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CASSEROLE OF CREAMED COLLARDS WITH PARMESAN CRUMBS

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Having lived in New York most of my adult life, I worried that coming home to North Carolina would land me in a gastronomic desert. Hardly! Several Manhattan-caliber chefs are stirring things up in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle where I now live. One of the most gifted is Scott Howell, chef-owner of Nana’s in Durham. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who worked with David Bouley in New York as well as at Jams and two San Domenicos (on Central Park South and in Imola, Italy), Howell puts sophisticated spins on his Tennessee grandmother’s home cooking (Nana’s is named for her). Not so long ago, I profiled Howell for Food & Wine and among the featured recipes was this unusual casserole of collards. What follows is my downsize family version.

1 cup water

4 slices hickory-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into strips ¼ inch wide

4 pounds collards, washed and sorted, then tough leaf veins and stems removed

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 large egg yolk

Topping

1/3 cup coarse, dry unseasoned bread crumbs

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

½ teaspoon minced fresh sage or ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons fruity olive oil

1. Bring the water and the bacon to a boil in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the collards, a handful at a time, stirring each batch until wilted before adding the next. When the water returns to a boil, add the onion, cover, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes or until the collards are very tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Pulse all ingredients briskly in a food processor until uniformly crumbly; set aside.

3. Drain the collard mixture in a large fine sieve and cool until easy to handle. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F. Also butter a shallow 2-quart flameproof casserole; set aside.

4. Press the collard mixture fairly dry in the sieve, then coarsely chop and place in a large bowl. Mix in the cream, salt, pepper, and beaten egg.

5. Scoop into the casserole, spreading to the edge, and cover snugly with foil. Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, scatter the reserved topping over the collards, then return to the oven and bake uncovered about 20 minutes longer or until golden. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.

6. For the finishing touch, set the casserole in the broiler 10 inches from the heat and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until tipped with brown.

7. Serve at once with baked ham or roast pork, turkey, or chicken.

Only a Southerner knows how many collards or how much turnip salad it takes to make “a mess o’ greens.”

—ANONYMOUS

* * *

TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine

1918

With the founding of the Albany District Pecan Exchange, Albany, Georgia, becomes “The Pecan Capital of the World.”

Lee and Otis Mathis plant 500 acres of pecan trees near Paxton, Florida, making their grove the state’s largest. They also develop the Eliot pecan—the sweetest and meatiest.

Arnaud’s opens in New Orleans and gains fame for its French 75 cocktail (a potent mix of gin, Cointreau, champagne, and lemon juice named for a 75-mm French army gun).

To create national awareness for its roasted Virginia peanuts, Planters takes an ad in The Saturday Evening Post.

1919

The first loaves of bread come from the ovens of the Flowers Bakery in Thomasville, Georgia. Within 25 years, Flowers is baking the famous Sunbeam brand bread. Soft and as white as a magnolia blossom, it is just what Southerners love.

Prohibition begins and no southern city is more affected than New Orleans. Soon thousands of good citizens are brewing spirits at home and frequenting speakeasies where “a wink will get them a drink.”

* * *

JAMES RIVER CORN PUDDING

MAKES 6 SERVINGS