Prepping Your Greens

• To make Southern-style spinach, start with the freshest greens you can find. Spinach is available year-round, but it peaks first in the spring and again in early fall. Look for firm, dark green leaves, with their stems intact. Avoid any spinach that already looks wilted or has yellow spots on it. Thoroughly wash your spinach to remove any dirt, as excess grit compromises the taste and texture of your dish. Pat the spinach dry and set it aside while you prep your other ingredients.

Adding the Flavor

• Unlike greens such as collard and kale, spinach cooks quickly. This dish comes together very fast, so you need to have all of your ingredients at the ready before you start. Southern-style spinach takes a lot of its flavor from the bacon cooked in the same pan. To begin, heat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, and fry your bacon strips until crisp. While the bacon is frying, finely chop an onion. Remove the cooked bacon from the pan and set it aside. Add your onion to the bacon fat and cook it until it becomes translucent.

Bringing It All Together

• Stir a bit of sugar or honey into the pan with the onions. Continue to stir until the sweetener dissolves completely. Next, add your spinach to the pan. Spinach has a high water content, so it makes a popping sound when it hits the heat. Saute the spinach in the onion mixture for about 5 minutes, until it has turned bright green and wilted down. Crumble your bacon strips over the top of the pan and mix them in with the spinach combination to finish the dish.

Serving It Up

• Southern-style greens are usually accompanied by corn bread or hoecakes. Hoecakes, also called "Johnnycakes," are flat breads made from cornmeal, traditionally served in the South. These breads soak up all of the tasty liquid from the greens. Southern-style spinach also pairs well with barbequed or braised meats and can give soups or stews an extra hit of flavor by adding the leftover greens. To spice up the greens, dress them with a dash of apple cider vinegar or hot sauce.