Recipe - Southern-Style Greens With Slab Bacon

WITTENBERG BCWX27A
One half pound Slab bacon (not salt pork),
in one piece
2 pound Collard greens or turnip,
greens
2 Cloves garlic, peeled and
cut or sliced up thin
Salt & freshly ground black,
pepper (optional)
Hot pepper vinegar

Put the bacon in a large pot. Add 3 quarts of cold water and bring it to a
simmer over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat and continue simmering
until the liquid is reduced to about 5 cups. This will take about 1 1/2
hours, depending on the size and shape of your pot Meanwhile wash the
greens well and let them drain (no need to dry them). Remove and discard
the stems. Stack the leaves and slice them crosswise at 1inch intervals.
When the stock is ready, add the garlic then add the greens a few at a time
poking them down into the liquid with a wooden spoon until they wilt. When
all the greens have been added, cook them at a simmer until tender, about
30 to 40 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the greens below the surface of
the liquid. Let them cool in the liquid.

To serve, reheat the greens in their liquid; season if necessary with salt
and black pepper. Serve in warm bowls, with a smidgen of the bacon and some
of the braising liquid (pot liquor). Offer hot pepper vinegar on the side.

Author's note: These irresistible greens are absolutely better the second
day. They seem to absorb more of the smoky bacon flavor, and the braising
liquid ("pot likker") tastes better, too. In contrast to what you're served
in some restaurants, greens prepared this way are neither salty nor greasy.
You can almost taste the nutrition in them. Don't throw away the pot
liquor. Use it in vegetable soup or enjoy a cup of it for lunch the next
day. Serves 4.

From: MORE VEGETABLES PLEASE by Janet Fletcher. Emeryville, CA: Harlow &
Ratner, c1992.

Posted to MMRecipes Digest V4 #082 by Simps c.simpson@worldnet.att.net
on Mar 22, 1997