It’s Easy Going Green

April 1, 2016 12:00 AM

Few things taste like spring in the mountains more than a plate full of just-picked greens. Then again, greens always have a place at the table in the South—whether boiled, creamed, wilted, or fresh. Writer Eugene Walter called them “a humble and constant presence in any account of food in the South.”

In Greens, the latest addition to the Savor the South cookbook series published by the University of North Carolina Press, native Louisianan Thomas Head offers an historical overview of the leafy vegetable’s place in the region and beyond. His 53 recipes range from classic preparations to such innovative takes as Indian-spiced Kashmiri greens and collard greens marmalade. Here he shares a simple pasta recipe that makes a quick and satisfying weeknight supper “out of whatever greens, sausage, and pasta you may have on hand,” Head notes. “I’m especially fond of collards with pasta—they have more character than the usual kale.”

Penne with Sausage and Collard Greens

Makes 4 servings

You WIll Need:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 pound penne pasta
1 pound collard greens, washed, stemmed, and cut into one-inch slices
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

To Make:

1) Remove the sausage from the casings and cook it in a large frying pan over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula, until no pink remains and the sausage begins to brown. Remove the sausage and set aside, leaving behind the fat.

2) Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and salt generously; add the pasta and cook until it is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the cooking water.

3) Cook the garlic briefly in the sausage fat, about 30 seconds, then add the collards, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat the collards with the fat. (You may need an additional tablespoon or two of olive oil, depending on how much fat the sausage has rendered.) Cover the pan and cook the collards until tender, about 10 minutes, adding half a cup of water, plus more if needed, to steam the collards.

4) Add the sausage and pasta to the collards, mixing thoroughly. Add the reserved pasta water, if needed, to moisten the dish. Cook for about three minutes to warm the dish through. Stir in the Parmesan.

5) Serve with additional Parmesan.