Navy Beans Greens With Bacon Garlic Food

BACON-GARLIC GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Place green beans in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans start to soften, about 10 minutes. Drain water, leaving beans in the pot.
• Place bacon strips on a microwave-safe plate and cook in the microwave until crisp, about 2 minutes. Cool and crumble bacon.
• Stir butter and bacon into beans in the pot and return to medium heat; cook and stir until butter melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Top with lemon zest and stir.

QUICK-BRAISED GREENS AND BEANS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Prepare the greens: Cut the tough stems out of the greens and discard. Stack the leaves, roll tightly crosswise and slice into 3/4-inch-wide ribbons. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with cold water and swish to remove grit. Transfer greens to a colander, cleaning them a second time if the water remaining in the bowl is visibly dirty.
• Cook 2 bacon slices in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Meanwhile, cut the remaining 2 bacon slices crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
• Add the 1/4-inch bacon strips to the hot bacon fat and cook, stirring, until the fat in the bacon strips starts to render, about 1 minute. Add the onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the stock, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, 5 minutes.
• Increase the heat to medium, add the greens, season with salt and pepper and stir until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook until tender with a little bite, about 3 minutes.
• Uncover and add the beans and hot sauce. Stir until the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among serving dishes and crumble the cooked bacon slices on top. Serve with more hot sauce.

COLLARD GREENS & BEANS

Steps:

• Remove and discard center ribs and stems from collard greens. Cut leaves into 1-in. pieces. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally., Add onion and garlic to bacon and drippings; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add collard greens; cook and stir until they begin to wilt. Stir in water, brown sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 55-65 minutes or until greens are tender, adding beans during the last 15 minutes.

NAVY BEAN AND BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Pick over the beans and soak them in water for at least eight hours.
• Slice the bacon into half-inch strips and fry them until they're brown and crispy. Drain the bacon thoroughly and pour away all but about two tablespoons of the fat. (You can save the fat for other uses, as it has a nice smoky flavor.).
• Chop the onion and saute it in the reserved bacon fat until it's soft and translucent.
• Peel the garlic and slice the cloves into halves or thirds vertically. Add to the frying onions. Be extremely careful not to burn the garlic, as that will make it bitter and nasty.
• Put the soaked beans, fried bacon, sauteed onion and garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves into the pressure cooker. Add water to cover by about an inch, Stir and process for 11 minutes under pressure. Allow to cool naturally (don't vent). Or, cook at a low simmer until the beans are soft all the way through.
• Remove the bay leaves and wizz with a stick blender to make a puree. Add the salt carefully, stirring thoroughly after each addition, until it tastes good to you. The amount, 2 tsp, is just an approximation, because the saltiness of the bacon varies.

BACON AND GARLIC GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; drain. In the same skillet, saute onion in butter and oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in wine; bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half., Add the green beans, salt, garlic powder and pepper; heat through. Stir in lemon juice and bacon.