COLLARD GREENS (VEGETARIAN)

Collard greens are a popular accompaniment in our house. My kids love them, so I make them reasonably often. These collards are vegetarian collard greens. Aren’t all collards technically vegetarian? I mean, they are a vegetable. Well, they are often stewed in meat, such as smoked turkey or ham hocks. This imparts a lot of flavor on the greens. Well, these greens instead get their flavor from smoked paprika, brown sugar, and liquid smoke, among other ingredients. No meat required to flavor these greens! Plus, these are made in a pressure cooker in only 20 minutes! Quick and delicious! The collards end up with a nice sweet and smoky flavor. The flavor of the greens is so good that my daughter even drinks the pot liquor straight!

Ingredients
2 bunches collard greens
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp liquid smoke
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
2-3 cups vegetable broth

We need to prep the collard greens for stewing. First, the stem must be removed from each leaf. The easiest way to do this is to fold the leaf along the spine of the stem and run a knife along the length of the stem. Once the stems are removed, stack a bunch of leaves together and roll them up tightly. Slice the roll into roughly 1 to 1 ½ inch slices.

Fill a sink with a few inches of water and then rinse the sliced leaves in the water. Remove the leaves from the water after a few minutes and allow them to drain in a colander.

Place a pressure cooker over medium heat. Once heated, add the olive oil and coat the bottom. Add in the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute, until fragrant. At this point add the brown sugar, smoked paprika, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke. Stir the contents of the pressure cooker together and allow to cook for about a minute to allow the sugar to dissolve and the spices to become fragrant. Add in one cup of the vegetable broth and stir to fully incorporate the ingredients in the pot with the broth to begin to create the pot liquor. 

Add in the collard greens followed by the salt and pepper. Toss the greens to coat with the salt, pepper, and pot liquor. Add in the remaining one to two cups of broth, depending on the volume of the greens in the pot. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock it into place. Set your pressure cooker dial to the high setting, and turn the heat on the stove up to high.

Allow the pressure cooker to continue on high heat until steam begins to rise out of the pressure cooker and it has fully pressurized. Turn the heat down to low and allow the greens to cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat, turn the pressure dial to zero, and allow the pressure cooker to depressurize. Once the lock releases, remove the lid, the collard greens are ready to serve.