I started with the collard greens. I stemmed them. At first, I was looking at utilizing the large half leaves for something. After some time debating, I cut the half leaves into inch-wide strips. They were similar to short noodles. I made a connection sparked by the visual look and an alliteration. I had two pieces of mortadella in the refrigerator that were supposed to be used for another idea. I borrowed one and cut it into a small dice.
For the egg component, I borrowed the idea of folding Parmigiano Reggiano enriched scrambled eggs into the pasta rather than making the egg, cheese, and pasta water emulsion as a sauce. Aki braised the collard greens in chicken broth spiked with hot sauce. The broth around the collards called for a robust noodle. I was up for making another round of hand-pulled noodles. I think we are finally beginning to get a grasp on hand-pulled noodles. The dish came together. It was robust and flavorful. It was a delicious take on the original.
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