Southern greens usually get their smoky depth from a ham hock, which (as you might expect) is a real problem when you don’t eat ham hocks. And haven’t for well over a decade. This collard greens stew is my workaround, and in some ways reminds me of my Dad, his love of cooked collards with hot pepper vinegar, and our family’s roots. Sweet potatoes and lentils turn the greens into a full meal, and the broth is good enough that I have caught myself drinking it off the ladle while standing at the stove. Which, I’m just making sure its good right? Right!
The smoky flavor comes from two places, with one really being the driving force and the other being the big support (that rhymes, for any songwriters reading this, go wild with it). Smoked paprika goes in with the garlic and blooms in the oil for about a minute, and liquid smoke goes in with the broth. I use a full teaspoon of liquid smoke because I want this to taste like greens that have been on the stove all afternoon, but brands vary a lot in strength. If you’re using one you haven’t tried before or are less familiar with, start with half a teaspoon and add more at the end once you’ve tasted it. You can always add more smoke. You cannot take it back out, and a stew that tastes like a campfire is a long night. Learn from my mistakes and re-read that for good measure.
The okra, okay, moving on. If one slimy bowl of okra in your past has scarred you and you are not a fan, searing it separately is how you make peace with it. Slice the pods into half-inch rounds, make sure they’re dry, and let them sit undisturbed in a hot pan with a little oil until the bottoms brown. Then pull them out and set them aside while you build the rest of the stew. They go back in for the last five minutes, which is long enough to warm through and short enough that they keep their texture. Six pods is plenty. This is a collard greens stew with some okra in it, not an okra stew!
For the collards, strip the leaves off the thick center stems, stack five or six leaves on top of each other, roll them up tight, and slice across the roll into thin ribbons. It goes fast once you get into a rhythm. One large bunch looks like way too much on the cutting board, but it cooks down to almost nothing, so add it to the pot a few handfuls at a time and let each batch wilt before you add the next. Twelve to fifteen minutes of simmering gives you tender greens with a little chew left in them. If you like your collards silky and fully broken down, the way they come out of a long-cooked pot, add them halfway through the lentil simmer instead.
Use brown or green lentils here. They hold their shape through the long simmer and give the stew some body. Red lentils will dissolve completely, which isn’t wrong, but you’ll end up with something closer to a thick porridge. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes around three quarters of an inch. Go much smaller and they melt into the broth before the lentils are done, and while that does thicken things nicely, you lose the pleasure of finding an actual piece of sweet potato in your spoon.
The step I need you to not skip is the acid at the end. Mostly because I can’t imagine a world that doesn’t include it with a smoky savory stew like this, and partly because you will too! Once the heat is off, stir in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of hot pepper vinegar (worth it even if you aren’t a spicy fan), which is aka the liquid from a jar of pickled hot peppers that has probably been living in your fridge door. That splash is what makes this taste Southern instead of just brown. If you don’t have pepper vinegar, use a little more cider vinegar and a few dashes of hot sauce. Taste for salt after the vinegar goes in, since the acid changes how salty everything reads.
Let the stew rest off the heat for five or ten minutes before serving so it can thicken up. I like it with a wedge of cornbread for dragging through the bottom of the bowl, and a gluten-free cornbread keeps the whole meal gluten-free. It’s also good over rice. If you want to stretch it further, a can of black-eyed peas stirred in with the collards makes it even more filling and leans into the Southern tradition even harder.
This stew keeps in the fridge for up to five days and freezes well for up to three months, which makes it one of my favorite things to have on hand. It thickens a lot overnight as the lentils keep drinking up the broth, so loosen it with a splash of water or broth when you reheat it. Add another small splash of vinegar at that point too, because the brightness fades a little as it sits. The okra softens on reheating, but it holds together just fine.
The recipe is vegan and naturally gluten-free, as long as you check that your vegetable broth is too. Make a big pot, eat it all week, and if anyone gives you a hard time about missing ham hock, send them to me.
Smoky Southern Collard Greens, Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy pot (5.5 qt or bigger)
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Vegetable peeler
- Wooden spoon
- Plate or bowl (for the seared okra)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided 40g
- 6 okra pods sliced into ½-inch rounds (¾ cup / 70g)
- 1 large yellow onion diced (1½ cups / 220g)
- 2 celery stalks diced (¾ cup / 100g)
- 5 garlic cloves minced (1½ tbsp / 15g)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika 5g
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes 1g
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juices 14.5 oz (1¾ cups / 411g)
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, gluten-free if needed 1.4 L / 1420g
- 1 cup dry brown or green lentils, rinsed 200g
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes (4 cups / 600g)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke 5g
- 1½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste 5g
- ½ tsp black pepper 1g
- 1 large bunch collard greens stems removed, sliced into ribbons (8 cups packed / 340 g after stemming)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 15g
- 1 tbsp hot pepper vinegar (the liquid from a jar of pickled hot peppers) 15g
- Hot sauce for serving (optional)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast mixed in at your leisure (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the okra in a single layer and leave it alone for 2 to 3 minutes until browned on the bottom, then stir and cook another 2 minutes. Move it to a plate and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and celery with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and the onion starts turning golden, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. Stir for about 1 minute, until the garlic smells good and hasn’t browned.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the broth, lentils, sweet potatoes, liquid smoke, salt and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover partially and cook for 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the sweet potatoes give easily to a fork.
- Stir in the collard greens a few handfuls at a time, letting each batch wilt before adding more. Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, until the collards are tender with a little chew left. Stir the seared okra back in for the last 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar and hot pepper vinegar. Taste and adjust salt. Don’t skip the acid; it’s what makes this taste Southern instead of just brown.
- Let it rest off the heat for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. Serve with hot sauce on the table.
Notes
Swap collards for mustard greens (more peppery) or lacinato kale (cooks faster, add in the last 8 minutes).
Butternut squash works in place of sweet potato.
Red lentils will break down completely and make this closer to a thick porridge.
No okra? Use 1 diced green bell pepper, cooked with the onion and celery in step 2.
No hot pepper vinegar? Use another tablespoon of apple cider vinegar plus a few dashes of hot sauce.
Liquid smoke brands vary a lot in strength! If yours is new to you, start with ½ tsp and add more at the end. Optional add-ins
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, stirred in with the collards
2 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tsp dried thyme in step 3 for a deeper, more savory broth
2 bay leaves with the broth in step 4 (pull them out before serving)
Serve over rice or with cornbread for dunking (use a GF cornbread to keep it gluten-free) Cooking tips
Searing the okra separately and adding it back at the end keeps it from going slimy. Make sure the okra is dry before it hits the pan.
To prep collards fast: stack 5 or 6 stemmed leaves, roll them tight like a cigar, and slice into thin ribbons.
If you want silkier, more traditional-style greens, add them halfway through the simmer in step 5 instead of waiting.
Keep the sweet potato cubes close to ¾ inch. Smaller ones will dissolve into the broth before the lentils finish. Storage
Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days and freezes well for up to 3 months.
The okra softens on reheating but holds up fine.
It thickens a lot overnight as the lentils drink up the broth.
Loosen with a splash of broth or water when reheating, and add another small splash of vinegar to wake it back up.