Happy New Year! Don’t forget to make that big pot of black-eyed peas and greens today to double-down on luck for the upcoming months. To get you started, here is a beloved recipe for Collard Greens Agrodolce.
When you see the phrase agrodolce in a recipe, it refers to the Italian words ‘agro’ for sour, and ‘dolce’ for sweet. So basically you know whatever is involved is going to have sweet yet sour flavor components. Most often times a combination of vinegar and sugar, I have taken this idea and applied it to hearty collard greens for an Italian-inspired side dish. Shredded collard greens are cooked down with an anchovy fillet, sliced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a touch of both sherry vinegar and cane sugar. For added sweetness, I like to finished a dish like this off with plump raisins and for crunch, some sliced almonds. Collard greens work very well here, but feel free to use chard, kale, spinach or even turnip greens.
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Collard Greens Agrodolce
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 anchovy fillet
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch of collard greens, stem ends removed, leaves thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup plump raisins
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Directions:
- In a Dutch oven or large straight-sided saute pan, heat the oil along with the anchovy fillet, garlic and red pepper flakes, over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes, or until the anchovy filet has melted.
- Add in the prepped greens, along with the salt, pepper and sugar. Saute for 5-7 minutes, or until the greens begin to wilt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the vinegar; cook an additional 3 minutes. Add in the raisins and almonds at this point; toss to combine.
- Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve warm with all of the pan juices.
Tagged: agro, agrodolce, almonds, anchovy fillet, braised greens, collard greens, collard greens agrodolce, crushed red pepper flakes, dolce, garlic, greens, Italian, Italy, sherry vinegar, sliced almonds, sugar, sweet and sour, vinegar
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