Kale

If kale is new to you, here are a few yummy recipes. I LOVE kale. I could eat it everyday. I throw it in soups and I often just saute it. Hopefully these recipes will help get the creative juices going.

From Food Network:
Sauteed Kale Bobby Flay

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced (you can also substitute green garlic instead)
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and
cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and
cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season
with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

Asian-Style Kale

The Washington Post, October 4, 2006

• • Cuisine: Asian
• • Course: Side Dish
• • Features: Fast, Healthy, Meatless

Summary:

This recipe is from Robyn Webb, a cooking instructor, who says she is particularly fond of using dino kale, but any kind can be substituted here. Serve this dish with marinated, grilled chicken and either steamed brown rice or cooked udon or soba noodles.
3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:

• • 3/4 pound (1 large bunch) kale*
• • 2 to 3 teaspoons sesame oil
• • 1 small shallot, minced
• • 1 to 2 clove garlic, minced
• • 1/4 cup (2 thin) minced scallions, both white and light green parts
• • 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger root
• • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds*, for garnish

Directions:

Wash the kale thoroughly to remove all grit. Discard the tough ribs, and coarsely chop the kale leaves.
In a large skillet or heavy wok, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, scallions and ginger root and cook for about 1 minute to release the aromas. Add the kale a bunch at a time and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until the leaves have softened a bit but the kale retains its shape. Remove from heat and add the soy sauce. Divide among individual plates, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if using, and serve hot.
ABOUT COOKED KALE: Some people like their greens on the softer side. For this recipe, author Robyn Webb suggests two techniques to achieve that result:
After the 3 to 4 minutes' cooking time (but before the soy sauce is mixed in), add water, cover and let steam to desired texture. Continue the recipe with the soy sauce step as stated in the recipe directions.
The kale can first be plunged into boiling water and cooked for 3 to 4 minutes, then drained. Proceed with cooking the shallots and then add the kale as stated in the recipe directions.
NOTE: To toast sesame seeds: Heat them in a dry skillet over medium heat or in a 325-degree oven, shaking the pan frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant, 4 to 8 minutes. Watch carefully; they burn easily.

Recipe Source:

Adapted from Northern Virginia cooking instructor Robyn Webb.
67 calories, 4g fat, 1g saturated fat, n/a cholesterol, 174mg sodium, 7g carbohydrates, 2g dietary fiber, n/a sugar, 3g protein.

Tested by Bonnie S. Benwick for The Washington Post.
E-mail the Food Section at food@washpost.com with recipe questions.

 

 

Mashed Potato Cakes with Onion and Kale (from Cooking Light) 

 Ingredients

• 12  cups  water
• 1  bunch kale, trimmed (about 4 ounces)
• 2 2/3  cups  (1-inch) cubed Yukon gold or red potato (about 1 pound)
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  butter or stick margarine
• 3  cups  diced onion
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh sage
• 1/4  cup  sliced green onions
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• Sage sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a Dutch oven; add kale. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. Remove kale with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Chop kale and set aside.
Add potato to reserved cooking liquid in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash potatoes. Stir in kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 400°.
Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, diced onion, and chopped sage. Cook 13 minutes or until browned. Combine potato mixture, onion mixture, green onions, and pepper. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
Preheat broiler.
Broil patties for 5 minutes or until browned. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.



 Baked Kale Chips 
(we haven't had these yet - but a TON of people we've talked to have and they LOVE them)

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

1.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2.	With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3.	Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

 

This fast stew retains the great charred flavor of the greens, and is much more substantial than a side dish. It also amplifies the taste of the classic combination of collards cooked with salt pork or smoky bacon.

Print Recipe

 

 

 

Kale, Sausage and Mushroom Stew

Yield 4 servings

Time 30 to 40 minutes

Mark Bittman

Summary

I like to start with pork sausage, but you can use bits of pork if you like, or a turkey or chicken sausage. Mushrooms cooked in the pan after the sausage make a great garnish for the stew, and so would grated or shaved Parmesan. But the key ingredients are garlic, lots of it, and hot red pepper. Paprika or crushed red chili flakes are fine, but even better is the smoked Spanish paprika called pimentón de la vera, or dried crushed Urfa or Maras peppers from Turkey.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 to 1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or hot, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 poundrn kale, leaves stripped from stems, stems reserved
• 3/4 pound trimmed and sliced mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon hot paprika or dried red chili flakes, or to taste
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock or water

Method

• 1. Put olive oil in large deep skillet or casserole, and turn heat to medium-high; a minute later, add sausage and cook without stirring until well browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop kale stems into 1/2-inch lengths and shred leaves.
• 2. Stir sausage and let it brown a bit more. Remove it with a slotted spoon (don't worry if it isn't cooked through). Cook mushrooms in remaining fat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
• 3. Add kale stems and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, in 3 or 4 minutes. Turn heat to medium and add garlic, paprika or chili flakes, kale leaves, salt and pepper; stir and cook about 1 minute. Return sausage to pan and add stock or water. Raise heat to high and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste, ladle stew into bowls and top with reserved mushrooms.

Source: The New York Times