Kale & Other Greens
Season: winter, spring
Massaged Kale Salad
This is my favorite way to make kale salad. You can create endless variations on this theme by replacing the tomatoes with fruit such as mangos, raisins, dried cranberries, etc. Sesame seeds and sunflower seeds are also a great addition.
Recipe type: side salad
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 bunch kale (sturdy varieties are best, like dinosaur or red ursa)
1 Tbs olive oil
1-2 cloved garlic, pressed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 avocado, diced
1 Tbs. pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
Remove the leaves from the stem by holding the stalky end of the stem and running your other hand upward along the stem using a tight hold to remove the greens. Discard (or compost!) the stems.
Chop the leaves and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon, garlic, salt and olive oil. Massage for a few minutes until the kale is wilted.
Mix in the remaining ingredients and serve.
Source
Farmer Bridget @ Hamilton Pool Farms
Portuguese Kale Soup with White Beans
Recipe type: soup
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
½ cup dried white beans (navy, pea, or Great Northern)
2½ cups water or vegetable stock
2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1½ cups chopped onion
1 potato, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 small carrot, chopped (about ½ cup)
1 small parsnip, chopped (about ½ cup)
1½ cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
6 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (1 teaspoon dried)
12 dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about ½ cup), soaked in boiling water to cover
4 cups loosely packed, chopped kale
Pinch of saffron (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Cook the beans in the water or stock with the whole garlic and two bay leaves; the beans should be tender in 1 to 1½ hours.
While the beans are cooking, prepare the other ingredients.
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the ground fennel and minced garlic, and sauté for a minute.
Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the potato, carrot, and parsnip and sauté for another minute before adding the tomatoes, stock, two bay leaves, and oregano; simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain the soaked sun-dried tomatoes and chop coarsely.
Add to the soup pot with the kale and the drained, cooked beans.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have mingled.
Add the saffron and salt and pepper to taste.
Source
Sautéed Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins
Recipe type: side
Cuisine: Sicilian
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 bunch kale, chard, collards, or turnip greens, etc., about 1 pound, tough stem centers removed (if any) and discarded, greens chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Roughly 1/4 cup dry white wine (can sub water with a splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice)
Salt and pepper to taste
NOTE: Collards and kale lose less of their volume when cooked than do spinach or turnip greens, so if cooking them, chop them a bit smaller than you would the spinach or turnip greens.
Instructions
Heat a large sauté pan hot on medium-high heat and add the pine nuts. Toast them until they are fragrant and begin to brown. Pay attention as pine nuts burn easily. Stir or toss the nuts frequently. Once they are toasted, remove from pan and set aside.
Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds; the pan should already be hot, so it won't take long for the garlic to begin to brown.
Add the greens and mix well. Sauté, stirring often, until the greens wilt and begin to give up some of their water, anywhere from 1-2 minutes for spinach to 4-5 minutes for collards or kale.
Stir in the nuts and raisins, and sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes.
Add the white wine. Use a little more wine if you are cooking collards, and less if you are cooking spinach. Toss to combine and let the liquid boil away. Once the liquid boils off, remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Source