Fried collards with tomato sauce

Ah, the lovely collard green.  Delicious, nutritious, versatile, always in season, and cheap as heck.  Even though sometimes you get a little tough, I love you a lot. 

I typically just stir-fry collards with oil, garlic, and tamari, and then finish them off with sesame oil and sesame seeds.  But I recently tried a more soul-food-ish method of boiling them and then adding them to a stewed tomato sauce.  In addition to the additional flavors, this method makes the greens a bit more tender.  This recipe sort of splits the difference.  I suppose it's almost braising.  I fried the collards and then added more liquid to make them more tender.  The results are delicious!

Fried Collards with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1-3 TB canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large bunch collard greens, washed, stems removed, coarsely chopped

1-2 TB tamari

1 TB tomato paste

1/4 c water

Instructions

1. In a small pyrex, dissolve tomato paste in water. Heat oil in a large cast iron frying pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
2. Add greens and mix well until all greens are coated with oil. Cook several minutes until greens are dark and shiny.
3. Add a generous splash of tamari. Add tomato water and simmer a few minutes. Serves about 4.