Sunday dinner - grilled collard greens.

You read the title of this post correctly: grilled .... collard ... greens.  !!!!!

It all started as a red bean gumbo and evolved into a zany preparation that I had never even considered.  But let me back up a bit...

I was planning originally to make a red bean gumbo with collards, but yesterday in Sacramento the mercury topped out at 102 degrees.  That isn't gumbo weather!!  I foolishly tried to convince myself that it would work out okay, but then I got so attached to the wonderful cool air-conditioned climate that we had created in our house.  This weekend was a significant first in my independent adult life.  My husband and I ran the air conditioner for more than 24 hours straight.  That's right.  It was on during the day, we left it on at night, and then we left it on when we woke up the next morning and continued about our day.  I must tell you that this is our first home with central heat and air, and I also must tell you that this isn't swamp land.  The humidity here is normally negligible, so a strong fan or a window unit can keep you decently content most days, especially in a small space.  We moved into our house last September, and we dabbled a bit with the A/C at that time, but I'm fairly certain it didn't get this level of use.  Now, we aren't too wasteful - we keep it around 77 or 78 - and we turn it off whenever it's prudent.  But lord it is luxurious!

So ... I wavered from the gumbo.  It will be a delicious dish on another day, perhaps when we are enjoying a cold spell.  It was almost too hot to grill yesterday too; I certainly didn't want to stand in front of a hot grill, babying something that needed frequent flipping or basting.  I winged it a bit and decided to make a different collard side dish to accompany a tasty Bulgur Picnic Salad, from a now-defunct vegetarian magazine called Veggie Life.  This is one of my warm-weather favorites.  It requires only 10 minutes of actual cooking, and it's a hearty and easily adaptable grain salad.  If you've had tabbouleh, then you have had bulgur.  It's a Middle Eastern wheat product that has been parboiled and really just needs a quick boil or soak to cook it the rest of the way.  This particular salad welcomes various veggies - add anything you've got that sounds good.  The original recipe called for two ears of fresh corn, but I didn't have any on hand, so I added shredded carrots and French breakfast radishes to bulk it up a bit.

For the collards, I turned to "The Ethnic Vegetarian" by Angela Shelf Medearis.  This is a fascinating book that includes recipes with African roots.  Chapters represent the following cuisines: African, Afro-Caribbean, African and Native American, Creole and Cajun, Southern, and Modern African-American.  This is really a neat book and you should check it out if you are a vegetarian in search of a unique perspective and some soulful recipes.  I found the recipe for Grilled Collard Greens in the Modern African-American chapter, and it was easy as (deep dish) pie.  You season the collard greens with balsamic vinegar, cayenne, olive oil, salt, and pepper, spruce them up with some onion and red bell pepper, then toss it all on the grill inside a foil packet.  The greens steam and absorb the surrounding flavors.  I've never had anything quite like it!  This was a truly interesting dining experience, and one that I will certainly repeat.  Just fantastic.  I imagine you could do this with other greens, such as swiss chard, but the structure of the collards helped them stand up to the heat of the grill.

I also made granola again this weekend, and I had some today for breakfast with vanilla yogurt.  Divine!

Here are the recipes from our Sunday dinner.

Bulgur Picnic Salad
Adapted from Veggie Life magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (plus more to taste)
2 tablespoons mayo or miracle whip (plus more to taste if you like)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 15-oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (I used a big handful of shaved carrots)
8 French breakfast radishes or 4 regular radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
3 cups cold Seasoned Bulgur (recipe below)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mayo, and salt and pepper to taste.  Taste the dressing and if you want more acid, add additional vinegar.  Stir in the beans and let them sit for about 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the dressing.

Add the bell pepper, carrots, radishes, and parsley to the bowl and stir to combine.  Add the prepared bulgur and stir.  Taste the salad and see if you'd like to add additional vinegar, mayo, or salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature, garnishing each serving with some feta cheese.

Seasoned Soft Bulgur
2 cups veggie broth
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup bulgur

Combine the broth, onion, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add the bulgur, cover, and reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit, covered, for an additional 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork to incorporate the onion evenly.  Allow to cool to room temperature and use immediately or refrigerate until you are ready to use.


Grilled Collard Greens
Adapted from The Ethnic Vegetarian

1 bunch collard greens, washed, center rib removed, sliced into one-inch slices
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat the grill over medium heat.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring well.  Prepare four pieces of aluminum foil, each about 24 inches long.  You are going to make two foil packets.  Stack two pieces of aluminum foil and pile half the greens mixture (including some liquid) into the middle of the foil.  Fold the long sides up to meet one another in the middle and fold the foil over twice in 1/2 inch folds to seal.  Fold the short edges in toward the center and roll down in 1/2 inch folds to seal.  Repeat these steps with the remaining two pieces of foil and the rest of the greens mixture.

Place the packets on the grill and cook for 15 minutes.  Open one of the foil packets, using tongs and an oven mitt, to test for doneness.  You want your greens to retain some structure but be soft and and cooked through.

Sunday cooking - a fava appetizer & a collards dinner.

Sundays are great days for doing a little bit more in the kitchen.  You can lazily approach a multi-step dish, making components throughout the day as you go along.  I don't usually stray too far from home on Sundays.  This past Sunday was a serious day in my kitchen!  First up, braided lemon bread (soooo tasty).  Then, later in the day, we had an awesome snack while I prepared a more elaborate dinner: fava bean spread on toast!  Dinner: ricotta-stuffed collard greens with marinara!

 The fava bean spread was easy and inspired by the Italian flavors that pair so well with favas.  I also consulted an old Kim O'Donnel recipe to make sure I wasn't missing anything.  Her recipe involves lots of chopped hearty greens, such as arugula.  I didn't have them, but I didn't fret - I knew our puree would be excellent without them!  How could it not be, when there are fava beans to love.  You may recall that I have a slight obsession with the lovely fava.  See my prior fava post, including information on how to remove the favas from their pods (step 1) and also from their skins (step 2).

After we ate our fava snack and popped open a bottle of syrah, I got down to business with the collard greens.  This is a recipe that I have enjoyed before, and I stayed pretty true to it, with only a few modifications.  The texture of the collards is just perfect for stuffing.  They retain their structure in the oven, and they taste fresh and delicious.  I would highly recommend this recipe - even the sauce is a keeper!

Fava Puree
I used one small brown bag of favas in their pods, probably about 3/4 of a pound - I would recommend using even more, because 1 pound of fava pods will yield one cup or less of beans.  So take advantage of the favas while they are around! 

Remove the favas from their spongy outer pod.  Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the fava beans and cook for three to four minutes, then remove from the stove and plunge immediately in an ice water bath.  Drain and pop the beans from their skins (you can just use your fingers to pop them out).

Add the favas to a food processor and pulse a few times to make a chunky fava puree.  Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or more or less to taste), two to three tablespoons of finely shredded parmesan, a bit of lemon zest (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated), a couple squeezes of lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon), a bit of salt and plenty of pepper.  You can also add a couple leaves of fresh mint (I did not).

Spread on toast and enjoy!

Ricotta-and-Veggie-Stuffed Collard Greens with Marinara
Adapted from Gourmet, via Epicurious

Sauce:
1 cup chopped yellow onion (I used two small spring onions from the box)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons red wine (pick one you like to drink!)
28-oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used Muir Glen fire-roasted for extra oomph)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon herbes de provence or other mix of Italian-type herbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
dash of red pepper flakes (the kind you use on pizza)

Rolls:
1 bunch of large collard green leaves (at least 10 large leaves, plus extra for patching any holes)
7 oz. ricotta (use one with flavor!); about 1/2 a regular 15 oz. container
1/4 pound mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch dice (I used fresh mozzarella)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (rinsed in warm water and patted dry to thaw), or use fresh corn
4 green onions, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced

To make the sauce: Heat the butter over medium heat, and add the onion and cook until translucent and tender, about 8 minutes.  Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the remaining ingredients - tomatoes, sugar, herbs, and red pepper flakes, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Spread in the bottom of a baking dish (ceramic or glass, about 13x9 inches).

To make the rolls: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  While the sauce simmers, bring a large, deep pot of water to a boil (I used a stock pot).  Add the collard greens and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.  Remove with tongs and place in a bowl of cold water.  Spread out on a kitchen towel to dry.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, egg, bell pepper, corn, and green onions, plus salt and pepper to taste.  To make a roll, pat dry one large collard leaf.  Slice out the middle rib, cutting about 1/3 of the way into the leaf.  Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the top third of the leaf (opposite of the stem end).  To roll, pull the top part of the leaf up and over the filling, then tuck the sides in and roll up the rest of the way (like rolling a mini burrito).  Place the roll in the baking dish, on top of the sauce.  Roll the remainder of the leaves in the same manner, using any smaller leaves to patch any holes or tears.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the sauce is hot and bubbling and the rolls are hot all the way through.  Serve with rice or another grain,with sauce spooned over the rolls.