Ethiopian braised collard greens are your next Thanksgiving side dish

“Ethiopian cuisine deserves more recognition,” says author and chef Beejhy Barhany in her cookbook “Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem, and Beyond” (Knopf, 2025). Barhany further explains that no matter where she’s lived, she’s always been able to cook Ethiopian food, and wants to make it as accessible to others as it was where she was born, in Tigray, Ethiopia.

After her family joined in a secret exodus to Sudan to escape the Dergue military junta, they eventually moved to Israel, and then to Harlem, where she became a chef. There, she opened Tsion Cafe, offering dishes inspired by her life experience and family recipes. “Gursha” is the first major cookbook to share Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) cuisine.

Along with other dishes like potato gratin, sweet potato casserole and cranberry orange pastries, add these Ethiopian collard greens to your Thanksgiving table.

The origin of collard greens

Southern-style collard greens came from enslaved Africans who adapted their native recipes to what was available — usually simmered for a long time with scraps of meat like ham hocks. The rich broth from the cooked greens, called potlikker, was either drunk or sopped up with cornbread to get all the nutrients.

How to prepare collard greens

These leafy vegetables usually have a lot of sand and grit, so fully submerge them in cold water and agitate until the dirt falls to the bottom. Drain the water, then fill it up again and repeat the process until you don’t see any dirt remaining on the greens.

Remove the stems, as they are very tough and fibrous. Stems also make your dish taste very bitter.

The leaves should be cut into thin ribbons. To do this efficiently, Barhany recommends you roll the leaves into cylinders and finely chop them crosswise.

Jalapeno adds a slight kick to your collards

Barhany adds jalapeno to her collard greens, which adds some spice.

To prep, wear food-safe gloves as the capsaicin oils can burn your skin (And avoid touching your eyes!). Using a knife, remove the stem, then cut the jalapeno lengthwise into four long pieces. If you want a milder heat, scrape the white membrane off the inside of the pepper; this is where most of the spice resides.

If you don’t want any spice, feel free to omit the jalapeno.

Gomen/hamli (braised Ethiopian collard greens) recipe

“Gomen makes me think of my grandmother. She used to grow a very soft, delicate type of wild greens in Ethiopia, and was delighted to find a similar green while foraging after we settled in Israel,” Barhany writes in her cookbook. “This dish of mellow greens is a traditional accompaniment to Doro Wot, the collards providing a nice foil for the rich, spicy stew. Collard greens are also a common dish among non-Ethiopian Jewish cooks and are typically accessible and inexpensive.”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 pounds collard greens, washed, stems removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
• 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 jalapeno, stem removed, then cut into 4 strips lengthwise

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the collard greens, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the greens are dark green and tender, about 30 minutes. If greens start to scorch, add water, a few tablespoons at a time.
3. Taste and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Stir in the nutmeg and the jalapeno slices.