Why I'm No Longer Afraid of Seitan and Collard Greens

Why I'm not afraid of Seitan and Collards anymore

Until last summer when I bought Collard Greens for the first time at the Woodstock Farmer's market, I had never cooked them before. I used to notice them, sassily fanning themselves out amidst the other greens in the produce case but they looked tough to me, forbidding and foriegn. I had only ever eaten them at a Soul Food restaurant owned by a guy I dated back in the late seventies. They had been prepared with some pork product and while they tasted great, it was not a recipe I would want to duplicate.

According to the website, The World's Healthiest Foods, 
"Like kale, cauliflower and broccoli, collards are descendents of the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have been consumed as food since prehistoric times and to have originated in Asia Minor. From there it spread into Europe, being introduced by groups of Celtic wanderers around 600 B.C. Collards have been cultivated since the times of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. While collards may have been introduced into the United States before, the first mention of collard greens dates back to the late 17th century. Collards are an integral food in traditional southern American cuisine."

Until I looked into Bryant Terry's lovely "Vegan Soul Kitchen" cookbook, I didn't have a clue about how a vegan would cook them.
He recommends cutting them in a "chiffonade" style by removing the large stems, stacking then rolling the leaves into a tight cylinder, then slicing crosswise with a sharp knofe cutting the leaves into thin strips. While his recipe calls for boiling the greens, I recommend steaming both for the flavor and texture as well as the increased nutritional value. 
Collards, like kale and other crucifors retain much more of their nutritional value if steamed. Some say that steaming is even more beneficial that eating these leafy greens raw. 

 "Based on a very small number of studies looking specifically at collard greens, and a larger number of studies looking at cruciferous vegetables as a group (and including collard greens on the list of vegetables studied), cancer prevention appears to be a standout area for collard greens with respect to their health benefits.By providing us with such a great array of antioxidant nutrients, collard greens help lower our cancer risk by helping us avoid chronic and unwanted oxidative stress." Collard greens provide cardiovascular support due to their cholesterol lowering ability. The fiber content of collard greens—over 5 grams in every cup also makes this cruciferous vegetable a natural choice for digestive system support. They also provide high levels of Vitamin K, A, C, folate, manganese and calcium.

How did this deliciously sweet, incredibly nutritious and easy to make leafy green escape my frying pan all these years? Silly me!
When I made Bryant Terry's "Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux" , I fell in love with collards. I will post his recipe below.

The next time I saw collards at the local produce market at $1.99 for a huge bunch, I scoffed them up. I adapted Terry's recipe, omitting the orange juice and adding, what many a vegan considers "the other white meat",  Seitan.

I had never cooked with Seitan before. I would say that this was my virgin voyage with Seitan, but I would never consort with something so damn ugly. That's right, superficial me has avoided this wheat gluten product in great measure, because it looks , frankly like a horrible mess.

At 48 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat and 160 calories per 4 oz serving, Seitan is high in protein and low in calories and fat. And thanks, in part to my friend Linda's encouragement (she at one time had a very bad Tofurky jones) and Seitan cooking demo, I decided to attempt to wrestle the glutinous mass into something edible.

As I bravely grabbed a pair of tongs hanging off the side of a large vat of  the messy stuff, and attempted to fish one of the freaky shapes out of the murky water,  I was repulsed and shared this with one of the health food store worker guys as he sorted vegetables. "Yeah, he said, "looks like monkey brains". 
Somehow, about a pound of the stuff wound up in the plastic bag that  I wished wasn't see through. 

Once home and sitting on the kitchen counter, it instantly became an object of my teenaged daughter's revulsion. "What the h--l is that ?" , she demanded.  "Monkey brains", I snickered. 

Handling the stuff was no great treat to the tactile senses either. It was cold, slimy and soft. Eeewwww! I diced it up as quickly as possible and threw it in the pan in an effort to dispense with it ASAP. 

The recipe that follows was very quick and easy  came out great. Chopping the Seitan rather small helped to get it crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It also nicely absorbed the other flavors in the pan.

Pan Seared Seitan and Collard Greens

16 oz Seitan, diced in 1/2" cubes
1 large bunch Collards, cut in chiffonade style
2 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup raisins
1 Tbs Mirin
1/2-1 Tbs Tamari 
1/2 cup water

Sauté shallots and garlic for 3-5 min getting them soft.
Add Seitan and sauté another 3-5 min getting it a little brown.
Add collards, stir in Mirin and Tamari
Sauté a minute then add water, stir an cover
Let steam a few minutes then uncover and stir 
until greens are tender about 5 minutes more
Do not overcook greens. Remove from heat when
Greens are bright green color.

And here is Bryant Terry's Recipe: