Collard Greens and Bacon
Lucky veg whose green color symbolizes money. Yes.
Is it necessary to overcook these greens to death? No.
Only last week I emphasized this point to a friend responding to my planned lucky foods New Year’s dishes. I should note that I take preparing traditional Good Luck New Year’s Day foods so seriously that no matter how much or how many people I’ve cooked for over the holidays, no matter how late I’ve stayed up on New Year’s Eve, or even if no one is coming over, the discipline in seeing through these foods is critical toward ensuring the year ahead, otherwise, to me, it’s sort of like praying to God to win the lottery but failing to buy a ticket.
Happy New Year 2017! Collard Greens with Bacon were on my good luck menu and they are delicious with a gentle warming until just cooked fully through, while still maintaining their bright green color. Now I realize I’m packing here a recipe that in the first week of January contains bacon, and bacon grease, but not excessive amounts and a bowl of these, ahem, not overcooked greens, are a healthy and delicious vegetable to include in your mix, not to mention they have luck attached to them. Wishing you a lucky year ahead, be sure to eat your greens.
Collard Greens and Bacon
Ingredients
- 5 slices center cut bacon, plus reserved bacon grease
- 1 bunch collards, around one and a half pounds
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- couple small pinches coarse kosher salt, plus more according to taste
Instructions
- Cut bottom stalk off of collards, soak and wash leaves well in cool water. Tear large leaves from center stem, cut leaves into bite sized pieces
- In a large sized saute pan, cook bacon until browned and crisped, remove bacon to a paper towel covered plate. Reduce heat of saute pan to low with the remaining bacon grease, tumble in the onion, cook three minutes
- Lightly dry collards with a paper towel leaving a bit of water clinging to the leaves. Topple collards into the pan using tongs to lift and move the collards all about through the onions and bacon grease Continue to cook around ten minutes, or a little longer until leaves are cooked just tender and have cooked out the raw flavor
- Chop cooked bacon, stir into collards with salt, toss throughout, check seasoning, adjust to taste
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