One of my favorite dishes, Fried Liberian Collard Greens with its own twist from Liberia. Living in Houston, Texas I am always eager to enjoy the southern cooking and some collard greens, but the cooking style is very different from my native land of Liberia, but I still enjoy every bit of my collard greens.
Collard Greens are one of the major vegetable dishes of Liberian cuisine and is prepared with spicy flavors, tasty meat and seafood ingredients cooked in vegetable oil and served with some warm rice. Collard Greens is one of those dishes in Liberia that was served only on Sundays or for very special family gathering or celebration in my household. Many times, I went to old road market (in Liberia) as a little girl to purchased freshly harvested collard greens and other ingredients from market women to assist my mother with cooking early Sunday morning before attending church. Now being a mother myself and cooking this dish for my family brings joy to my heart and watching my husband and children eat up every spoon and grains of their fried Liberian collard greens with rice and asking for more…sums up the happiness of my heart.
Now let’s review some health benefits; collard greens are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, a rich source of vitamin K, and a good source of iron, vitamin B-6 and more. Collard greens are rich in potassium, which is important for regulating your heartbeat, helping your muscles contract, and balancing out the effect of salt on your body. Collard greens also have a low glycemic index rating, which means they won’t cause your blood sugar to spike after eating. People who have diabetes often turn to foods with a low glycemic index to help manage blood sugar levels more effectively.
All ingredients from this dish can be purchased from your local grocery store and for storage, placed in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to reheat and served. Let’s get in the kitchen and cook friends!
Liberian Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 2 packs Frozen cut collard greens/ 4 bundles of fresh cut greens
- 4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 Habanero peppers (substitute for cayenne pepper)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 tbsps. chicken flavor bouillon or Maggi cubes (2)
- 1 tbsp seasoned salt
- 2 tbsps tomatoes paste (optional)
- Water, add more as needed
- meat and seafood variety
Instructions
- For fresh cut collard greens, wash greens in a large bowl with water and salt (2-3x) and repeat until the water is clear. Add the leaves together into a tight bunch and cut into thin strips with knife or food processor (Watch my "cutting greens video tutorial on our YouTube Channel – Okra Pantry).
- For frozen cut collard greens, remove from package, placed in a large bowl and set aside.
- On high heat, cleanse all meat/seafood variety, add to pot with seasoning salt, black pepper, onions and water. Parboil for 25-30mins, then separate meat and broth. Clean out the pot and return it on the stove.
- On high heat, add vegetable oil to pot and add onions Maggi cubes and pepper to oil and stir evenly
- Lower heat and add fresh cut collard greens to pot and stir evenly.
- Add broth to greens for cooking, cover and allow greens to cooked until soften probably. If broth is less mix in some water. Cook until the broth is reduced, about 40-50 mins.
- Once broth dries up, add tomatoes paste for extra flavor (optional)
- Cook for 10 mins or less and add meat/seafood variety to the pot, stir and allow greens to simmer down for 5 mins.
- Turn off heat, Fried Liberian Collard Greens is ready for serving with warm bed of rice.
Video
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