Southern Style Greens

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 4 bunches fresh greens (turnip, collard, mustard, kale or cabbage sprouts)
• 1 -2 ham hock
• 2 medium turnips, peeled and diced
• 1 quart water (plus more as needed)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable seasoning (i use "reunion foods" extra spicy vegetable seasoning mix)
• nonstick cooking spray

Recipe

• 1 spray the bottom of your largest stock or soup pot with non-stick spray and brown the ham hocks for a few minutes over med-high heat.
• 2 add the water to pot and scrape up any brown bits - but leave them in the pot for flavor.
• 3 add the diced turnips.
• 4 wash the greens to remove any dirt or sand and chop coarsely (removing large or tough stems.).
• 5 add greens to your pot - you can do this as you chop them and turn heat to medium-low. stir the greens occasionally and add more water as neccesary.
• 6 season to taste with your greens seasoning mix. appx. 1-3 tablespoons per pound of fresh greens.
• 7 let simmer, covered, for at least one hour - the longer, the better. greens should be completely wilted and any stems should be very tender.
• 8 remove ham hocks from pot, let cool for a few minutes and then remove fat and bone.
• 9 chop the meat into small bits and add back to the pot.
• 10 adjust seasonings to taste.
• 11 serve with hot pepper vinegar to splash over the top.
• 12 ***if a ready-made greens seasoning is not available - try using salt, pepper, garlic powder, dehydrated onions, paprika, etc. - or your favorite seasoning blend.
• 13 ***this can also be a vegetarian dish - just leave out the ham hocks - but you might want to add a bit of "liquid smoke" to get that smoky flavor.