Recipe: Incredible Cajun Greens

mustard greens Image by rachel is coconut&limevia Flickr

From Denny: OK, WOW! Now this is a dressed up greens recipe that men will happily eat in large quantities! There won't be any whining about eating vegetables at the table when you serve this outstanding recipe. Why? It has lots of meat in it in the form of smoked sausage as well as pork butt along with incredible seasonings.

Why eat greens? Are you kidding? Besides the fact they just taste good (Tabasco pepper white vinegar dabbled on it to tamp down the intensity), greens are stuffed full of the mineral calcium! If you can't drink milk or don't like it this is another way to get easily digestible calcium, fiber and B vitamins for your nervous system and liver. Give this recipe a try at your house!

R. L. Greens by R. L. Holmes

From: R.L.'s Greens - from R.L.'s Off the Square Cajun restaurant, 1113 Floyd St., Covington, Georgia, published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. R. L. Holmes is from Alexandria, Louisiana, almost northern Louisiana, far from New Orleans. The man can cook!

Hands on time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Serves: 16


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 pound pork butt, diced

Salt and pepper

1 pound smoked sausage, diced

1 pound bacon, diced

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced carrots

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 head cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch collard greens, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch mustard greens, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch turnip greens, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 quart chicken stock

1 ham hock

1/4 cup Tabasco sauce

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup meat seasoning (such as Chef Paul Prudhomme's Pork and Veal Magic Seasoning Blend)

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan or baking dish with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the diced pork butt, season with salt and pepper, and roast 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown. Add the sausage and cook an additional 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until meat is browned and sizzling.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside; drain off most of the grease but reserve about 1 tablespoon, leaving it in the skillet. Add the onions. Cook slowly over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are brown but not burned, about 30 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic and saute an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large stockpot, heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the cabbage, stir lightly and then cover the pot and cook about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent scorching. Add the collard, mustard and turnip greens and the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then add the pork butt and sausage, bacon, onion and carrot mixture, the ham hock, Tabasco sauce, vinegar, meat seasoning and brown sugar. Cover and cook about 45 minutes, until greens are tender and flavors are well-incorporated. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Notes:

The quantities in this recipe are reduced from the much larger batch that Holmes makes at his restaurant, so the proportions are just a bit off. If you want to reproduce his version exactly, increase the pork butt, smoked sausage and bacon to 1 1/4 pounds each. Holmes also makes his own meat seasoning, which can be purchased at the restaurant.

For simplicity's sake, this recipe uses store-bought chicken stock and a ham hock. The greens are well-seasoned with hot sauce and vinegar, so Martin always advises restaurant patrons to try them before they start dumping on the condiments.


Nutrition:

Per serving: 367 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 21 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 28 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 70 milligrams cholesterol, 1,338 milligrams sodium.