Recipe: Terry's Collard Soup

Terry Chrisman has created a great recipe for Collard Soup. Click below to obtain the recipe, try it, and then tell us what you think.

Terry is a wonderful cook, and she is a friendly woman. Terry knows everybody—if she has not met someone, give her time. She has been picking my brain about ways to cook collards because she knows how much I like to cook collards different ways.

Terry’s friend who grows collards in his backyard garden and cooks soul food gave her a heaping mess of collards. She told him about my recipe for collard gumbo and the way she changed it around by using tasso instead of smoky links.

The discussion worked around to collard soup. After he shared some thoughts with her about making collard soup, she went home, washed her collards, and went to work. Her collard soup recipe is a work of art. I am very pleased and grateful that Terry shared the recipe with us.

Collard Soup

2 cups cooked kidney or red beans
1 pound beef shank or beef tips
8 ounces Italian sausage
⅔ cup split peas
2½ teaspoons salt
6 cups or 2 bunches of fresh collards (washed, rinsed, and chopped fine)
2 cups pealed and chopped red-skinned, white potatoes (2 potatoes)
2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

Brown beef and sausage in a skillet. Stir the meat into the drained beans. Add peas and salt. Cover the mix with water. Reduce to simmer. Cook the mixture 2 hours. Discard bones if any. Add collards, potatoes, and cabbage. Cook 30 minutes.

Notes:
The beef tips are easier because you don’t have to remove the bones.
The split peas are optional. The soup is just as good without them.
Terry’s friend uses sauerkraut instead of cabbage and omits the salt.

Serving Suggestions:
You can serve it over rice, if you wish, or eat it from a bowl without the rice. Cornbread is essential.