Collard Green Salad & Warm Bacon Dressing
Anyone else obsessed with salads? When the world was open, Sweetgreen was MY JAM, OK!? I loveddddd making my own salad. I feel like that’s when kale made a comeback, right?
Tuscan kale is ALWAYS in my fridge, it’s a weekly pick up at the grocery store for this household. Whenever I get home, I wash it really good and then when it is still wet, I wrap it in a kitchen towel and it will keep for about a week. Anyway, I’ve had a lot of kale and I remember I use to eat collard green salads all the time and I was like hold up…let me get back to my collard green salads!
I love making salads at home because I get to control everything. More cheese, done! More protein, done! No extra charge for anything lol. Anyway, collard greens are not just for holidays but eating them in a salad is so good. When it’s shredded, properly dressed and massaged it is AMAZING!
I made this for BuzzFeed Tasty and decided to add it to my blog so you can find it here. If you don’t want to use the warm bacon dressing (which I really hope you do) you can interchange it for anything you like. Sub the salmon with steak or even chicken…it’s your house & your lunch!
Try it below!
Ingredients
6–8 whole collard green leaves
4 slices of thick-cut applewood smoked bacon
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
¼ pound pan-seared salmon (optional), for serving
Directions
Wash the collard greens, then cut out the stems. Stack the greens and roll up like a burrito, then cut into ¼-inch strips.
Chop the bacon, then cook in a medium nonstick pan over medium heat for 5–6 minutes, until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat behind, and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, then cut into ½-inch pieces.
Add the garlic to the pan with the bacon fat and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the red pepper flakes, mustard, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine, then cook for 2–3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Return the bacon to the pan and stir to combine.
Pour the warm dressing over the collard greens in a large bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the red onion, cucumber, and tomatoes. Serve the salmon alongside, if desired.
Enjoy!