I know. This one sounds like a doozy — sauteed collards? What the what?! But, I promise…there’s a good reason why these are getting their very own post, and it goes by the name of Liquid Smoke. Tonight I tried cooking with it for the very first time. Do you guys know what this is? Prior to tonight, I had no idea, but a recipe I had my eye on called for it so I had to pick some up. Apparently, liquid smoke is exactly what it sounds like….smokey flavor, in liquid form. I picked up a bottle that was “Hickory” flavored (stuff was cheap too! Under 2 bucks), and used it to make these collard greens.
In short, I was blown away by their flavor. They tasted like I had made them over a camp fire (and let’s be real. Me? Camping? We know THAT didn’t happen) plus they are really, really easy to make. Totally delicious on their own, a good idea would be to pair them with portobello mushroom caps or a side of tempeh.
What You Need:
One bunch of collard greens, rinsed, leaves removed from stems, and shaken dry
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp (or more) soy sauce
5 garlic cloves (yep! that’s right. five), sliced thinly
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
What You Do:
Prepare the marinade in a small bowl: combine broth, soy sauce and liquid smoke. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sautee, being careful not to burn it. Slowly start adding in the greens, and using tongs, stir the greens around, flipping them over to get their fare share of the heat. Once all the greens are added, pour in the marinade and stir around, making sure all greens are covered.
After about 5 minutes, all/most of the liquid should be soaked up, the greens should have shrunk significantly, and they should be a dark green color. Taste a leaf, tender but with a bit of crunch still left in it? Good. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
What Stephanie Made 