Apple Cider Braised Greens Recipes

GREEN CABBAGE BRAISED IN CIDER WITH APPLES

Steps:

• Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Blanch cabbage until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat butter in a large straight-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, cider vinegar, apple cider, honey, salt, pepper, cloves, and allspice. Toss to coat. Cover, and simmer until very tender, about 40 minutes. While cabbage is cooking, core apples; cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Toss with lemon juice; set aside.
• Add apples and caraway seeds to pan; cook, uncovered, until apples begin to brown slightly, and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Serve.

BRAISED TURNIP GREENS WITH TURNIPS AND APPLES

Steps:

• Bring greens, ham hock, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a large heavy pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until greens are almost tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel apples and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Add turnips and apples to greens with vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook at a bare simmer, covered, stirring and turning ham hock occasionally, until turnips and apples are tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in butter and salt to taste.
• Remove ham hock and finely chop any tender meat, discarding skin, bone, and tough meat. Add chopped meat to pot.
• What to drink:
• Lagier Meredith Mount Veeder Napa Valley Syrah '06

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Place ham hocks, salt pork, onion, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and sugar in a large pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
• Stir collard greens into the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, or until greens are tender. Season with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over medium-high. When hot, add ham hocks. When they're sizzling, flip and crisp the other side.
• Add the onions and stir so they are coated in the fat and nestled under and around the hocks. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and brown sugar, and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock and hard cider and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, until the ham hocks are very tender.
• Remove the ham hocks and allow to cool slightly. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone (discard the fat and the skin) and chop into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Bring the stock back to a boil, then add the greens in large handfuls, pressing them down to wilt in the hot stock before adding more leaves. Add the reserved ham hock meat.
• Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the greens are silky and tender. Season with salt and serve with hot sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar, if desired.

CIDER-BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND GREENS

Steps:

• Pat the chicken thighs dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
• In a Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the oil over medium. Cook the chicken thighs skin-side down, undisturbed, until the skin is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on the other side, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the pot, turn the heat to medium-low, then add the shallots and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
• Add the cider, cider vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the cider has reduced slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot, skin-side up. Pour just enough broth around (not on!) the chicken to cover the sides of the thighs but not cover the skin on top.
• Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Partly cover and gently simmer until the thighs are cooked through and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate or sheet pan (if you'd like to broil the chicken in the next step), raise the heat to medium, and add the kale and apple to the pot. Cook, tossing often, until all the kale is wilted, the apples are just softened and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. While the greens cook, if you'd like to crisp the skin on the chicken, pop it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Taste for seasoning, and stir in 1 or 2 more teaspoons cider vinegar to taste. Divide the chicken and kale mixture among shallow bowls; serve with crusty bread to mop up broth.

CIDER BRAISED GREENS

Steps:

• Combine the onion, cider, chicken stock, and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chard and kale. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Check the greens for tenderness, stir them, and add a little more salt. Re-cover the pot and cook until the greens are fully tender, about 4 minutes more.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and cook 30 seconds. Add the ham hocks, chicken broth and 4 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the ham is tender and falling off the bone, about 2 hours.
• Remove the ham hocks from the liquid. Remove and discard the skin and bones. Roughly chop the meat into bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the cooking liquid along with the collard greens and vinegar. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve the collards with some of the liquid.

CIDER-BRAISED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage; saut;eacute; until slightly wilted, tossing frequently, about 6 minutes. Stir in apple cider. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Uncover; simmer until almost all liquid in pot evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

BRAISED APPLES WITH SAFFRON AND CIDER

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add apples, and turn to coat. Stir in saffron, stock, cider, sherry, and currants, and season with salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer apples to a bowl. Raise heat to medium-high, and cook sauce until reduced by half, about 10 minutes more. Season with pepper. Pour sauce over apples. Serve warm or at room temperature.