Collards, Potatoes, and Tomatoes v.2 (Sauté of Collards and Crispy Potato Coins in a Tomato Sauce)

This has v.2 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, like this, or 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 ¾ inch chunks

3-4 medium tomatoes, or enough to equal around 1½-2 cups, seeded, liquid reserved, cut into ½ inch dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ medium white or brown onion cut into fine dice

1 tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano, finely chopped

1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped finely

Light flavored olive oil as needed

1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or as needed*

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Heat a large pan over medium heat. When hot, generously film with oil. When the oil surface is shivering, add the onions. Cook until translucent, then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, then add half the herbs, a dash of vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and any liquid from them. Toss to mix and lower the heat to low. Cook gently to render the tomatoes to a saucy consistency.

While the sauce is cooking down, bring a pot of water that is at least half again larger than 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 toss to coat evenly with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are crisp on the faces, turning as needed to get each surface. 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 and add the rest, adding oil if needed. Use as little oil as you can get away with. Drizzle collards with 1 tablespoon vinegar and mix into the greens. Mix all the vegetables together and continue cooking just until the collards are wilting.

Add the tomato sauce to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the herbs and stir in. Taste for balance; you may want to add more vinegar or salt. When flavors are to your liking, serve hot.

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.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen