Kale-O-Rama

Casserole of Late Fall Greens

from 100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change

Ingredients:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used gluten free)

kosher salt and black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2.5 ounces of bacon (about 3 strips)

2 cups winter greens (I used kale but you could also try spinach, swiss chard, etc)

1/3 cup freshly grated hard cheese

1. To prepare and cook greens, remove any tough stems and roughly chop. Bring pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook until greens are tender (spinach: 30 seconds, chard: 1 minute, kale: 8 mins). Drain and squeeze to remove excess water.

2. Preheat oven to 400. Butter a 4 cup shallow gratin dish. Toss together breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp of melted butter with salt and ground pepper, set aside.

3. In medium saucepan, bring cream and garlic to a boil over medium-high heat and then turn down heat and stir vigorously until cream is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Take pan off heat, remove garlic and discard. Let cream cook slightly. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and few grinds of black pepper.

4. In large skillet, cook bacon until crisp and brown. Drain on paper towel. Remove most of fat from pan, add remaining butter and return pan to heat. Add cooked greens with 1/4 tsp salt and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. Evenly spread warmed greens to gratin pan.

5. Crumble bacon over greens. Sprinkle on cheese. Pour seasoned cream over everything and top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 until brown and bubble, about 25 minutes. Let rest 10 mins before serving.