I’m starting off the newsletter this week with a tip of my cap to all those that made it through Dry January and have arrived at… Wet February, I guess. I myself did not participate, having imbibed a scaled-back selection of martinis (Damp January, as they say), but to welcome everybody into the new month, I’m offering up a toast — an actual piece of toast, one that is suitably wet and, in a sense, liquored-up.
Bon Appetit would deem this recipe “crispy gone soggy,” an accurate, if odd, descriptor for the pleasures of crunchy bread soaked in a fortifying broth. In this case, the broth is pot liquor, or potlikker: the life-giving liquid byproduct of braised collard greens.
I like eating any sort of braised green vegetable over a thick slab of olive oil-fried bread — curly kale, lacinato, and so on — but there is something special about a slice of toast steeped in the collards’ pot liquor, along with the leaves themselves and a fried egg for good measure. The crunchy bronzed bits remain, while the bread’s untoasted side becomes pleasantly soppy and imbued with flavor.
Collards are a supermarket hero this time of year, when flashy produce is scant and you need something that will stand up to a long sentence in the Dutch oven. You can go the traditional ham-hock route, but I prefer to highlight the greens’ vegetal quality. Load up the chamber with various umami bombs — I always cook collards with caramelized tomato paste, lots of Worcestershire, and a touch of soy and fish sauce, lending them the slightest whiff of a steakhouse — and you’ll be very satisfied.
Braised Collar Greens Toast
Makes two servings
Ingredients
Two slices of sourdough bread, approx. 1 - 1.5 inches thick
1 bunch collard greens, leaves stripped from the stem and chopped into bite-size pieces; stems can also be chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed, plus extra garlic clove for bread
1/2 large Spanish onion, diced
1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Worcestershire sauce
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 small piece of Parmesan or pecorino rind (optional)
2 eggs (optional)
Instructions
Set a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, the onions, garlic, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Salt the aromatics. Cook until the onions have softened and tomato paste has caramelized, adding a small bit of water if things begin to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Stir to incorporate the tomato paste.
Add the collard greens to the pot and mix. Add just enough water for the greens to be nearly submerged. Add the parm rind and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the greens are a deep olive green and very tender, approx. 20-30 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar. Salt to taste. Remove the bay leaf and parm rind. Add more water if necessary. Remove from heat and keep covered.
Make the toast: fry one side of each slide of bread in olive oil until golden brown. Rub each slice with a garlic clove.
Add a ladle of greens into a shallow bowl, making sure to include a good amount of pot liquor. Set each slice of bread, untoasted side down, into the greens to soak up the liquor.
Fry each egg in olive oil to your desired consistency, and top each slice of bread with the egg.