Presented by Mandisa Horn, Owner and Executive Chef
Horn O' Plenty
Bedford, PA
Yield: 4-6 servings
1 lb. whole collard greens or whole green kale leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ Tbsp. minced garlic
1 large potato, peeled, chopped and rinsed
1 quart vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 tsp. ground sausage seasoning, or substitute a mixture of 1/2 tsp. ground fennel, 1/2 tsp. coriander, and a pinch of allspice
Pinch of red pepper flakes
4 sundried tomatoes in olive oil, julienne
Salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
To prepare the greens, cut away the ribs and stalks from the leaves. Wash the leaves and stack them on top of each other in a few small piles. With a sharp knife, julienne the piles of leaves by slicing long thin strips so that you end up with thin ribbons. Set aside.
On medium heat in a heavy bottom pot, add the onions and a dash of oil from the sundried tomatoes. Sauté the onions stirring occasionally until they are translucent, then add the minced garlic and finish sautéing to cook the garlic, but don't burn. Add in the potatoes, a dash of salt, sausage seasoning, vegetable broth and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked and soft all the way through. Turn the heat down to low.
With an immersion blender, blend the ingredients in the pot until the potatoes are smoothed. You can also accomplish this by putting the potatoes into a blender and blending then adding back to the pot, or by simply using a potato masher and mashing the potatoes in the pot. Add the red pepper flakes and stir the pot. Add the julienne greens and cook for only a few minutes until the greens turn bright green. You may want to add a little more water or broth at this point to get a more brothy soup, according to your tastes. Turn off the heat.
To garnish the soup, finish with the sundried tomatoes strips, along with a dash of the flavored olive oil the tomatoes were in.