"Creamed" Collard Greens with Peanut Butter and Chile

Ingredients

• 2 lb. collard or turnip green leaves, roughly chopped (12 cups)
• 1 cup dried shrimp
• 4 Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 ¹⁄₂ medium yellow onions (1 roughly chopped, 1/2 sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings)
• 1 vine-ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp. red palm oil or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• ¹⁄₂ cup natural peanut butter
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan and season with salt. Add the collard greens, cover, and cook until the leaves are tender and wilted, about 5 minutes. Drain the leaves in a colander set over a bowl and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Place the leaves and reserved liquid in a blender, purée until smooth, and scrape the paste into a bowl.
2. Clean the blender and return it to its base. In the blender, combine the dried shrimp with three-quarters of the chiles, half the chopped onion, and the fresh tomato and purée until smooth. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons palm oil over medium-high. Add the remaining half of the chopped onion and the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are soft and lightly caramelized, 6 to 8 minutes. Scrape the shrimp and tomato paste into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the puréed collard greens and peanut butter, and mash until evenly combined. Season the greens with salt and pepper and scrape into a serving dish.
3. In a 10-inch skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons palm oil over high, add the onion rings, and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Arrange the onion rings over the collards and garnish with the remaining chile.