Collard Green Risotto And Pot Liquor Recipes

RISOTTO WITH WINTER SQUASH AND COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread on the baking sheet in an even layer. Place in the oven, and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until tender and caramelized. Remove from the heat.
• While the squash is roasting, blanch the collard greens. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the collard greens. Blanch for four minutes and transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Drain and squeeze out extra water. Chop coarsely, or cut in ribbons.
• Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan or a wide saucepan, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about three minutes, and add the garlic and about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender and the garlic fragrant, about one minute, and add the rice. Cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate.
• Stir in the wine, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The wine should bubble but not too quickly. When the wine has just about evaporated, add the collard greens, a third of the squash and the saffron. Stir in a ladleful or two of the simmering stock, enough to just cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion -- not too fast and not too slowly, adding more stock when the rice is almost dry -- until the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, 20 to 25 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Add the remaining roasted squash and another 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Stir in the Parmesan and parsley, and remove from the heat. Add freshly ground pepper, taste one last time and adjust salt. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it is not). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

COLLARD GREEN RISOTTO AND POT LIQUOR

Steps:

• MELT butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion, and saute 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.
• STIR in rice and garlic; saute 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add wine and bay leaves. Cook 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
• ADD 1 cup chicken broth, salt, pepper, and hot sauce; cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed.
• REPEAT procedure with remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time. (Cooking time is about 45 minutes.) Remove and discard bay leaves.
• HEAT oil in a Dutch oven; add bacon, and cook until crisp. Add onion, and saute 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute.
• STIR in collard greens, salt, and pepper; saute over medium heat 5 minutes or until greens wilt. Stir in chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook mixture 45 minutes or until greens are tender.
• POUR greens mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a container, reserving greens and pot liquor. Whisk molasses and butter into pot liquor.
• STIR greens into risotto.
• PLACE 1 cup collard green risotto in each of 6 bowls. Ladle pot liquor mixture evenly on top. Serve immediately.

BAKED RISOTTO WITH GREENS AND PEAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add rice, season with salt and pepper, and stir until coated in oil and lightly toasted, 2 minutes.
• Add kale, season with salt and pepper, and stir until wilted, 30 seconds. Add broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Cover and bake until almost all of the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in spinach and peas until spinach is wilted. Add Parmesan, butter and lemon juice, and stir until well blended and saucy. (Liquid will continue to absorb as risotto sits.) Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls and top with more Parmesan.

COLLARDS

Steps:

• Remove the tougher, woody stalks from the collard leaves. Smaller stems are okay. Wash the leaves and cut them into half-inch-wide strips. You can roll them into cigars to speed this up.
• Put the bacon in a stock pot on high head to render its grease, 3 or so minutes. Add the onion and cook until translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes more. Add the collards and cover with cool water. Add the red pepper, salt, and the ham bone. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 2 hours. There are many conflicting opinions on this. To my mind, collards were not made for quick cooking. Undercook collards and you are asking to be strangled; they can't be properly chewed. On the other hand, overcook them and they will eventually turn to mush. Two hours seems about right, although this might give nutritionists pause. Taste for salt.
• Even people who love collards complain about the way they make the house smell while cooking. People have different cures for this: Place four pecans in the pot. Cover the top of the collards with slices of white bread. None of this works.