My Ethiopian vegan collard greens recipe is a flavorful, quick ‘n easy option for cooking these nutrient packed greens. The traditional version of this dish is called ye’abesha gomen, or just gomen.
Niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter) is a key ingredient in this recipe. I created a vegan version; it’s easy to prepare and keeps well in the refrigerator.
Ethiopian Vegan Collard Greens is the third recipe in my series of dishes suitable for creating traditional Ethiopian combination platters. I made the trio again last night for dinner – misir wot, atakilt wat, and collard greens. These dishes go soooooo well together. The next recipe in this series (coming soon!) will be for injera, traditional Ethiopian sourdough flatbread.
All of these recipes are fast and simple to prepare! Once you have all of them under your belt (no pun intended) you’ll be able to create tasty and visually attractive combination platters suitable for one to eight people. Double the ingredients to feed a crowd (once that’s a thing again). Leftovers keep well 🙂
Yes! Collards (Brassica oleracea var. viridis) are part of the cruciferous family and are high in antioxidants. Eating collards has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels (including LDL cholesterol). Collards specifically have been shown to contain significant anti-diabetes properties. As with all cruciferous vegetable, they are thought to be protective against certain types of cancers (there are many studies available on pubmed.gov on this topic). They contain generous amounts of vitamins K, A, C as well as manganese, calcium, and fiber.
They’re affordable too!
Method Overview
- Prepare vegan niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter)
- Saute everything in niter kibbeh
- Add veggie broth, cover, and steam
Ethiopian Vegan Collard Greens
Equipment
- large covered skillet
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons niter kibbeh, Ethiopian spiced butter
- 1-1/2 pounds collard greens, about two bunches
- 2 yellow onions (cut the onions in half, lay the flat sides down, and cut into 1/4-inch slices)
- 1 Tablespoon minced ginger root
- 6 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional
Instructions
To prepare the collard greens
- Wash and briefly drain.Cut away the large center rib as shown in the photo.
- Stack several of the halved leaves; make vertical and horizontal cuts so the collard greens are cut into squares; repeat.
Main instructions
- Heat the spiced butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a bit of onion. When it begins to gently sizzle, add the remaining onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the ginger root, garlic, salt, coriander, and cumin. Cook for about 30 seconds while stirring.
- Add the collard greens. Sauté while tossing and stirring for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the vegetable broth over the greens and stir. Cover and steam for 5 to 15 minutes depending on how cooked you enjoy your greens.
- Spritz with lemon juice before serving if desired.
No Comments