Collard greens (Brassica oleracea) are loose-left like kale and spinach. You can eat them raw, while they are better when cooked.
This is my preferred way of cooking them. Simply heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the sliced bacon first, until it is crispy. Then remove it from the heat and crumble it before putting it back in the pan.
Next add the kale and cover it with chicken stock, adding red pepper flakes and seasoning. Simmer for about 45 minutes or less, until the greens are tender.If you want to cook the greens quickly, slice them into medium-sized pieces and add Add the greens to the pan and saute You can add a choice garlic and red pepper flakes to spice up a rather bland taste of the collard greens. Add the greens to the pan and saute them for about four minutes, or until they are bright green.
Be careful when removing the ham hooks for a southern-style dish. Use chicken stock and seasoning to enhance the flavors. It 's best to cook this dish over night. You need to remove all the fat from the hocks and of course, remove the bone from each hock .
Put the meat back into the slow cooker and add the greens, stirring them so that the meat and vegetables are combined well. You may want to reheat the mixture before serving this traditional Southern-style dish.
If you are vegetarian, stick with the garlic and red pepper flakes and, naturally the greens, but add chopped spring onions, and some other greens, such as kale, and turnip and mustard greens.These go very well together and some chopped tomatoes would To help you to enhance the flavor. To spice them up a little, you can add tamari, or the more usual soy sauce, smoked paprika (or a hot paprika), and seasoning.
As for minerals they have iron, manganese, and calcium, to name just a few. Why not cook some and giving your healthy a healthy treat?
