Collard greens are the most common vegetable to come out of a Black Sea winter, and this soup is their best known form. The body comes not from flour or starch but from cornmeal, which also leaves a faintly sweet note behind it. Stripping out the thick central rib of the leaves is the only laborious part.
Ingredients
For the soup
For the top
Method
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Cook the beans
Throw away the soaking water and cook the beans in fresh water for 45 minutes until tender.
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Prepare the greens
Cut out the thick central rib of each leaf with a knife and chop the leaves roughly. The rib stays woody in the mouth.
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Fry the onion
Soften the onion in butter for 5 minutes.
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Add the greens
Add the chopped leaves and cook for 5 minutes; the volume will drop noticeably.
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Combine
Add the cooked beans with their liquid and boil for 15 minutes.
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Add the cornmeal
Slake the cornmeal in a little cold water and whisk it in; do not tip it in dry. Cook for 10 minutes more.
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Finish
Add the salt. Melt the butter separately with the pepper flakes and drizzle it over the soup.
Tips
- Never add the cornmeal dry, always slake it in cold water first. Dry cornmeal lumps in the pan and will not disperse.
- Collard greens are a deep winter vegetable; those that have had a frost on them are sweeter, while an early harvest stays bitter.
- Cornbread is the classic thing to serve alongside, and wheat bread does not taste the same with it.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.