Smoky Collard Greens and Cornmeal Dumplings

Ingredients

2 ham hocks or smoked turkey wings smoked

2 medium onions

4 celery stalks including leaves, halved

2 carrots trimmed and quartered

2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed

0.5 teaspoon teaspoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1.5 quart quarts Smoky Soul Stock

0.5 cup onion chopped

1 garlic clove minced

1 pound pound collard greens

2 small dried red chile peppers or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

0.75 teaspoon salt

Black pepper

0.5 cup all-purpose flour

1.5 cup cornmeal coarsely ground

1 teaspoon teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon teaspoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoon tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt, to taste

Equipment

large heavy stockpot

fine-mesh sieve

slotted spoon

saucepan

cutting board

Directions

In a large heavy stockpot, bring 3 quarts water, the smoked meat, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, until the flavors are well-blended, about 2 hours. The broth develops a stronger flavor the longer you let it simmer.

Remove the meat from the broth. When cool enough to handle, pull it off the bones (discard the skin, fat, and bones). Chop the meat and reserve for another use. Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the stock. Refrigerate the stock until the fat floats to the top. Use a slotted spoon to skim off the fat and discard. Store the stock tightly covered in the fridge or freezer.

In a saucepan, bring the stock, onion, and garlic to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer while preparing the greens.

Thoroughly wash the greens and trim away the stems, if desired. Discard the stems or chop small. Stack 2 or 3 leaves on a cutting board and roll tightly into a log. Slice the greens crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons. Place the greens and the chiles in the broth and return to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours for very tender greens; you may cook them for less if you have young greens or prefer greens with more chew. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Spoon out about 1 cup of the potlikker (the cooking broth) and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the reserved potlikker, and heat to just below boiling. Remove the potlikker mixture from the heat and whisk half of it (1/2 cup) it into the dry ingredients, and more if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time. Let stand 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use wet fingertips (or in my case, a big scoop) to shape the dough into 6 dumplings.

During the last 15 minutes of the collards’ cooking time, carefully drop the cornmeal dumplings into the pot with the greens, making sure the dumplings rest in the potlikker. Cover the pot and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve the greens and dumplings in bowls with plenty of potlikker.