Kale again

When my stepdaughter, Aimée, recently shared a kale salad recipe with me, I immediately wanted to eat raw kale. Somehow, this fall, I’ve been feeling like the  “Into the Woods” Witch rapping in the prologue: “Greens, greens and nothing but greens”.

As it turned out, I had an opportunity to make a variation on this salad the very next night. It was simple, a citrus dressing tossed in a bowl of torn up baby kale.

Here is what I did:  SO EASY!!

Dressing:

3 clementines: halved and then juiced

approximately an equal amount to juice of good extra virgin olive oil

½ clove garlic, finely chopped

2 T rice wine vinegar (a  little fresh lemon juice would do)

 some salt, some pepper

As much baby kale cleaned, washed and with big stems removed as you need for you and your dinner companions.  I use my mother-in-law’s way of measuring: 2 or so handfuls per person ( but we are big salad eaters .She planned one handful per person as a side salad quantity.)

Now here is what is important: Toss kale in dressing at least fifteen minutes before eating.  This allows kale to absorb the dressing and to soften a bit. Even though it is young, the baby kale can be sort of chewy.

(If your kale is not really young or picked from your garden, it will be ok. Just let the kale sit longer in the dressing, And be sure to discard of tough stems and ribs.)

 Add some salt and pepper before serving.

Hail Kale

The good thing about kale is it thrives during winter when nothing else is in the garden. The other thing about kale is it continues right on into the early summer. I am growing Laciniato, an Italian heirloom variety. It is also known as dinosaur kale. It has bumpy, bluish green pre-historic looking leaves.

We love kale for its earthy green flavor and its versatility.  I am sad to see it going by.

We were halfway through eating when the thought came to me to post this easy and most delicious kale dish we had last night.  The “bones” of the dish are from Alice Waters.  I’m sorry we ate the meal before I could whip out my camera.

For 2 people:

About a pound of kale. Remove stem and central vein and chop roughly. Rinse well.

Approx. 1/8 C olive oil

½ large onion , sliced

2 or 3 garlic cloves

1-2 T  red wine or cider vinegar

Pasta of your choice ( I used YDFM Mezzaluna)

Over med/low heat in a large frying pan, cook onions in olive oil til they become medium golden brown.  When these are correct color, boil and salt pasta water. Add a layer of kale to the onions, add some salt, let them wilt, then add the rest of the kale. Stir in the garlic, and mix the onions into all the kale.  Put pasta in to cook.

When kale is wilted and tender enough to your taste, take off lid and let any excess liquid evaporate. Take off heat and add vinegar. Stir in.

Serve kale mixture on top of pasta. A little grated cheese doesn’t hurt. And you could add a pinch of dried red chili pepper, or even a little hot fresh garden pepper.

This could be a really fast meal if you skipped the onions. But they add a very nice sweetness. So if dinner time is crazy, you could think about precooking the onions some other time while you are up to something else and holding in the fridge til you need them.

holiday recovery

We survived the holidays: the rich food and the dessert and the parties and my gosh all that chocolate. We’re home, after a nine-day visit with our New England family. It’s time for soup again: hot, spicy, delicious filling soup. Here’s what I put in the pot that’s simmering on the stove:

3 andouille sausages (1pound), sliced
1 chicken breast, cut into 1” pieces
1 largish onion: chopped medium
1 bunch kale, cleaned, stemmed and chopped small-medium
1/2 sweet potato: peeled, diced approx. 1/2 “
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 qt. chicken broth
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes and 1.5 cans water
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
pinch or more hot pimenton
1tsp. honey

I put the chopped onions and the sliced sausage in the pot together and let them cook, covered, on medium low (with about a T of canola oil), stirring a couple of times, til the onions were soft. Then I added the rest of the ingredients, except the chicken breast. When the mixture was nearly boiling, I added the chicken, and brought the temp. down to a simmer.

I am theorizing the sweet potato will sweeten the kale, the kale and pinto beans will add earthiness and the andouille sausage will provide zing. I like the connection with the past by using these traditional southern ingredients, especially this time of year when the garden is asleep.