Collard Greens with Pancetta and Blackened Chillies

Unlike a lot of traditional southern recipes, I like my collard greens al dente and slightly chewy. My quick-cook method is full of texture and crunch, and pairs the fibrous greens with crispy bits of salty pancetta and smoky, blackened dried red chillies, all pulled together at the end with the bright, finishing note of lemon juice.

Ingredients 
1 lb [500 gms] Collard Greens
4 oz [125 gms] Pancetta*, diced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 whole Dried Red Chillis
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
Salt (to taste)
¼ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Juice of ½ Lemon

1. Wash collard greens, remove and discard stems and centre ribs, and cut leaves in half vertically. Stack 4–5 leaves together, roll up, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Add collard greens to a pot of boiling water and cook over high heat for 30 mins. Drain water and set aside greens. (You can prepare the collard greens up to this point a day ahead and store in the fridge.)
2. In a large skillet or frying pan, render pancetta over high heat until crisp and golden. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and set to drain on a paper-lined plate. Pour out any fat in the skillet and wipe clean.
3. Heat olive oil in the same skillet over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillies and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillies just start to blacken. Add garlic, and fry for about 1 min, until lightly golden.
4. Add collard greens, pancetta, salt, and pepper, and cook for 5 mins. Sprinkle water if the skillet gets too dry. Turn off heat, add lemon juice and stir well. Let sit for 5 mins before serving. 

*TIP: You can substitute pancetta with bacon or uncured pork belly.

Stewed Bok Choy and Potatoes with Caramelised Red Onions

This quick and easy side dish pairs the sweetness of caramelised red onions with pungent hing (asafoetida), to flavour mild and tender baby bok choy and potatoes. It is a great accompaniment to steamed or grilled fish, and equally delicious as a cold, day-old salad.

Ingredients
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
4 whole Dried Red Chillis
1 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 lb [700gms] Potatoes, washed and cut lengthwise, skin-on, into 8 pieces each
Salt (to taste)
½ cup Water
1 lb [700 gms] Bok Choy, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis start to blacken. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add hing, and sputter for about a minute. Add red onion and fry for 3–4 mins till well caramelised.
3. Add potatoes and stir fry for 2–3 mins until lightly golden. Add salt and water, and continue cooking, covered, for another 5 mins, until the potatoes are fork tender. Add bok choy and stir briskly till the leaves are wilted. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 mins before serving.

Seared Bok Choy with Nigella and Blackened Chillis

Bok Choy, a Chinese cousin of the Western cabbage, is one of those wondrously mild and supremely versatile green leafy vegetables that takes easily to strong seasoning. It is also simple to prepare—just separate the individual segments and rinse well. If using baby bok choy, then the stems are tender enough to be cooked whole with the leaves. If using a more mature bok choy, then separate the harder stems from the leaves by chopping into smaller pieces. This recipe maximises the mildness of the vegetable, which is a perfect foil for the amazing smokiness of blackened chillis and musky nigella seeds.

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
1 tbsp Nigella seeds
3–4 cloves of Garlic, cut into thin slivers
1½ lbs [700 gms] Bok Choy, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off
Salt (to taste)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis just start to blacken. Remove chillis and set aside. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add nigella seeds and sputter for about a minute. Add garlic and stir for about 2 mins until they are lightly golden.
3. Increase heat to high, add bok choy and stir fry for 5 mins until the ends start to char. Add salt and blackened chillis, and continue to stir for another 2–3 mins. Turn off heat, put a lid on the skillet and let sit for 5 mins before serving.

Red Chard with Tomatoes and Blackened Chillis

We’ve had our first snow fall in New York already, even though it is still October! This means that the farmer’s market will soon be devoid of all fresh leafy produce. So as a last hurrah to the vestiges of warm weather, I cooked-up two bunches of glorious red-tinged chard, accented with beefy steak tomatoes and smoky blackened chillis. Until April . . . .

Ingredients
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
2 tbsp Olive Oil
6 cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 lbs [1 kgs] Red Chard, washed and cut into 2-inch strips, including stalks
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis to a small bowl. When they are cool to touch, using your hands, crush the whole chillis roughly into small pieces and set aside. 
2. Add olive oil to same pan and heat. Add garlic and stir for 1 min until lightly golden. Add chard in batches and stir briskly until the leaves are wilted. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, lower heat, and continue cooking till the tomatoes have softened, about 5 mins. Turn off heat. 
3. Sprinkle with crushed chillis and stir gently. Let the flavours steep for 15 mins before serving.

Roasted Potatoes with Blackened Chillis

On a cold and rainy day like today, I’m too lazy to stand in front of the stove for more than 5–10 mins. So that calls for a “cheating” update to one of my favourite snacking recipes—Quick-Fried Potatoes with Blackened Chillis. In go the ‘taters into my trusty oven for a hassle-free roast and I get the same irresistible pop’ems in a breeze.

 

Ingredients 

1 tsp Vegetable Oil
36 whole Dried Red Chillis
4 lbs [2 kgs] Potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Sea Salt (to taste)
4 tbsp Olive Oil

1. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis from pan and set aside on a large platter. 
2. Pre-heat oven to 450º F (230ºC). 
3. Put potatoes on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with olive oil, and using your hands, toss well to mix. 
4. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, then stir the potatoes with a large spoon to ensure that they caramelise evenly. Continue roasting for another 15 mins. 
5. Remove potatoes from oven and transfer to the platter with chillis. Using your hands, crush the whole chillis roughly into small pieces and toss well with potatoes. Serve immediately.

Quick-fried Potatoes with Blackened Chillis

Growing up in Cal, most of the packaged foods that American children are used to (like chips and soda) were forbidden in our house, and this potato dish was what I considered comfort snack food. If dinner was running late, I remember devouring these steaming hot and fresh from the kitchen, to hold us over till mealtime. The golden, slightly squidgy potatoes, spiked with the smoky heat of blackened chillis, is the kind of irresistible dish that pleases everyone, and no matter how much you make, it will always be gone in minutes.

Ingredients 

4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
8-12 Whole Dried Red Chillis
2 lbs Potatoes
Salt (to taste)

1. Wash and dry potatoes. Leave the skin on and cut into approximately 1/8” slices. 
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis from pan and set aside on a large plate. 
3. Add remaining oil to pan and heat. Add potatoes and fry briskly for about 10 mins until lightly golden and cooked through. The potatoes should cover the pan in one layer only. If the pan is not large enough to accommodate all the potatoes, then fry them in batches. 
4. Remove potatoes to plate with chillis. Using your hands, crush the whole chillis roughly into small pieces and mix with potatoes. Sprinkle salt and toss well. Serve immediately.