Jamaica was right on time because this weather…suspect…that is all. I am keeping my cornrows in, my glowing tan skin moisturized and sitting in the sun, inside my sealed and heated apartment.
I have been meaning to share with you my happenstance making of vegan collard greens. Some of you might have caught it on my @SCHOPgirl Instagram story on Christmas Day as I was making do with what was available to use. The outcome had my family wanting to slap me in delight.
No, I am not vegan, but my brother Larry is and my fabulous sister-in-law, Pia, keeps him honest, even during the holiday season. The confines were no meat or meat byproduct and little or no oil to be used. I took a beat and began to forage for the plan.
Of course, it began with some beautiful organic collard greens Pia purchased and some vegan vegetable stock. There was onion, celery and garlic, but no bell pepper for the needed trinity. However, the night prior I made an awesome traditional potato salad (not for bro) using a savory relish. The bell pepper and vinegar in this would be an appropriate substitute.
SCHOP! Tip: When you are developing new versions of a favorite dish, break the recipe down to the studs—the flavors. What are the elements essential to the dish? For stewed collard greens it is smoke, spice and vinegar. As long as I can hit those notes, the greens will be as close as they can get to the original meat version.
So how do I get that smoked flavor? A smoked spice like paprika or chili powder. I used the latter but I also found a Peruvian barbecue spice that had all the three notes I needed, including the vinegar in the form of dehydrated granules. Jackpot!
Now I had all the players. I was ready to throw this down! My eldest handsome nephew, Alex, destemmed and washed the greens in the sink. I prefer to hand-tear greens to cutting them because I like the mouth feel.
In the smallest amount of olive oil known to mankind, poured by Pia, I sautéed a diced large onion and four stalks of celery until they were translucent. Then I added the seasonings plus salt and pepper and six cloves of chopped garlic and sautéed all just until all were incorporated and fragrant.
In went four cups of the vegan vegetable stock, two heaping soup spoons of the savory relish and some Frank’s Redhot, essential. Brought it to a boil, added the clean greens in batches. Reduced to a simmer, covered and let cook for 45 minutes.
As you always must, I gave a taste and reseasoned the greens as needed. To cut the bitterness of the greens and vinegar of the savory relish, I added a heaping spoon of sweet relish. Perfection!
Baaaabeee, you couldn’t tell me nothing. While they were for my brother, the rest of the non-vegan family went in for seconds…and thirds. I saw you Walker (my youngest handsome nephew).
Please do give these a try and check out the InstaStory highlight if you need the visual!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for more than 15 years. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @SCHOPgirl, on Facebook, /SCHOPnyc, and her blog, www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email AmNewsFOOD at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD and tag us with #SoAmNewsFOOD with your food finds!