I’ve been searching for a while for the perfect recipe to make slightly bitter, springtime collard greens – and this is the one.  It’s bitter, bacony, sweet, and sour, all at once.  Adapted from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• 2 lbs collard greens (or other bitter greens, like chard and kale)
• 1 c chicken broth

Instructions

1.  Heat large pan over medium heat, and cook bacon until it just begins to brown around the edges, stirring occasionally.  (The bacon will seem less done than you want it to, but this is okay.)
2. Add onions and cook until they have softened and are just starting to brown.
3. Add garlic, salt, and sugar, and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
4. Add vinegar, bring to a simmer, and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by half, scraping any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add collard greens and chicken broth and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens have wilted and lost a bit of their brightness.

Serve with some of the juices from the pan.