Wednesday D8 FULL CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

D8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2004 THE STATE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA WWW.THESTATE.COM

BACK TO BASICS
Becoming a fast-food nation isn’t just bad for our health. It’s also causing us to lose our culinary memories. Soon, an
entire generation of Americans may grow into adulthood without the foggiest idea what to do with a fresh green bean.
In our monthly feature “Back to Basics,” we hope to preserve some of that knowledge by teaching you how to pick a
squash, bake a sweet potato or cook up a hearty pot of collards.

she said. The trick is to cook the greens

Cooking for greenhorns

There’s nothing tough about cooking collards, if you do it right
O YOU FIND YOURSELF intim-
What should we look for when buying
slowly over a medium heat. Keep an eye
on the moisture, adding more as needed,
but do not use too much water.
Tougher greens will need to be cooked
longer than more tender greens. A batch
of tender greens can be ready in about an
hour. Tougher greens will need about an
hour and a half.
Some cooks also add sugar to their
greens, but Mozie does not like sugar in
How are greens best prepared? What next? hers. Also, with tougher greens — those

D idated by the large bunches of

collards you see stacked up at
the grocery or roadside stands?
Unsure how to prepare them? And even
more unsure how to give them flavor dur-
collards?
Healthy greens should be nice and firm and
green. The leaves should not be withered.

When can greens be purchased?

Mozie prefers slicing hers into thin strips.
Using a serrated knife, she first cuts
the bottom stem from the greens. She then
places the stem in the middle of a stack
of cleaned leaves, which she rolls into a
After cutting the greens, Mozie fries a
couple of strips of breakfast bacon, cut
into small pieces, in a Dutch oven. (You
also may use neck bones, fatback, ham
hocks or pig tails, or simply simmer in
harvested before the first frost — a pinch
of baking soda can help with tenderness.

What should greens be served with?

Collards are particularly good with sweet
ing cooking? Collards are available throughout the year thick log and then slices into quarter-inch chicken stock.) potatoes and corn bread, fried chicken or
A descendant of the cabbage family, but are freshest from December through strips. Some people prefer to She tosses the greens into the pan with pork, macaroni and cheese and field peas.
collards are a hearty, healthy vegetable April and are always best after the first slice into larger strips. Ei- the bacon and adds just about a cup of They can even be served with pasta.
that Southerners always have thought frost. Summer col- ther will do. water. Many people use too much water,
should be served at the beginning of a new lards are not as What’s the difference among collards,
year to ensure wealth in the days ahead. tender as win- kale and mustard greens?
January is peak season for the green ter crops. Each is a variety of greens with a slightly
leaves, which possess large amounts of vi- (You also can different flavor. Collards are a variety of
tamins A, C and K, as well as folic acid, buy them in cabbage that doesn’t form a head;
beta-carotene, calcium and iron. bags, washed kale is a member of the cab-
We promise, it’s not as hard to cook and cut.) bage family with frilly
them as it may seem. You can buy greens leaves that come in dif-
washed and cut to make their preparation How do you ferent colors; mustard
as simple as pouring them into a pot and wash greens? greens are the dark
simmering with chicken broth. Mozie’s grand- green leaves of the
But with a few words of wisdom from mother taught mustard plant.
someone who has been cooking them for her to wash her They have a pun-
years, you can learn how to cook collards collards three gent mustard fla-
from scratch. times before vor. Mozie enjoys
This month, we asked Edna Mozie, 79, cooking. She mixing greens and
of Columbia to show us how to cut and rubs each leaf cooking them to-
prepare collard greens. She has been with warm water. If gether for a multi-
cooking delicious meals for her large Co- the leaves are partic- flavored dish.
lumbia family for years, including deli- ularly dirty, she washes
cious batches of collards. Here’s what she with a small amount — Allison Askins
taught us. of dish detergent.

Fresh collard greens with cornbread

CUTTING COLLARDS is a Southern tradition. Collards also
go well with sweet potatoes and fried chicken.
Here’s an easy way to cut
a batch of collard greens.

THE RECIPES: BASIC, INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED

BASIC: Fast and flavorful collards ADVANCED: Creamy pasta and greens
4 servings 6 servings
1 bag collards (washed before packaging) 1 one-pound bag washed and ready collard greens
2 cups chicken broth 6 or 8 slices of bacon, diced
¼ teaspoon salt and pepper 1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
■þAdd chicken broth, salt, ¼ teaspoon salt
pepper and oil to saucepan ¼ teaspoon black pepper
with half the greens. ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (hot)
■ Cover and cook for 10 2 cups whipping cream
minutes over medium 1 5-ounce package shredded Parmesan, divided
heat, allowing greens to 12 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
Stack three or four collard leaves on top cook down a bit. Add rest
of each other, aligning the center rib. of greens. ■þCook greens in water (may season to taste) for 10 to 15 minutes.
■ Stir well, cover and Drain and set aside.
cook an additional 20 to ■þCook bacon in large skillet or large saucepan until crisp.
30 minutes, depending on Remove and drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of
desired doneness. drippings in skillet.
— Adapted from Walter P. ■þSaute red bell peppers, onions and garlic in drippings until
Rawl and Sons tender. Add greens, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.
■þCook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER or until greens reach desired tenderness.
SERVING: Calories, 99.4; protein, 4.6
grams; carbohydrates, 4.7 grams; total fat, 5.5 ■þIn small saucepan, warm cream over medium heat. Add all but
grams; cholesterol, 2.5 milligrams; saturated fat, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and stir until melted.
1 gram; dietary fiber, 2.6 grams; sodium, 941.5 ■þToss cream and Parmesan mixture with
milligrams; sugar, 2.3 grams; vitamin A, 293.3 retinol pasta.
equivalents; vitamin C, 19.6 milligrams; calcium, 105
milligrams; iron, 0.5 milligram; alcohol, 0 grams ■þPut pasta mixture on plate and top
with greens mixture.
■þCrumble bacon over the top
and sprinkle with remaining
INTERMEDIATE: Fresh collard greens Parmesan.
■þServe immediately.
6 to 8 servings
— From Walter P. Rawl
Roll the leaves from the outer edge in 2-3 pounds of fresh collards, washed and cut into strips & Sons Inc.,
toward the thick part of the rib. 2 strips bacon or a small piece of fatback or ham hock www.rawlnet.com
1 cup water
NUTRITIONAL
¼ teaspoon salt and pepper INFORMATION PER
SERVING: Calories, 502;
■þFry small pieces of bacon or fatback in Dutch oven. protein, 18.7 grams;
■þAdd water, salt and pepper and greens. carbohydrates, 23.2 grams;
total fat, 36.2 grams;
■þSimmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes to an hour or cholesterol, 114.3 milligrams;
until tender. Keep an eye on water level, adding more if water saturated fat, 21.4 grams; dietary
cooks out before greens are tender. fiber, 3.1 grams; sodium, 710.5
milligrams; sugar, 4.2 grams;
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING: Calories, 82.5; protein, 2.8 grams; vitamin A, 543.9 retinol equivalents;
carbohydrates, 6.9 grams; total fat, 4.1 grams; cholesterol, 3.4 milligrams; saturated fat, 1.4 vitamin C, 38.5 milligrams; calcium,
grams; dietary fiber, 2.8 grams; sodium, 471.4 milligrams; sugar, 1.4 grams; vitamin A, 960.2 retinol 460.7 milligrams; iron, 1.6 milligrams;
equivalents; vitamin C, 28.8 milligrams; calcium, 138 milligrams; iron, 1 milligram; alcohol, 0 grams alcohol, 0 grams

With a sharp knife, slice the leaves across

the roll on each side of the rib. KNOW YOUR GREENS If you have an
item or dish
to suggest for
KALE consideration,
please write:
Curly leaf, Allison Askins,
non-heading
TIPS FROM cabbage.
P.O. Box 1333,
Columbia, SC
Use steamed,
THE EXPERTS stir fried,
29202,
or e-mail
in soups or in aaskins@
Edna Mozie: Be sure to buy mixed green
greens that are fresh and crisp, thestate.com.
salads. Comes
and slice them about ¼ inch in a variety of
thick. Next month:
colors (blues, KRT Valentine’s
KRT
greens and reds). Day desserts
Nathan McLaughlin, chef at The
Farmer’s Shed in Lexington: MUSTARD
Instead of salt, use a salt Adds peppery-
seasoning such as McCormick’s mustard flavor PHOTOGRAPHS BY
brand or Cavender’s. The herbs where it’s used. KIM KIM
in the seasoning intensify the Great for soups FOSTER-TOBIN/

flavor without oversalting. COLLARDS and salads.

THE STATE

“It’s got the salt flavor and an Large-leafed member of the cabbage
Mozie extra boost,” McLaughlin says. family. Almost always cooked, though
younger leaves can be used in salads.