Kale and bacon with chilli and almonds

Prepare: less than 30 mins
Cook: less than 10 mins
Serve: Serves 4–6
Dietary: Dairy-free Egg-free Pregnancy-friendly

Create a really special vegetable side dish to accompany a celebration dinner or just to boost a weeknight fish or meat supper. Jesse cooks kale really simply in a frying pan with chilli, bacon and almonds to add a kick.

Each serving provides 152 kcal, 12.6g protein, 2.6g carbohydrate (of which 2.3g sugars), 9.7g fat (of which 2.2g saturates), 1.9g fibre and 1.3g salt.

By Jesse Jenkins

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Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, seeds removed and thinly sliced
100g/3½oz smoked bacon lardons
1 bunch kale, leaves picked from stems and roughly torn
½ tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp honey or sugar (any type)
2 tbsp flaked almonds, lightly toasted
salt

Recipe tips

How-to videos

Method

Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chilli and lardons and fry for 1 minute.
Turn the heat up to medium–high, add the kale and press the leaves down so they sear. Cook for about 1 minute until lightly browned.
Add a splash of water, lower the heat to medium and cover with a lid for a few minutes. Cook for just 1–2 minutes to keep the leaves bright with a little bite (cook longer if you prefer softer kale).
Add the vinegar, sugar or honey, almonds and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 1 minute to make sure everything is well combined and the initial sharpness has mellowed from the vinegar.
Serve immediately.

Recipe tips

You can also use cavolo nero or springs greens instead of kale.

Unless you love lots of heat in your food, it's best to use a fairly mild chilli, like the standard red chillies you can buy from supermarkets, which are mild and fairly sweet. If chilli isn't your thing, the recipe still works well without it.