Braised Greens and Lentils

Susan over at The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting a second helping of My Legume Love Affair. Since I most definitely love legumes, especially lentils, I had to join in. It's still really warm here (87 today), so I was originally thinking salad. But when I saw the beautiful kale and mustard greens at the market, I couldn't help but change my mind, and go with a braised greens and lentils dish.


















I got the idea from Michel Richard's Collard Greens and Lentils, posted by Luisa at The Wednesday Chef. I figured since the oven was set only at 250, it wouldn't heat up the kitchen too much.

I replaced the collard greens in the original recipe with 1 bunch each of kale and mustard greens. I also added a minced garlic clove, and drastically reduced the balsamic vinegar down to only 1 teaspoon. And added a ton of black pepper.

You could easily make this vegetarian/vegan by using veggie broth and omitting the bacon. In fact, I'm not sure the bacon added anything essential, so I may just do that next time. Or, you could do a 180, and make it less vegetarian by adding chopped boiled smoked hamhock.

This turned out amazing - chewy lentils, slightly bitter greens, some acidity from the vinegar - in a word, spectacular (although not terribly photogenic!).