[BfL_Cat]

I got some in this week's CSA bag, and have no idea what to do with it. What are your favorite ways to eat it?
Cindy

[Quixotica]

Hi,
It depends upon the diet you are on, but on Atkins, I cook a couple of slices of bacon, drain them, take the grease out of the pan, add water, salt pepper and some dried pepper flakes. Shred the kale (about three cups, unsteamed), and steam it in the water until tender. Sprinkle with some lemon juice to finish. Yum! Kale is one of the most nutrient dense vegetables there is! You can also make a creamed soup out of it. I like it with noodles, soy sauce, ginger, toasted sesame oil, a dab of peanut butter and a splash of vinegar and a dash of hot pepper sauce. That one eases my craving for Thai food. Of course you will want to measure the noodles to be within your diet parameters. I have a friend who cuts it up really fine and whips it into her mashed potatoes...she says her kids love it. You can use it like spinach in all the spinach based recipes, too.

Sheri

[Glory87]

I actually adore kale. My favorite way to eat it is to wilt it - unlike spinach which wilts down into a squishy pile (which I do like), kale keeps its texture and shape. I like to wilt it with a little olive oil, some garlic and a squeeze of lemon.

I like bitter greens, so sometimes I just use it like lettuce (on veggie tacos, sandwiches, etc).

I also make a great kale and navy bean soup (sorry, I don't have the recipe handy, but it should be pretty easy to find one on the internet if you're interested).

[BlueToBlue]

You can use it in any recipe that calls for spinach, as a sub for the spinach.

Here are some of my favorite recipes for swiss chard--any of them would also be great with kale instead of chard.

[Jonsgurl0531]

My hubby can make a mad Kale Soup... It is a new bedford MA thing I guess but it is DElish.. Here is a recipie of it online.. It looks almost like how he makes it minus the olive oil and we use kidney beans. He always just sticks it all in a crock pot and lets it cook for the day. It always lasts us over a week eating it for lunch and here and there.

NEW BEDFORD PORTUGUESE KALE SOUP

1 package frozen or 1-2 lbs fresh kale
1 large yellow onion
3 potatoes, peeled
2 linguica, sliced
8 cups chicken or pork broth
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 can Cannelloni beans
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 hot pepper, seeded
1/3 teaspoon paprika
Season with salt, & pepper to taste

Slice linguica and saute in 1/4 cup of olive oil, onion, and chopped garlic. Do not allow garlic to brown, so add last. Sausage does not need to cook. Add liquid and simmer for 10 minutes.
Prepare the kale by rinsing thoroughly and tearing the leafy portions from the stems. Tear into bite-size pieces. Discard stems.

If you do not have broth on hand, use 4 tablespoons of Minor's or Tone's chicken base or 2 tablespoons of Knorr's bouillion granules.

See information below about making broth from scratch for those days when you have the time.

Add potatoes, kale, and simmer additional 30 minutes.

Add beans if desired.

Serve with portuguese pops (rolls) or crown pilot chowder crackers.

[BfL_Cat]

I'm assuming that linguica is some sort of a sausage? I've never heard of it!

[tommy]

Portuguese linguica is a delicious smoky sausage, usually sold fully cooked along with the kielbasa, etc in the meat/deli counter. It is pork with paprika and garlic as some of the main flavorings. Kale and beans work well with the smoky porkiness. You could sub any sausage with similar characteristics. One thing I do to lower the fat a bit is to slice the sausage and nuke it on paper towels (covered to minimize splatter) for a minute or so, blot off as much grease as possible, and then use in the recipe.

[BfL_Cat]

Here's another recipe that was featured on the RealAge site - I may have to try this as well!

Indian-Spiced Kale and ChickpeasChickpeas make this exotic dish a terrific player in any vegetarian menu.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped (see Tip)
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garam masala, (see Ingredient note)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

Directions:
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add broth, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas; cover and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Nutrition Information
Per serving
Calories: 202
Carbohydrates: 32g
Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
Protein: 9g
Cholesterol: 1mg
Dietary Fiber: 6g
Potassium: 499mg
Sodium: 415mg


RECIPE TIPS:
A 1- to 1 1/2-pound bunch of kale yields 16 to 24 cups of chopped leaves. When preparing kale for these recipes, remove the tough ribs, chop or tear the kale as directed, then wash it--allowing some water to cling to the leaves. The moisture helps steam the kale during the first stages of cooking.
Ingredient note: Garam masala, a ground spice mixture traditionally including coriander, cumin, cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom and cloves, is commonly used in Indian cooking. Find it in the specialty-spice section of large supermarkets.

[Su-Bee]

Do you have a dehydrator? Toss the leaves w/ a little olive oil & sea salt & dehydrate for kale chips - DELICIOUS!

[PhotoChick]

As some others have said, you can cook kale just like any green - it holds it's shape and texture better than spinach when cooked for a long period of time.

I also like kale in my veggie soups. I often make cabbage and kale soup (actually it's just a bit of everythign - carrot, onion, garlic, mushroom, but primarily cabbage and kale).

You can also make kale chips by spritzing them with olive oil and sea salt and baking them in a 250 deg oven for about an hour. Just make sure that they're spread out on a cookie sheet and there's no overlap.

If you're not on Atkins or SBD, kale and mashed potatoes is heavenly. A 1/2 a potato (or a small whole one) mashed up and mixed with plain boiled kale, a little salt, and some butter (or butter spray) is yummy and filling. Sort of a version of colcannon.

Put kale in veggie stir fry - just like you would Chinese cabbage or whatever. Chop it up and throw it in there early on .. it needs a little longer than regular cabbage to get tender.

The only thing I personally don't like is kale raw. I tried making a mixed cabbage/kale slaw one time and it was just too bitter when uncooked. Also had a weird texture, IMO.

I'm sure there are other things, but those are the ones I do with kale when I buy it. I usually get some every other week or so when I can find it at the grocery or the farmer's market!

.

[zenor77]

MASSAGE IT! This is my favorite way to prepare it raw. You cut the leaves very finely across the stem (think chiffonade.) Then add a bit of liquid of choice and seasoning. My favorite is soy sauce, a bit of sesame oil and pepper flake. Then "massage" the heck out of it, just squeeze and squeeze with your hands until it's bright green and wilty. This is best when it's super fresh.

For cooked kale I like adding it to stirfrys, soups, or cooking it like any other green. It's really yummy stirfried with lots of garlic and extra firm tofu.

[PhotoChick]

MASSAGE IT! This is my favorite way to prepare it raw. You cut the leaves very finely across the stem (think chiffonade.) Then add a bit of liquid of choice and seasoning. My favorite is soy sauce, a bit of sesame oil and pepper flake. Then "massage" the heck out of it, just squeeze and squeeze with your hands until it's bright green and wilty. This is best when it's super fresh.

I never thought of that, by Holy Schmoley that sounds good. My stomach just gurgled reading this!

.