Pressure Cooker Ham Hocks and Collard Greens (Serves 1-2)

My local farmer does not raise pigs, but he has friends who do and he brought me ham hocks from a recent “shopping” trip. They came four to a bag and were frozen. I let them sit in the freezer for a month before I thought to use one to season a batch of collards. I did not realize until after I finished cooking that there was enough meat on that one ham hock to make a meal for me with the collards. A really good meal!

Prep Time and Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredient list:

1 big ham hock

2 bunches of collards (20-30 stems)

1 sweet yellow onion

Ghee or coconut oil

Cayenne pepper

Coriander powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Directions: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of ghee to pressure cooker over medium heat. Chop onion into bite-sized pieces. Add to pressure cooker and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Wash collards, cut leaves from stems, discard stems, and cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. Add one cup of water to pot. Add collards to pot and season with a generous dusting of salt and garlic powder. Add a dusting of cayenne pepper and coriander powder. Lay ham hock on top of collards. Lock top on pressure cooker. Increase heat to high. After achieving high pressure (may take 5-10 minutes), reduce heat to the lowest level consistent with maintaining high pressure. Cook under high pressure for 30 minutes. Turn off heat, allow pressure to come down naturally (about 10 minutes), and remove top. Stir everything in the pot well. Transfer pork and collards to plates. Enjoy!

Notes: I love my Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Top Pressure Cooker 7.4-Quart that I ordered from Amazon.com (check it out in my “Store.”) After reading a bunch of pressure cooker reviews, I decided to spend a little extra to get the one the New York Times described as the Mercedes-Benz of pressure cookers. Kuhn Rikon is a Swiss company. Pressure cookers are so popular in Switzerland that the average household has three!

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