Sautéed Collard Greens with Ham

Week five is the first week where everything I received was green. Strawberries, which were the only non-green item up until now, are done for the season. My take included more of the same: four heads of lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, collards, and now, two new additions: scallions and chard.  After another hour of back-breaking work, I also picked a quart of sugar snap peas and a quart of snow peas.  Scallions were in a choice group with radicchio (this means that from this group, I pick two items in any combination I choose). I chose two bunches of scallions and no radicchio. I’ll be honest: no matter how many times I’ve had radicchio, I’ve never liked it. Its bitter taste is just too overwhelming for me and I always push it to the side of the plate whenever it comes with my salad. At the same time, I love scallions and was sure I could make lots of interesting things with them.

I’ve received collards three times and three times, I’ve given them to my parents-in-law. It’s not that the collards are the red-headed step-child in my weekly take; it’s just that I never seem to get around to trying them and since my in-laws know what to do with them and I don’t, I figure they could enjoy them while I figure out whether kale is just a decoration or an edible food. Imagine how delighted I was to receive the collards back. In cooked form. They were sautéed with some honey ham. The flavor of cooked collards mixed with meat reminded me of my Russian childhood eating golubtzi, known as stuffed cabbage in English. Collards retain their deep green color and the flavor is a cross between grape leaves and cabbage.

Here, then, is my father-in-law’s recipe for collards with ham:

Sautéed Collards with Ham
(Print this recipe)

1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 lb. honey ham, diced
1 bunch collards, chopped
1 Tbsp. oil
Water

Heat oil in a pan and, when hot, sauté onion and garlic until softened. Add the ham and cover with water. Cook for approximately half an hour. Add the collards and cook until soft. Serve hot or at room temperature.