I hate to admit it, but as much as I adore Southern food, I have never been able to stomach collard greens. It’s not for lack of trying, though – every time I have the opportunity to try them prepared in a new way or by a new person, I give them a taste…and then I remember that I just don’t like them. But I decided to give them one more try as I watched Cooking for Real on Food Network last weekend, and saw Sunny Anderson turn them into a beautiful pesto, served with the yummiest-looking chicken meatballs. The dish looked bright, flavorful, healthy and weeknight-simple, and the preparation of the collard greens was so unique that I just had to give it a try!
I started by making the chicken meatballs:
Usually, when I think of chicken meatballs, I think of a lighter, blander version of a traditional meatball. But these are full of crazy flavor! Hungarian paprika, fresh oregano and thyme, brown sugar, lemon zest and a few other key ingredients combine to make a loose paste that not only smells amazing (the smell alone will make you SO hungry!) but when mixed with the ground chicken, creates one of the most flavorful meatballs I have ever tasted!
Sunny’s recipe calls for the meatballs to be browned in a pan with a little olive oil and butter. I decided to take it one step healthier, and bake them in the oven. I placed them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and baked them for about 10-20 minutes (it will depend on the size of your meatballs) at 350 degrees F, and they still came out beautifully browned and delicious! While the meatballs were in the oven, I made the collard green pesto:
The pesto comes together in just a few whirrs of a food processor. It is so unique, and so YUMMY! In a nod to the Southern roots of collard greens, Sunny calls for pecans in this recipe instead of pine nuts, and also adds kalamata olives for an extra salty, briny punch. The flavors from the other ingredients complement the bitter collard greens so well, my dislike went straight out the window, and I fell head over heels in love with this pesto! And lucky for me, the recipe makes more than enough for one pound of whole-wheat pasta – I even ended up with a little extra in my freezer!
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the finished product – Sunny Anderson’s Collard Green Pesto Linguine with Zesty Chicken Meatballs:
Thank you, Sunny, for creating these fabulously unique and completely delicious recipes – they became instant favorites in the Random household! This proves one of my favorite sayings – you never know until you try. When it comes to food, you may think you dislike something, but dress it up in a different outfit and bring it to dinner with different company, and you just might change your mind!
