I mean no disrespect to your mother. Or your grandmother. Or whoever created your family’s collard greens recipe. That recipe is your heritage and should be enjoyed on Sundays and holidays like the sacred dish it is. But what if you crave greens on a crazy-busy Tuesday night, when there’s barely time for dinner, let alone a slowly braised one? Friends, let me introduce you to my easy peasy Leeky Collard Greens Soup. Like your favorite recipe, it’s chock full of fiber and vitamins A and C. Unlike the traditional recipes, there’s zero added fat, and it’s ready in 30 minutes (or less if you do the chopping in advance.)
Start with a bunch of collard greens. I stack several of the leaves on top of each other, then fold them in half lengthwise and cut away the thick stem with a swoop of the knife tip. Then it’s easy to roll the stack lengthwise, like a cigar, and slice the greens horizontally into very thin pieces. Repeat with the remaining greens. This is the chiffonade cut, which makes a pile of collard green ribbons that are both beautiful and quick to cook.
While traditional greens recipes call for onion, I like the milder taste of leeks in this soup. Prepare the leek by removing the fuzzy roots at one end and the dark green leaves at the other. Then horizontally slice the leek into thin circles. Place them in a colander and rinse well, breaking up the disks into rings with your fingers, to remove any grit that’s clinging to them.
Here’s the best part. We don’t saute the leeks and greens, which means we don’t add any fat (or pork) to the recipe. Instead, we simply simmer the veggies with a bay leaf in two quarts of chicken broth for 20-ish minutes. Add a splash of lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar, if you want to pay homage to the traditional preparation) to brighten the deep, earthy flavor notes. Five ingredients — that’s it!
Since the recipe contains so few ingredients, do your best to find high-quality ones. Your greens should be bright and crisp, not yellowed and wilting. Look for a firm leek, whose roots are not browned and mushy. Fresh bay leaves impart more herbal flavor than their dried counterparts. The chicken broth is a big flavor influencer; use homemade broth if you happen to keep a supply in the freezer. If you prefer to grab a box off the shelf, look for a broth that’s labeled low in sodium. Without all of that pesky added salt, your ingredients’ natural flavors shine. If you’re cooking for a vegetarian or vegan, it’s a simple swap to substitute veggie broth for the chicken version.
Once your soup is prepared, you have a choice in how to present it. You can leave the soup as-is, with the gorgeous greens looking like happy gluten-free noodles in the chicken broth. Or, if you have an extra minute, give your soup a whirl in the blender. Blending the soup makes the texture less brothy and more creamy, even though there’s no dairy in the dish. Blending is also a good choice if you’re cooking for children (or adults with the palates of children) who don’t like obvious vegetables. Just be sure to let the soup cool to room temperature before throwing it into your Vitamix, otherwise the hot steam could make the lid pop off. And there’s nothing weeknight-easy about cleaning soup off the kitchen ceiling. Although, admittedly, that would be a story passed on for generations, like your other favorite greens recipe.
Leeky Collard Greens Soup
1 medium leek, ends trimmed, sliced into disks and rinsed (5¾ ounces)
1 bunch collard greens, leaves only, thinly sliced (4 cups loosely packed)
1 fresh bay leaf
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Place the first four ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 20-25 minutes or until the greens are tender. Remove the bay leaf. Finish with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Taste and add a second teaspoon if desired. Serve immediately, or allow to come to room temperature and blend in a blender until smooth. Serves 6.
Per serving: 66 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 7 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 616 milligrams sodium.
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