On the Table: Peanut Butter Lettuce with Bacon

With the wind picking up and the rain pouring (hi Irene!), tonight seemed like a perfect night for some comfort food.  When I first made peanut butter lettuce, it was highly experimental - I wasn't sure how it was going to end up tasting.  I was pleasantly surprised and it has quickly become a go-to dish for me, however, since (a) it is DELICIOUS and (b) I tend to have the ingredients on hand.  I have made it with cabbage, which I actually think is better than with iceberg lettuce, and tonight I decided to add BACON (and onions)!  You can't get much more comfort-foody than that.  The bacon actually makes a pretty substantial difference in the taste as compared to the original version, but it was yummy in its own right!  To prepare:

Dice up one small yellow onion and thinly slice half a head of iceberg lettuce (I cut the half in half again and then slice it, so the pieces are bite-sized).

Dice up half a pound of bacon.

Put a 3.5 quart pot (or similar size) over medium/low heat and put just a bit of canola oil in the bottom of the pan.  Add the bacon to the pot.  Cook, stirring occassionally, until the bacon just starts to brown (it will cook more as you add the rest of the ingredients).

Add the onions to the pot.  Cook, stirring occassionally, until the onions become translucent.

(Unlike a lot of foods, bacon seems to look better when photographed with a flash.  Duly noted.)

While the onions are cooking, mix together in a small bowl: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar (I think apple cider vinegar is actually better, if you have it), 1 teaspoon of sriracha, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

Add the lettuce to the pot and toss well with the bacon/fat.  The lettuce will start to wilt pretty quickly.

When the lettuce starts to wilt, add the peanut butter mixture to the pot.  Stir well to thoroughly coat the lettuce.  Cook until the liquid comes to a simmer.

Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

P.S.  Brownie sundaes would make a perfect comfort food dessert for this meal :)