Bacon-braised collard greens: a green you will actually finish

AIP is not only about what you take away. The deeper move is what you add: real vegetables, in real quantity, cooked so you actually want to eat them. This side is exactly that. Three bunches of collards braised down with a little bacon and broth, ready in about 15 minutes, the kind of green you look forward to rather than push around the plate.

Collard greens are a generous vegetable for this kitchen. They are a source of vitamin K and folate, and they carry calcium and fiber that feeds a healthier gut community. The fat from the bacon helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the greens, so the pairing does more than taste good, a small amount of well-sourced bacon turns a plain green into a plate you finish.

Source the pork well, and let yourself feel the small gratitude in cooking simply and wasting little. Make the plate beautiful, the deep green glossed with the rendered fat, and take a breath before you eat. The few minutes of presence are part of the medicine, not separate from it.

Ingredients

• 6 strips bacon, diced (clean-label, ideally just pork and salt)
• 3 bunches collard greens, tough stems removed, chopped
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or omit)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• (black pepper omitted, as it is a nightshade)

Method

Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it crisps and renders its fat.

Add the chopped collard greens to the bacon and its fat and stir-fry them together for about five minutes, until they begin to wilt and take on color.

Pour in the vinegar and cook a minute or two more, letting it reduce against the greens.

Add the chicken broth, lower the heat, and let everything simmer until the collards are tender to your liking. Season with the salt, taste, and serve warm.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*