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Collards with Cornmeal Dumplings

Source of Recipe


From "Butter Beans to Blackberries: Harvest of the South"






List of Ingredients



• -- Greens --
  
• 3/4 lb. fresh collard greens
  
• 3-1/2 cups ham broth (recipe follows)
  
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  
• 1/4 cup diced lean country ham, or 1/2 cup diced ham
  
• .
  
• -- Dumplings --
  
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2/3 cup finely ground white cornmeal
  
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 Tbsp bacon grease
  
• 1/4 cup milk, plus more if needed
  






Instructions



1. Rinse the greens thoroughly. Remove and discard any stems. Slice the leaves into strips about 1/2-inch wide.
   
   
2. In a wide-mouthed pot with a lid, bring the greens, ham broth and salt to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium, cover, and cook the greens at a slow simmer for 35 minutes to 1 hour, until just tender.
   
   
3. While the greens are cooking, prepare the dumplings by mixing together the flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Using a fork or your fingers, lightly mix in the bacon grease. When well blended, add the milk and stir. The dough should be wet and firm, not runny. If you need more milk, add it a teaspoon at a time, being careful not to make the mixture soupy. When the dough holds together like playdough or clay, scoop it up by the tablespoonful. Very lightly pat each spoonful into a ball, and lay the balls on a plate. Cover the plate securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the greens are ready.
   
   
4. When the greens are just tender, add the ham to the pot and stir. The broth should come up high enough to cover the greens. If not, add boiling water until it does. Gently drop dumplings into the broth, leaving at least 1/4-inch of space around each. Cover, and turn the heat on low. Steam the dumplings for 20 minutes. (Don't take the lid off the pot while they cook.)
   
   
5. Divide the dumplings among 4 serving bowls, ladle the greens and broth over them, and serve immediately.
   
   Serves 4
   
   ---
   
   HAM BROTH
   
   "The preferred Southern seasoning for cooked vegetables is cured pork, a culinary choice first made for convenience (pigs were plentiful throughout the South and their cured meat products available year-round), but still popular because of its extraordinary complemetary flavor.
   
   "...I like to have homemade ham broth on hand, just as I do turkey and chicken broth. I make it in much the same way, using the bone and any leftover meat from a whole holiday ham. This is simmered for an hour or more in a stockpot filled with water to cover the bone, augmented by celery and onion. Then I remove the solids from the broth and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, it's easy to skim the fat, which has solidified on the top, and discard it. I then transfer the broth to individual plastic containers and freeze until needed.
   
   "...it's also possible to make a quick broth for a recipe on the spot, by simmering a small chunk of salt pork or white bacon for 30 minutes in the amount of water called for in the recipe, plus 1/4 cup."
   
   -- "Butter Beans to Blackberries: Harvest of the South" by Ronni Lundy