Almost Braised Kale

Kale: part of the cabbage family.  It is known to be very high in beta carotine, vitamin K, lutein and reasonabley high in calcium.  It contains sulphurophane which has high anti-cancer properties.

I came up with this delish dish while looking through the random that is my refrigerator for dinner ingredients.  It's very easy to make, and can be served alone, or on a bed of nice brown rice.  I was even able to get my sometimes picky 3 year old to eat her "green stuff".  

This dish is best made with a nice thick cut bacon - we get ours from a local butcher that double smokes their bacon, instead of brining.  You'll be fine to make it with a supermarket thick cut brand.

You will need:

Olive oil

5 pieces of thick cut bacon chopped 

1 large juicy tomato or 6-7 cocktail tomatoes diced

1 medium onion chopped

2 gloves of garlic diced

1 small head of kale stripped from the stem and roughly torn into bite sized pieces 

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp Chinese five spice

Heat about a tbsp of olive oil in a high sided frypan or pot on medium heat.  Add the fennel seeds and bacon, and cook until brown.  Remove the bacon and set aside.  Add the onion and garlic to the pan, sprinkle with the Chinese five spice and cook until just soft.  Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 3-5 minutes on low heat.  Add the bacon and kale, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes on low heat.

Just add bacon to get a picky eater to enjoy their greens!