Collard Greens

This Is Not A Pretty Picture……….

Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

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This Is Not A Pretty Picture……….just a darn tasty and satisfying dish 🙂
Just as any other food blogger who is making big efforts to produce a popular food blog, I usually strive to present my food as “pretty” as possible (Food Porn anybody?)
But, today I was not interested in that at all. Instead, I was rather hoping that the essence of this meal shines through to my readers, by showing it as natural as possible, emphasizing it as the great comfort food it actually was. This meal was so tasty and satisfying, additional “fru fru” would just have distracted from its simplicity and down to earth flavors and textures.
So, without further ado, here it is –

“Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo”
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more about Yuca (Cassava)
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Click here for more about Mojo
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Click here for more Turkey Leg on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for instruction on how to prepare Collard Greens on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for instructions how to prepare Yuca In Mojo
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Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: saute julienne of 1/2 medium size onion in 2 oz whole butter until translucent, add smoked turkey leg, add 1 qt water, cover, simmer until meat is tender but NOT falling apart

: transfer meat to collard greens (see recipe-link on this page), simmer another 20 minutes

: add 1 cup of the stock from cooking the turkey to 3 lbs cooked yuca (see recipe-link on this page)

: add 4 oz whole butter and 1 tsp chili flakes, simmer until liquid has evaporated

: add the mojo ingredients, simmer another minute

: Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

: Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

: Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

: Smoked Turkey Leg With Collard Greens And Yuca In Mojo

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Caldo Verde

Food memories ……..

Caldo Verde.
For me this recalls the time we were living in Madeira, Portugal. We were living and working in Porto Moniz, in a wonderful apartment overlooking the ocean, close to the center of Funchal, near the rock pool and a great restaurant which was in a rock cave just below our house and specialized in grilled sardines. During many evenings during the cooler months of the year, Maria and I went across the street to a simple restaurant/kiosk which was located right on the stony beach, just opposite the cave restaurant. While I forgot the name of the places, I remember clearly what we consumed most times: A bottle of ” Gatao Vinho Verde ” for me, a diet coke for Maria and two bowls of ” Caldo Verde ” for the both of us if we had dinner on the beach. Same beverages, accompanied by four orders of grilled sardines (one for Maria, three for me ) when we dined in the Cave. These simple dinners alway’s made a perfect ending to a busy day. Memories……. 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Kale, thoroughly washed, stems removed
Potatoes, medium diced
Chorizo, finely sliced
Stock, chicken, beef, pork, or vegetables
( I used leftover smoked pork stock I had in my freezer
from last weeks “Collard Greens” preparation )
Garlic, paste
Onions, diced
Black pepper, fresh ground
Kosher salt,
Maggi seasoning
Olive oil, to saute

Method :

Saute chorizo in oil until starting to brown.
Remove chorizo, reserve. Saute onions and garlic
until translucent, add potatoes and stock, simmer
until potatoes are soft. Mash potatoes or blend with a
stick blender. Add kale and most of the chorizo. Simmer
until kale is soft. Season soup with salt, pepper and maggi to taste.
To serve, sprinkle the rest of the chorizo on top for color.

Bom apetite ! A vida é boa !
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” Collard Greens & Smoked Neck Bones “

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We southerner’s sure love our greens .
(Southern Germany in my case, that’s why the
roast potatoes instead of the corn bread) 🙂

I cooked a great amount of pork so at the end there
was a good amount of potlikker left which I froze.
Next time I’ll go to the store I will buy kale to make
a great Caldo Verde with the leftover potlikker.

All about Collard Greens
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Ingredient’s :

Collard greens, each leaf washed individually,
– stem removed, cut into 2″ strips
Smoked pork neck bones,
Onions, sliced
Garlic, paste
Rendered pork fat, (schmalz)
– substitute with chicken or duck fat if you prefer
Kosher salt,
Black pepper, freshly ground
Maggi seasoning,
Scotch bonnet, for a little kick

Method :

Simmer smoked pork in lightly salted water until almost tender.
Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in your fat of choice until
onions are translucent and garlic fragrant. Add to the simmering
pork. When pork is almost tender, add the greens and seasoning
and cook until greens are tender. Depending on the season, this
can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
(I cooked those greens for two more hours and the pork and greens
were just perfect. Adjust the seasoning before you serve.
As I mentioned, traditionally in the american south you
would serve this with corn bread. However, around the world
different customs call for different sidings, from potatoes to rice
to just a hearty slice of bread to soak up the potlikker. You might
also want to try to sprinkle some parmigiano reggiano over the top,
which I did with my re-heated left overs. Another knock-out 🙂