Kenyan-Style Collard Greens in Lemon Sauce (KENYA)
"There are many ways of making this very simple dish," says Maggie Marenga. "You can use just onions or just tomatoes. You can use heavy cream or half-and-half instead of the water in the lemon sauce. It's great with beef or chicken stew. Some people even put beef or chicken in their Sukuma Wiki. In Kenya, it is eaten on an almost daily basis."
SUKUMA WIKI Kenyan-Style Collard Greens in Lemon Sauce
Cook's Notes: While these lightly cooked greens in their pungent sauce are a traditional side dish to Spicy Matoke (see page 94), you'll probably enjoy them so much that you'll want to serve them with more conventional all-American dishes too.
4 to 6 servings
1. In a large sink of lukewarm water, agitate the collard greens well to remove any hidden grit. Carefully lift the greens out of the water and transfer them to a colander, leaving the grit on the bottom of the sink. Repeat the procedure in a sink of fresh water. Remove and discard the woody stems. Stack the collard leaves a few at a time and cut them crosswise into ½-inch-wide strips.
2. Bring 1 cup of the water to a boil in a large skillet. Add the collard greens, cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the greens are barely tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the greens well.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and chile pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the drained greens.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining ¾ cup water with the lemon juice, flour, and salt until smooth. Stir this into the greens, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened, and the flour flavor has cooked away, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
