fat separator or spoon to use immediately. For chilled stock, use a slotted spoon to skim off the fat and discard. Pour out 6 cups stock to use; reserve the rest for another use in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
• Make the collards: In a medium saucepan, bring the 6 cups stock, the onion and garlic to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and simmer while preparing the greens.
• Thoroughly wash the collards and trim away the stems, if desired. Discard the stems or coarsely chop. Stack 2 or 3 leaves on a cutting board and roll tightly into a log. Slice the greens crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons. Place the greens and stems, if using, and the chiles in the broth and return to a simmer. Cook, covered, about 1 1/2 hours for very tender greens; you may cook them for less time if you have young greens or prefer greens with more chew. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• About half an hour before the collards are done, prepare the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Spoon out 1/2 cup of the potlikker from the collards and add to the butter. Remove from the heat and stir it into the dry ingredients, adding more potlikker 1 tablespoon at a time if needed for the dough to come together into a mass. Let stand 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use wet fingertips to shape the dough into 6 round dumplings.
• During the last 15 minutes of the collards' cooking time, carefully drop the cornmeal dumplings into the pot with the greens, making sure the dumplings are submerged in the potlikker. Cover the pot and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the greens and dumplings in bowls with plenty of potlikker.