Global Holiday Recipe: Mixed Greens

Holiday Feature

Mixed Greens

Serves 8
Cooking time: 2 hours

West Africans and African-Americans eat cooked greens in great quantities in dishes with meat and peppers. When I was a child my mother had her own garden from which we ate fresh greens almost every day in the summer. This recipe can be cooked with all the different greens listed or just some of them and it is still healthy and good. I usually mix turnips, mustards, and kale, but cook my collards alone. Fresh onions, tomatoes, and peppers are always on the table and we season to suit our individual tastes. Once in a while my mother added ham hocks, salt pork, and ham bones to the pot, making the greens really delicious. I cook with just one of the meats in my greens.

8 pounds mixed mustard, collard,
   kale, and turnip greens
2 large ham hocks or 2 pounds of meaty ham bones
   or 1/2 pound salt pork
12 cups water
Hot sauce, peppers, and onion slices
   (optional to satisfy individual tastes)

1. Put the meat in a large boiling pot and cover with boiling water and bring to a boil.

2. Pick through the greens and remove any brown leaves.

3. Wash the greens well and drain.

4. Cut or tear the greens into small pieces.

5. Place the greens in the pot with the meat and reduce; the heat to low.

6. Cook for about 2 hours, or until tender.

The Complete Kwanzaa:
Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest
by Dorothy Winbush Riley
Designed by Gloria Adelson/Lulu Graphics
$23.00 (hardback)
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0-06-01725-0
Recipe reprinted by permission.