Beans N' Greens with Cajun Cornbread

Here's another multi part recipe for all you happy faced fans out there. It combines a little bit of our old family recipes, with some improvisation thrown in from contemporary exploration. This dish is rooted in Southern culture, drawing on influences from the Louisiana bayous all the way to the Atlantic lowlands. Red beans, collard greens, tomatoes red and spicy cornbread. It's a vegetarian delight.

Red Beans:
1 lb dried red beans
8 cups cold water
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
3 dried bay leaves

Anytime you cook with dried beans it's a good idea to look over them to make sure there aren't any stray pebbles or clumps of dirt. After rinsing and sorting the beans, preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put your dried beans into an oven safe stock pot (I prefer to use a dutch oven, but whatever works for you), then add the rest of the ingredients. This is the easy part; cover with a lid and bake for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the beans have absorbed most of the water and are soft but slightly resilient. Try to time this so that the collards are primarily done cooking, and you can continue to use the heat built up in the oven for the cornbread.

Collard Greens:
1 lb washed, chopped collard greens
1 large onion, diced
1 cup water
1 oz soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and stir it around so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sweat the onion until it becomes translucent. Dump your collards in, stirring briefly for 3-4 minutes, then add the water and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, reduce heat to low-medium low and continue to cook for about an hour.  (They will be dark. Stir the collards as necessary to ensure even cooking.)

Cajun Cornbread:
1 1/2 cups self rising cornmeal mix
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 stick of butter (mom uses margarine, both work but please avoid the kinds that come from a tub)
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the butter (or margarine) to a 7" cast iron skillet and melt it. In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal mix, flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Mix well, then add the buttermilk until incorporated. Pour most of the butter/margarine into the mixing bowl, reserving enough in the bottom of the skillet to coat it. Quickly stir the cornbread mixture and the add it to the skillet, evening the surface with the back side of your spoon. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before turning the cornbread out onto a plate, upside down.

We usually serve beans n' greens over a bed of brown rice, red beans and rice style, but it's not necessary. Garnish with fresh tomato slices, and your favorite hot sauce.