Bacon-Braised Kale

Kale is a considered a “superfood” for a reason—it has the most nutrients per calorie than just about any vegetable! It’s packed with incredible amounts of vitamins (over 200% of your recommended daily value of Vitamin A!) minerals, and antioxidants, not to mention fiber (See Kale: Superfood and Delicious Too!)! In fact, you’d need to eat three heads of iceberg lettuce to get the same nutrition as one cup of chopped kale!  And while I don’t think any one veggie is more important than getting a good diversity of vegetable nutrition (see The Importance of Vegetables), it’s worth finding a way to work this powerhouse into our diet.

Of course, plenty of people don’t like kale. My solution? Bacon! Sure, bacon gets a bad wrap, but it’s actually a good source of vitamins and minerals! Plus, fat from high quality bacon may actually help make some of kale’s fabulous nutrition more bioavailable to our bodies. That’s a good thing! The beauty of this dish is in its simplicity. Adding garlic and lemon juice ties everything together, so don’t skip it!

This is one of the recipes I developed for the Paleo Bites TV pilot. In fact, two of the Science Bites segments in the pilot center around the key ingredients in this dish.  I was reminded to share this recipe on my website when I had a conversation with one of my co-producers who told me that he still makes this dish on a regular basis!  In the pilot episode, I served it with Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breast with Cauliflower Gravy.

You can watch the entire pilot episode here (woot for cooking videos!):

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 to 8 minutes
Serves: 4

 

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch kale
• 3 ounces bacon
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed

Directions:

1.  Chop the bacon into small pieces and place in a cold skillet. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crispy. If bacon releases a lot of fat, drain enough to leave 2-3 tablespoons in the pan.
2. Add kale and 2 tablespoons broth. Stir and cook until broth evaporates. Add another 2 tablespoons broth and cook, stirring occasionally until broth
   evaporates. Continue until kale is completely cooked (3-5 minutes).
3. Add crushed garlic and lemon juice. Stir and cook 1 more minute. Serve.