A few weeks back I came across this recipe in my Grandmother cookbook, it was just a list of ingredients with a few cooking notes, and it took me a while to recreate this dish. She did list many of the greens as frozen to be defrosted and drained, I choose to use fresh. And the best part of this dish is that it's Vegan – Enjoy
Ingredients
1 lb. of fresh mushrooms of choice, diced
1 lb. of red beans, cooked, save the cooking water †
1 small red cabbage, shredded
1 bunch of collard greens, chopped and stems removed
1 bunch of turnip greens, chopped and stems removed
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped and stems removed
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 bunch of Italian Parsley, chopped and stems removed
1 cup of Olive Oil
1 cup of unbleached flour
2 cups of diced onions
1 cup of diced red bell pepper
1 cup of diced celery
1 cup of diced shallots
¼ cup minced garlic
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems and minced
6 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
† My grandmother's notes stated to drain the red bean water into another pot and add water to submerge the greens.
Directions
In a large deep skillet over medium heat add oil, diced onions, celery, and red bell pepper and sauté until soft. Add flour and whisk until golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Note: Do not walk away the roux will burn quickly. Next add shallots, garlic, fresh herbs, seasons, whisk for another 2 to 3 minutes until the roux darkens a bit, reduce heat to very low.
Place bean water pot over medium-high heat, add greens and top off with water until all greens are submerged, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
Now with the roux skillet, raise the heat, remove a cup of the water from the greens pot, whisking until a smooth sauce has formed, now add mushrooms, bring to almost a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 5 Minutes in adding the Worcestershire sauce and adjust seasoning and “Heat” level with the cayenne
Next, working in batches, add a cup of the green water at a time to the roux skillet, whisking in until smooth, once half the greens water has been whisked in add red beans, simmer for 10 minutes. Now add the cooked greens, and more greens water if needed, simmer for 5 more minutes, taste adjust seasoning and heat level. If to taste, remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Now this taste better on day two, when the flavors have had time to meld – Serve over rice - Enjoy
Note: If you need a bit of seafood, when reheating, once almost to a boil, add uncooked shrimp, cover, removed from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.