Collard squares
People love collards. They just don’t know it until they taste this. Cooks would love them, too, but they are perceived as troublesome when all they need is careful cleaning and long, slow cooking. You could substitute Swiss chard or even spinach, but you lose the buzz factor.
Collard squares are like a very dense quiche with no cream and no troublesome crust. You just cook the well-washed greens with salt and garlic until they are soft, chop them up and mix them with eggs, shiitakes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Cut small, they are perfect hors d’oeuvres, but in big squares they are an excellent vegetarian entree.
Remove the tough stems from the greens and wash the leaves well in several changes of cold water. Place them in a large pot and add the hot pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add water to cover by several inches and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the greens are very tender, about 1 hour. Drain well and cool slightly, then squeeze dry and finely chop.
While the collards are cooking, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sprinkle lightly with one-fourth teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the shiitakes and the tamari and saute until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Combine the collards and shiitakes in a bowl. Add the eggs, cheese and bread crumbs and mix well. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes. Cut into squares to serve hot or at room temperature.
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