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Stewed Greens and Ham Hocks

 

 


 

Cascading Kitchen Notes

Stewed Greens and Ham Hocks

In a large soup pot :

  •  In 4 Tb of olive oil, sauté until golden:
  • 1 large diced onion
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1-2 tsp dried hot pepper of your choice  (I used Aleppo peppers)

Add:

  • 4-5 quarts of cold water
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 4 cloves garlic-minced
  • 1 smoked ham hock

Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer.

Collect greens that need using. (collards, kale, chard, beet greens)

Chiffonade or ribbon cut and remove all stems.

Turn the stock up to boil and begin adding greens.

You’ll have to let them cook down between batches but they’ll eventually fit.

My soup pot held 2 bunches of collards, 1 bunch of beet greens, 2 bunches of kale-pull stems and chiffonade all greens

Cook for at least 3 hours.

Cool.

Strain and pick through greens removing bones and cartilage and fat.

I did this by adding a small amount to a tray, picking through the greens and then returning to a new soup pot.

Now you have a big pot of stewed greens and great pot liquor.

Lentils in Pot Liquor

Remove most of the greens and ham and set aside, leaving the liquid in the soup pot.

Taste the pot liquor to see if it needs salt or more hot pepper. Adjust seasoning.

Bring to a boil

Add

  • 1.5 cups of red lentils to the pot liquor and then reduce the heat to a simmer.

My goal was to cook off the liquid as the lentils absorbed the pot liquor.

Stir frequently.  Keep an eye on it and add more water if the lentils aren’t cooked by the time it has reduced to a thick stew. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Serve the stewed greens on top of the red lentils or as separate dishes.

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