Sauteed Collard Greens And Roasted Baby Potatoes with Shallots For St. Patrick's Day

I wasn’t inspired to cook a typical Irish meal on Monday, so we ate the two dishes below instead (one was green and the other was potatoes though) for St. Patrick’s Day but I did drink a couple of Guinness Stout’s to celebrate. 

We are not big greens eaters but when Bev saw a chef making Sauteed Collard Greens on a recent Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives show, she decided she wanted to give them a try.  Fortunately, they had posted the recipe for the dish and we decided to make the collards as part of an all-vegetable meal along with Roasted Baby Potatoes with Shallots (below).And 

Sauteed Collard Greens with Garlic, Peppers and Onions

Ingredients:

1 bunch collard greens

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1/2 red or green bell pepper, sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Remove and discard all but 1 inch of the collard stems. Cut the remaining stems out of the leaves, separating the leaves and stems. Cut the leaves into 2-inch squares. Slice the stems into thin slices.

Wash the leaves in a big basin of water. Leave the water in the basin or sink and use a strainer to dip the leaves out of the water. Don't wash the leaves inside a colander or pour the water off the container with the leaves inside; this would allow any sand to stay with the greens. Wash the stems separately in the same basin of water, using the same method as the leaves.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Have a colander ready in the sink to drain the greens and a bowl of water with ice cubes in it to chill the greens.

Cook the stems for 1 minute. Add the leaves, and once they turn bright green, fish out a small leaf to taste it. The greens are done when they taste tender. You can't really tell whether the greens are done without tasting them. (I omitted the stems and the leaves took 20 minutes)

Pour the cooked greens into the colander to drain. Once the hot water has drained off, carefully put the hot greens into the ice water. 

Once the greens feel cool to the touch, drain them in a colander again. Drain for about 10 to 15 minutes so that they are quite dry. (I laid them on a cutting board and gave them a ruffle each time I went by so they could air dry)

Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions gently in the oil. Raise the heat and add the peppers, and then the garlic. 

Add the blanched greens and saute until heated through. (I just sauteed everything gently until done).

Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Shallots

When I saw this recipe for Roasted Baby Potatoes with Shallots on Pam’s “For The Love Of Cooking” blog, I knew it would be tried soon.  Potatoes and onions cooked by any method is always high on my list and I wanted leftovers so I doubled the ingredients.

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Shallots – Adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

Ingredients:

3 lb. baby new potatoes or baby red potatoes larger ones halved

10 small shallots peeled, ends trimmed slightly (keeping the root intact) and halved lengthwise (note 1)

2 tbsp olive oil

Garlic powder to taste (I used Tiger Seasoning)

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped (I used the cilantro we had on hand)

Note 1: We ended up with some big shallots so I cut them into smaller pieces.

Instructions:

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water, bring to a slight boil, and cook the potatoes until slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and allow them to dry on a towel.

Season the baby potatoes, and trimmed shallots, with the olive oil, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste; toss to coat evenly.

Toss in a bowl with olive oil to coat evenly.

Spread out evenly on a large baking sheet and season with Tiger Seasoning, pepper, and Aleppo peppers.

Place into the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing them halfway through the roasting time (I didn't toss them).  Side Note: If your shallots are getting too caramelized before the potatoes finish cooking, remove them from the baking sheet and set aside on a serving plate until the potatoes finish roasting.

Remove from the oven and top with freshly chopped parsley (cilantro).  Darn - I forgot it.

Serve immediately. Enjoy.

The Verdict:

We really liked both dishes and they made for a nice St Paddy's Day meal and if you are a greens fan I think you would love these plus- you can't go wrong with potatoes and onions.

And of course the leftover potatoes made a great breakfast.

I failed to get a before pic but Bodie looked loke a mop and we could barely see his eyes but he cleaned up really well.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

3/17/25 event date