Must be missin' Louisiana

A friend of mine scored some collard greens this past week. (The Food Co-Op here does a $15 basket of all kinds of fruits and vegetables. And she shared some of her loot with me! Thanks Kayla!) :) I had never cooked collards, but I have sure eaten them! Greens remind me so much of the south.

I looked up several different ways to prepare my greens and decided on this recipe:

1 T. olive oil
3 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
little salt... just a little before you taste-test
little pepper
3 C. chicken broth
pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, stripped from stem and cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. (I poured all the excess bacon grease out.) Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.
2. Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.

We ate them with some already-cooked andouille pork sausage. You can find good brands of sausage with the only added ingredients being spices. I sliced the sausage, warmed it in the oven, then we ate bowls full of collards and sausage (and mushrooms in my bowl.) Doesn't get more southern than that! :)