Caramelized Red Onion And Fennel Vegan Braised Greens
Layers of flavor add depth and nuance to deceptively simple vegan greens. Most recipes for greens start with some sort of smoked meat but you'll never miss it I swear. This easy and versatile recipe works with any kind of greens and can be a side dish or combined with heirloom beans or grains as a vegan main dish, or throw it on toast and top with an egg. I love it on top of the smoky Longhouse Hominy Grits from Corn Mafia. Whenever I serve these greens I get requests for the recipe so here it is!
Choosing Greens
You can use any greens you like and mix and match but be aware of the cooking times of various greens if you are mixing. Collard Greens take the longest to cook so put those in first, followed by kale and mustard greens. Chard and spinach are more delicate and cook up so fast you'll do them at the end. Chard provides wonderful color in addition to nutrition and flavor. I chop the stems up and saute them with the onions before adding the greens for additional nutrition and zero waste.
Longhouse Hominy Grits (aka polenta if you're from the North)
Don't let grits scare you, they're just polenta with a souther accent. These smoky, creamy hominy grits are the perfect bed for these braised greens to create a vegan main dish. This is one of my favorite meals to have in the winter when we are up to our necks in chard, kale and root vegetables but not much else. Mohawk chef, Dave Smoke McCluskey crafts hardwood ash washed hominy from heirloom corn in small batches and mills it to order to create his famous Longhouse Hominy Grits. The minute you open the bag the aroma will knock you over and you'll realize these are not like any grits you've ever had before. The Nixtamalization to make the hominy not only makes them more nutritious, it creates an amazing creamy texture and intense corn flavor with a whisper of smoke.
CARAMELIZING THE ONIONS
Time, olive oil and heat will transform red onions into a jammy, umami filled deliciousness that is a backbone of the dish. Don't rush this step. You want to slice the onions about 1/4 inch thick so that they don't completely fall apart. I like to use red onions not only for the flavor but also for the color. Start with the chili flake and fennel in the bottom of the pan with a generous pour of olive oil. Heat them until fragrant and then add the onions. A low medium heat and a sprinkle of salt will work magic with a little time. You want them to get translucent first, if they start to brown quickly turn down the heat. You're looking for the sugars in the onion to develop rather than frying the onion in the oil. Keep it slow and low and stir them every once in a while until they are slightly browned and almost falling apart. Then it's time to add the greens.
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