Although the common consensus is that collard greens originated in the Mediterranean, they gained their most widespread popularity in Africa (see my Sukuma Wiki recipe). It is assumed that collards made it to most of the Americas via African slaves. In Brazil, it’s a different story, as collard greens were likely introduced via Portugal, where it has been a staple veggie for hundreds of years (as evidenced by my Caldo Verde recipe). Today, collards are served often in Brazil, usually as an accompaniment to fish or beef.

Today’s recipe is a collaboration with my friend Alex Boake, who stayed at our house for a few days before heading off to Ancestral Health Symposium with us. She’s going to post an illustrated version of this recipe on her blog later this week, so bookmark her site! We’ll be knocking out a couple other illustrated recipes in the near future as well, so this is just the tip of the illustrated Paleo recipe iceberg. Update: Here is Alex’s post!



Serves four

2 tbsp olive oil

10 cloves garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped, smashed

2 bunches collard greens, rinsed, cut into thin strips

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, more to taste

juice of 1/2 lime

A lot of people like to roll their collards before slicing, but I prefer to slice down the leaf to remove the stalks, then stack all of the leaf halves together and slice everything all at once. I’ve seen some variations of this recipe that sliced their greens even more thinly than in the picture above, to the point of being shredded. I say either way is fine.

Using a mortar and pestle or the flat end of a chef’s knife, smash the garlic chunks.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat for about a minute, then add the garlic. Sauté until aromatic, about one minute, then add the collard greens, salt, and pepper.

Reduce heat to med low and continue to sauté until the greens are softened and vibrant in color. Should only take 3-4 minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice, add more salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

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