Collard Greens Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette and a Fried Egg

Looking back at my recent posts - I realized that, with the exception of some baking - I have completely slacked off in the cooking arena for the past few weeks. I don't know it has been apathy or Derek's eagerness to cook, or just a busy life, but cooking has not been on top of my to-do list.

Even for the first two days of Derek's absence (in LA for a week), I opted for bagged salad mix and boxed soup. Finally, last night, I took baby steps toward re-familiarizing myself with the kitchen and crafted a simple yet fantastic "Katie" meal with the primary goal being to use up some of the collard greens that we had received two shipments in a row.

When I think of collard greens, I immediately envision a Southern dish laden with bacon or ham hock and cooked down until it hardly resembles a green vegetable. I can take this as a side dish, maybe, but it doesn't stand out as a main dish - what I had set out to find. I browsed through my go-to sites: Food and Wine, Epicurious and Food Network before stumbling across the "winner" found on Saveur.com: Collard Greens Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette. Link to the original recipe found HERE. Perfect!

With some tweaking based on the ingredients I had on hand and what I wanted from the salad, I broke my no-cooking streak and turned out a fabulous variation of collard greens.

Collard Greens Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette and a Fried Egg

serves 2

1/2 cup raw or lightly salted peanuts
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. hickory smoked salt
Kosher salt, to taste
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
1/8 cup red onion, minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne pepper
1 medium carrot, peeled and shaved lengthwise into thin ribbon using a peeler
1 bunch collard greens, stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise
1⁄4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 fried eggs

1. Heat oven to 325˚. Toss together peanuts, 2 tsp. oil, paprika, and salt on a baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer peanuts to a rack and let cool. Coarsely crush peanuts and divide between two bowls; set one bowl aside. To one bowl of peanuts, add remaining oil, vinegar,
garlic, and shallots and whisk to combine; add cayenne and season with salt and pepper and set vinaigrette aside.

2. In a large pan, heat about 1 tsp EVOO over medium heat. Add the collard greens and carrots. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes, just long enough to heat the mixture and slightly wilt the collard greens. Add about 2-3 Tbsp. of the dressing and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with addition hickory smoked salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two. Remove the collard greens and carrots from the heat and plate. Drizzle some more of the vinaigrette over top and garnish with reserved peanuts and cilantro. Serve with a side of fried egg, salted and peppered.


So good I made it the next night with the leftover vinaigrette and peanuts...so easy to prepare and so delicious...