Spicy Collards with Caramelized Red Onions

My maternal grandmother was a Southern Belle from South Carolina. She cooked in a very southern style most of time. Collard greens were often on her dining table in the summer. Her version of collards included pork and was cooked for a very long time. My collards have a lot of flavor, but they also retain more nutrition.

Collards are a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, which I like to include in our diet to assist in fighting cancer. Cruciferous vegetables retain more nutrition when they are lightly cooked. Since collards are a tough vegetable in order to enjoy them lightly cooked you need to slice them thinly.

Spicy Collards with Caramelized Red Onions
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon of red crushed pepper
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
1 bunch of collards (15 large leaves), thinly shredded (amounted to approx 5 cups shredded)
1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar, or to taste

Directions:

Cook the red onion in a heavy bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) until the onions have softened and begun to caramelize. Add the crushed pepper and salt and cook for another minute before adding the collards and sherry vinegar. Cook the collards until they wilt. This should occur in less than 5 minutes over medium/low heat. Collards are a member of the cruciferous vegetable family and retain more of their nutrition when lightly cooked.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 24.47
Calories From Fat (8%) - 1.97

Total Fat - 0.24g
Saturated Fat - 0.03g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 127.36mg
Potassium - 79.8mg
Total Carbohydrates - 5.15g
Fiber - 2.11g
Sugar - 0.21g
Protein - 1.42g

Comments:

These collards have a lot of flavor. They are sweet from the caramelized onions, hot from the red pepper and acidic from the vinegar. I thought they were a nice combination of flavors. My husband thought they were a little too chewy. I frequently have to remind him that lightly cooked vegetables are more nutritious. Overall I would say they had a good complex flavor, and a nice chew.