Wilted Escarole with Country Ham and Chiles

This is a delicious and easy side dish that’s quick to prepare: sautéed garlic, salty ham, red pepper flakes and lemon add lots of flavour to an otherwise bland vegetable and the quick cook method allows it to retain its colour and much of its texture.

The recipe called for quite a bit of added fat…..I decided that some of the butter (I used only1 tbsp) that’s used at the end to form a sauce with lemon juice and zest was needed for flavour so reduced (to 1 tbsp) the olive oil used to cook the garlic and the greens.

I think the flavours in this dish would go well with other leafy greens “ spinach, chard, kale etc; I particularly liked the use of ham instead of bacon to provide a smoky-salty punch to the dish. Definitely something I’ll make again.