Braised Mixed Greens

This week’s box of winter vegetables from the CSA included collard greens and rainbow chard so I made Braised Mixed Greens. I grew up eating collard greens, but Michael is not as familiar with them. I decided to braise both greens together with shallots and a little crispy crumbled bacon for a hot lunch. I thought I would be eating alone but Michael joined me. The verdict?

He said they were delicious! I agreed.

I know people sometimes cook the heck out of their greens like my grandmother did, but I like them to have a little bite left. Braising is my chosen method for cooking greens. They are fully cooked, but still retain their vibrant green color.

I served this Braised Mixed Greens with kalamata olive bread for a light and healthy hot lunch.

Here’s the recipe.

Braised Mixed Greens

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Ingredients

• 3 slices thick cut bacon
• I bunch Swiss chard (stem removed and coarsely chopped)
• 1 bunch collard greens (stem removed and coarsely chopped)
• 3 large shallots (coarsely chopped)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Wash the chard and collard green leaves under cold running water. But the tough center stems out and coarsely chop the leaves.
• Place the bacon into a large braising pot and cook on the stove top until almost crispy. Remove two pieces of bacon and continue cooking the remaining piece until crispy. Remove the single slice of bacon from the pot to use later as garnish. Coarsely chop the other two pieces of bacon and put them back in the pot. Add the shallots and cook in the bacon grease for two minutes. Add the washed and chopped greens to the pot. Turn the heat to high and stir constantly as the greens begin to wilt and give up their juices. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the greens are to your liking. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with crumbled bacon.