Notes from Brian – The best comfort food. Yes, it is lots of steps, but the results are excellent. It’s so good! Everyone loves when I serve it that it’s standing up and not on its side.

Collard Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

2 large russet potatoes, washed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1-1/ 2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 cup creamed collards (see recipe below)
10 turns of the black pepper mill
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/ 2 cup pickled collard stems (see recipe below)

Instructions

Note: 2 large russet potatoes should provide roughly 2 cups of cooked potato flesh. If it is significantly more or less, adjust the other ingredients to reflect the difference.
Preheat your oven to 400F.

Rub the outside of the potatoes with the olive oil and season them with 1 teaspoon salt. Roast the potatoes on a baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven for 1 hour. Let the potatoes cool just till you’re able to handle them. Their flesh will pass much more easily through the ricer if it’s warm.

Split the potatoes in half vertically [not the usual long way end-to-end, but across]. This is optional. You could split them in half through their equator, but you’ll turn more heads if you do it my way. Scoop out all but the 1/ 4 inch of potato that clings to the skin and pass it through a potato ricer or food mill. If you don’t have one of these you could improvise by mashing the potato with a fork, but do not by any means put that potato flesh in the food processor. You’ll make glue.

Stir together the riced potato flesh, warm creamed collards, the remaining 1/ 2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and crème fraîche. Mix well.

Stuff the potato skins with the filling and make sure it’s flush with the top of the skin. You’re going to sear the tops of these in a pan, so the filing cannot finish in a mound. At this point, you could refrigerate the stuffed potatoes for up to 2 days before searing and heating them through. If you did that, however, please bring them to room temperature beforehand or let them spend 5 more minutes in the oven than the recipe recommends.
To serve, preheat your oven to 400F. Melt the butter and oil over medium heat in a 12-inch cast-iron pan or skillet. Once the butter is foaming, add the potatoes flesh side down and cook for about 8 minutes. Turn one over and check its color. You want brown and crispy. If you’ve got that, flip the remaining potatoes over and slide the pan into your oven. Cook for 8 minutes more.

Sprinkle the potatoes with pickled collard stems and serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings.

Source: Vivian Howard

Creamed Collards

Ingredients

2 cups Stewed Collard Greens with Ham Hock (see recipe below)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup reserved pot liquor from the stewed collard greens
1/ 4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Cream the collards: In a 10-inch skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the pot liquor and whisk while it comes up to a boil and thickens. Stir in the collards and the cream, and heat through.

Yield: 3 cups.

Source: Vivian Howard

Stewed Collard Greens with Ham Hock

Ingredients

1 ham hock
4 to 6 ounces pork seasoning meat (salt pork)
7 cups water
1 medium yellow onion, diced
10 turns of the black pepper mill
1/ 2 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 pounds or 1 whole head collards, large stems removed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)

Instructions

In a 6 to 8 quart Dutch oven or pot, combine the ham hock, pork, water, onion, black pepper, and chili flakes. Cover. Bring it up to a boil and cook covered for 30 minutes. Add the collards. Lower the heat to a heavy simmer. Cover and cook for an hour and a half. Take the lid off and test the greens for doneness. They should have taken on some of the porky goodness from the broth and have a silky soft texture.

Scoop the greens into a bowl leaving the pot liquor behind. Discard the seasoning meat, but pick the smoked morsels from the hock and add it to the greens. Using a collard chopper or a knife, roughly chop the greens and the meat together. You can go as far as you like here, but I prefer a little texture. Stir in up to 1 tablespoon sugar if you deem it necessary. Finally, skim the shine off the top of the pot liquor and stir it in.

Serve the greens warm with hot sauce or hot pepper vinegar, and by all means, drink the pot liquor.

Yield: 4 servings.

Source: Vivian Howard

Pickled Collard Stems

Ingredients

1/ 2 cup cider vinegar
1/ 2 cup water
1/ 4 cup granulated sugar
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/ 4 teaspoon salt
1 cup collard stems, trimmed of leaves and cut into 1/ 4-inch rounds

Instructions

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, chili flakes, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring it up to a boil and add the stems. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. You can eat these right away, but they’ll be better the next day. The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

Yield: 1 cup.

Source: Vivian Howard