Braised Collard Greens

Ingredients

• 3 bunchs Collard greens, stemmed, sliced into ribbons
• 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Yellow onion, sliced
• 5 cloves Garlic, sliced
• 1 ½ tsp Smoked paprika
• ½ tsp Red pepper flakes
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Molasses
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Method

1. Cook the onion in the oil over medium for 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, paprika and pepper flakes for 1 minute.
2. Add the collards a few handfuls at a time, letting each batch wilt before the next goes in.
3. Pour in the broth, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, the molasses and the salt. Cover and simmer very gently for 45-60 minutes. Collards are tough and they want the time — this is not a quick sauté vegetable.
4. Finish with the last tablespoon of vinegar off the heat. Serve with some of the pot liquor spooned over, and cornbread for dipping.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Molasses and vinegar together. Sweet and sour is what keeps a pot of long-cooked greens from being flat.

🧒 For the kids

Cut a smaller portion with a lot of the sweet pot liquor and some cornbread crumbled in. That is how most Southern children first meet collards.

🌿 From the garden

Collards are the easiest winter crop in zone 6a. They survive hard frost and get sweeter for it — pick from October into January.

🥡 Leftovers

Improves for three days. Keeps 5.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.