Let’s talk kale, shall we? Tough, hearty and a little intimidating if you’ve never worked with it before. I’ve tried a few recipes recently and I’m turning into a huge fan.
Kale has a distinctive flavour and a lot of crunch. You want to work with that, not try to hide it.
In all of these recipes, you start by taking out the centre stem of the kale leaf. I have yet to find a recipe that uses them, but if anyone knows of one, please let me know.
So first up are kale chips. They’re like potato chips, only way more vitaminy. And super easy to make. Just tear a couple of kale leaves into chip-sized pieces, coat with olive oil and salt. Lay them out on cookie sheets and put them into a 350 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes. Start checking after the twelve minute mark. They quickly go from still too soft to burnt and you want to catch them before they do.
You can also make a really tasty salad with raw kale.
Again, tear it into bite-sized pieces. Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. And then mix in dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts (if you have them). Healthy, crunchy, tasty and quick. Plus, the green and red together would make a really festive addition to a Christmas feast.
It’s also wonderful in Caldo Verde – a Portuguese soup. Basically, you sweat some onions and garlic, add in chicken stock and chunks of potato. Cook until the potato is soft. Some recipes call for blending the soup at this point, but I prefer my potatoes in chunks. Add slices of cooked spicy sausage and then a couple of handfuls of very thinly-sliced kale. Let this simmer for just a few minutes, until the kale is bright green and softened, but not overcooked (it gets really nasty if you overcook it). Serve it with a good crusty bread. Yummy!
photo credit: Sweet On Veg
Love it! Kale chips are soooo easy and kids love ‘em. My daughter made me a fruit smoothie yesterday, too – plum, mango, strawberry, banana in pineapple juice… and kale! As long as you remove the stem, and don’t overwhelm it with toooo much torn up kale leaves you can’t taste it & it’s a rocking source of iron. Nice little flecks of green to decorate your teeth, too!
Thanks for the reminder of the soup recipe — it is super yum. I esp appreciate the tip about overcooking — nobody wants the nasty kale experience!
Your blogs are great! Thanks so much for all of them.
Thanks so much Karen! And thanks for sharing your smoothie idea. I like the thought of sneaking in some extra iron and vitamins – especially if it leaves flecks on the teeth!
You make all this sound so easy! Thanks for inspiring me!
It really is easy – scary, sometimes, to try new things, but really easy to do.
I’ve never eaten kale before. Thanks for the ideas, Barb!
Your kids might not thank me, but you’re oh, so welcome, Heidi!
Hey Barb, I am no culinary genius, but I can tell you that Kale is pretty much a national dish in Holland. Now the dutch are also not known for their culinary genuis (they do killer pancakes) , but this dish was my favorite growing up. It is called Boerenkool (or farmers cabbage) and gets cooked in one pot with potatoes so know as a “stamppot” it is usually served with sausage “met worst”. I’m sure google will give you the rest.
Yummy! Thanks Marian! The kale-potato-sausage combination seems to be a favourite. I’ll look for kale on the menus when we head to Amsterdam next Fall…