Wilted Dandelion Greens with Hot Bacon Dressing

From: "The Welcome Table, African-American Heritage Cooking",
by Jessica Harris, Fireside

Fresh native greens have traditionally been a part of the African-American diet. They are eaten slow-cooked and seasoned with a piece of smoked meat, sauteed, or even raw in salads. During the Depression, dandelions were a source of vitamins for many an African-American family. My father's family, which was poorer than poor in the 1920s and 1930s, has family tales of picking dandelion greens on the lawn of Fisk College campus in Nashville, Tennessee, to survive. Those stewed greens made more than one dinner. Today, dandelion greens have become an expensive luxury item for many, available only in fancy green-grocers' shops. They are still stewed, but they are also served as a wonderful wilted salad with a brown sugar and bacon dressing, a version of the classic spinach and bacon salad, but one with an African-American flair.

Wash the dandelion greens thoroughly, spin them dry, and place them in a glass salad bowl. Peel and slice the onion, separating the slices into rings.

Cut the bacon into l-inch pieces and fry them in a heavy skillet until they are crisp. When they have rendered all of their fat, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings, return the skillet to the burner, and rapidly stir in the sugar and the cider vinegar.

Adjust the seasoning and pour the hot dressing over the greens and onion. Add the salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4

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