Wilted Mixed Greens with Bacon

Greens!  Greens!  Greens! 
Greens are packed with vitamins and minerals and when I cook up a big batch, they become convenience food.  I always get a bundle of mixed types of greens in my CSA pack, and usually never enough to make a meal of just one type.  All greens do NOT taste the same, and I prefer the taste of some over others.  If it weren't for my CSA, I would proabably not eat Rainbow Chard by choice.  It is lovely to look at, but I just simply don't enjoy the taste of the darn things.  Mixed with a variety of other greens, a bit of vinegar, some honey and hot pepper, and of course bacon, unappealing greens become a healthy and tasty balanced meal, or quick snack when I'm starving before dinner.


1 yellow onion, diced
6 strips thick-sliced bacon (nitrate & nitrite free)
1 pound mixed delicate greens -- choose Swiss Chard, Rainbow Chard, beet greens
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
Sea salt & black pepper

Slice raw bacon into matchsticks, or get yourself a kitchen shears and snip it!  This is the fastest way I know to cut bacon.  It also saves having to wash another cutting board.

Over medium-high heat, begin to cook bacon until some of the fat melts a bit, then add onion and 1/2 tablespoon salt and reduce heat to medium.  Saute until bacon is browned and onions are golden.

Remove stems from greens.  Dice stems and add to onions.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Coursely chop leaves and set aside.  Saute stem/onion mix until stems lose a bit of their crunch, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, garlic, red pepper, black pepper, vinegar, and honey.  Taste the broth to see if it needs more salt.

When broth liquid is boiling, add chopped greens.  Gently turn leaves to wilt those near the top.  This should only take a few seconds.


This recipe also works for Mustard greens, Turnip greens, and Dandelion greens however, you may want to increase the amount of vinegar and honey in this recipe to help balance the bitter flavor.






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