Since Suzanne is from the South, I have made it a goal to try and make some great paleo renditions of southern fare for her as well as myself. The excellent cookbook put out last year, Paleo Comfort Foods, made it a little easier to make this possible. While Paleo Comfort is an excellent blueprint and starter, I still like to venture out and see if I can create a dish of my own. One of my favorite southern side dishes has got to be braised greens. In particular, collard greens. The best part really, it’s super tasty, fairly straight forward and quite nutritious as well!
Southern Style Braised Greens Click To Tweet
- 2 bunches greens (rainbow chard, collard greens, kale etc) stems removed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 2 shallots, sliced into crescents
- 5 slices uncured bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- splash of vinegar
- red pepper flakes to taste
- In a large pot, add bacon and cook on a medium heat until most of the fat is rendered out and bacon is golden brown.
- Add shallots and saute until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute until tender, another 3-4 minutes.
- When garlic is cooked, add chicken stock to deglaze pot and let simmer about 2 minutes.
- Add chopped greens to pot and let steam until you are able to stir. You may have to do this in bunches depending on the size of your pot. Once greens are wilted and stirred, cover pot and reduce heat to low.
- Let greens braise low and slow for a MINIMUM of 30 minutes, but for best flavor, let them braise for up to 3 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes.
- With 5 minutes to go, add vinegar and/or red pepper flakes.
- Serve with your favorite meat of choice. Goes great as a side to shredded beef or even chili dogs.
****Disclosure: If you purchase any of the products linked in this post or products through the links on the right side of my page, I receive a small percentage from the respected affiliate programs****
[…] been really getting into braising things, especially in the last month or so. I’ve made the Southern Style Braised Greens on average of once a week easily (doesn’t hurt that there’s plenty of bacon in there). […]