(108) Bacon and Brown Sugar-Braised Collard Greens

I might live in Florida, but I was raised in Virginia - Southern Virginia, to be exact. I grew up eating collards and Smithfield ham and biscuits and corn pudding and all those other yummy southern dishes *drool*. I don't normally make collards following a recipe, but I had pulled this one out to try.

I made a few changes - I added 3 cups of water when the collards started cooking. I also added 2 more cups of water at the 1 hour mark. I cooked them 2 hours on a really low simmer. They were fine at 1 hr, but in my opinion, collards are one of those things you can't cook too much!!

PS: They were spicy, so if you dont like the heat, cut the red pepper down to 1/4 tsp or less!

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Bacon and Brown Sugar-Braised Collard Greens

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)
Source: Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Cooking collard greens in a lightly sweetened braising liquid curbs their bitter bite. This Southern-inspired side dish is great with grilled pork chops and corn bread.

2 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (16-ounce) package prewashed torn collard greens

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in crumbled bacon, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Gradually add greens. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender.

Calories 60 (42% from fat); Fat 2.8g (sat 0.9g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.4g); Iron 0.2mg; Cholesterol 4mg; Calcium 90mg; Carbohydrate 7.2g; Sodium 208mg; Protein 2.3g; Fiber 2.4g