braised turnip greens simmered with bacon and ground pork, one-pot Southern-style greens

Washing 2 pounds of turnip greens is real, unglamorous work. You stand at the sink rinsing grit out of leaf after leaf, and it takes longer than the rest of the recipe combined. That is worth naming, because a lot of what AIP actually asks of you looks like this: small, repeated effort, done again and again, week after week.

Turnip greens are a good source of vitamin K, which the body uses for things like blood clotting and bone health, worth having now that a diet this careful leans harder on vegetables for its minerals than it used to. The bacon and pork are here for flavor and staying power more than nutrition, since the greens are already doing plenty on their own.

Once the greens are washed, the rest is simple: render the bacon, brown the pork, and let the pot go low and slow until the greens turn silky. Make a big batch, since a pot like this holds up over several days, and coming home to a meal that is already finished is its own quiet relief on a tired night.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds turnip greens
• 4 strips thick-cut, sugar-free clean-label bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 cup bone broth
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Salt

Method

Wash the turnip greens well to remove any grit, strip out the toughest stems, and roughly chop the leaves.

Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until it renders its fat and begins to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it up, until it is no longer pink.

Add the chopped greens in handfuls, stirring to wilt them down before adding more. Pour in the bone broth and apple cider vinegar and season with salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook low and slow until the greens are very tender and the flavors have melded, about 30 to 45 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt before serving.

Slow cooker variation

Brown the bacon, onion, and ground pork on the stove first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker with the wilted greens, broth, and vinegar. Use a little less broth since the slow cooker loses no liquid. Cook on low for about 4 to 6 hours, until the greens are silky and tender.

Instant Pot variation

Use the saute function right in the pot. Render the bacon, soften the onion, and brown the ground pork. Turn off saute, then add the greens, broth, and vinegar, pressing the greens down into the liquid. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes before venting. Stir, taste, and adjust the salt.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*