Collards, Potatoes, and Tomatoes v.1 (Sauté of Collards and Crispy Potato Coins with Tomato Vinaigrette)

This has v.1 appended to it because when I came up with this I wrestled with the idea of cooking the tomatoes first as a base for the potatoes and collards, or doing it like this, where the greens and spuds are cooked, and then dressed with a cold dressing of tomatoes, garlic, onions, and oil and vinegar. In the end, I did both as I am always fascinated how the same ingredients can be put together in different ways to yield “the same but different” results.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch collards, stemmed and cut into 3/16^ths of an inch (fettuccini) wide strips, washed and drained

1 pound waxy potatoes (such as new red), washed and cut into ¼ inch thick coins

3 medium tomatoes, or a mix of tomatoes to equal around 1½ cups, seeded, liquid reserved, cut into ¼ inch (or a little bigger) dice with a really sharp knife

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ small white or brown onion cut into fine dice

1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano, finely chopped

¾ cup light flavored olive oil + more as needed for cooking

¼ cup red wine vinegar*+ more as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Make the tomato vinaigrette; in a large non-reactive bowl, add the onion and garlic, some salt and pepper, half the herbs, and the reserved tomato liquid. Stir together with a fork, then add the vinegar. Allow flavors to marry 5 minutes. In a slow steady stream, whisk in the oil until the dressing is emulsified. Add in the tomatoes and gently fold them all together to distribute the dressing all over the tomatoes. Transfer to a refrigerator to chill. Just before using, be sure to taste some to see if it needs more salt and pepper as the tomatoes will lose some juices and might water down those components. The salt helps spark the sweet and acid components of the dressing on the tongue, which act as foils to the earthy greens and potatoes.

Bring a pot of water that is at least half again as large as the volume of potatoes to a boil. Salt it liberally and return to the boil. When boiling, add the potatoes to the water and cook just until the potatoes are barely done and just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Heat a large pan (try to use one large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer) over medium heat. When hot, coat the pan bottom generously with oil and heat the oil until you see the surface shivering. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are crisp on the bottom, then turn to crisp the other side. This should take around 10-15 minutes total.

When the potatoes are crisped, push them to the perimeter of the pan. If the pan floor is dry, film with a little oil. Add half the collards and turn in the oil to coat. Spread out and cook until they begin to wilt. Make a well in the center of the greens in the pan and add the rest, adding oil if needed. Use as little oil as you can get away with. Mix all the vegetables together and continue cooking just until the collards are done. They should be tender/no longer raw, and the potatoes are hot through.

Remove from the heat, and remove the tomato vinaigrette from the refrigerator. Put the greens/potatoes into a serving dish and add half the tomato dressing and gently fold together. Spread out and top with the rest of the dressing. You can also put piles of potato/greens mixture on each plate and mound the dressing on top of each serving. Serve right away.

Chef’s Notes: *Depending on what you are having this dish with and the acidity of the tomatoes, you could use white wine or white balsamic vinegar. Also, try to find vinegars with lower acidity. Serve this as a side or as a starter with cornbread. For a light meal, serve with cranberry or other shelling beans, and maybe some ham biscuits.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen