This simple dish is an excellent side to any meal, and in Brazil it often accompanies every-day dishes such as rice and beans. It’s packed with Vitamin K, Vitamin A, and many other nutrients. I obtained this recipe from my grandmother, Dona Eunice, who lives in Brazil. She’s from the state of Minas Gerais, known for its amazing cuisine. I had to eventually call her to get it right. Although it’s a simple recipe, the collards can easily turn bitter. The secret, according to Dona Eunice, is: (1) have the oil in the pan nice and hot and (2) sautée the greens only for a minute – what she calls to “startle” the greens (assustar em Portuguese). See the full recipe below.

One of my earliest childhood memories are the tall collard greens that grandma grows to this day in her São Paulo urban garden. I am glad I am now also able to harvest my own.

INGREDIENTS:

Bunch of Collard Greens

Onion to taste

Garlic to taste

Oil

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

(1) Harvest the greens. Here I used Georgia Collards. Collect leaves from the bottom up. Rinse and wash.

(2) Cut the greens. Arrange the leaves so the stems are aligned, then roll them up as shown in the pictures below. Cut into thin strips.

(3) Chop some onion finely. Here, I used about 1/4 of a red onion. One of grandma’s recipes for Collards calls for bacon at this stage. I think the lightly burned onions make for a fine vegetarian substitute.

(4) Prepare your garlic. Finely chopped garlic will do, but in Minas Gerais cuisine it’s normally crushed to a paste with mortar and pestle.

(5) Add some oil to a skillet and let it heat up.

(6) Sautée garlic and onions, mixing constantly until lightly brown. Remember that you need to get the oil nice and hot for the collards, without burning the garlic and onion, so pay close attention! You may try the process without garlic and onion, just hot oil and greens, to get the hang of it.

(7) Add collard greens and a pinch of salt. If you are making a large portion of greens, separate them out and sautée smaller portions at a time. The quantity depends on the size of your skillet and your ability to quickly mix the ingredients!

(8) Startle the greens. Mix the greens with the other ingredients and hot oil just enough for them to obtain a rich, glossy dark green appearance. You should hear lots of hissing.

(9) Remove from fire. Immediately empty the contents of the skillet onto a serving dish. If you leave the greens on the pan, they will continue to cook and possibly turn bitter.

(10) Serve it up with your favorite Brazilian combo! Here, we have white rice, black beans cooked with bay laurel leaves, toasted yucca flour (farinha de mandioca) and Brazilian cabbage slaw. Bom apetite!