Three Easy Kale Recipes

At the end of every week, it's inevitable that I'll be digging through the fridge and find, lurking in the back of the crisper or stuffed inexplicably in the condiments drawer, yet ANOTHER monster bunch of kale which I'm sure I already ate days ago. I think kale must be like Gremlins fed past midnight: the moment you shut the door, it begins to reproduce exponentially. So, in order to save the world (or at least my fridge) from being overrun, I found some really quick, easy recipes that require lots of kale and minimum prep. Here are a few of my favorites.

Kale and Walnut Pesto

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 lb kale, without stems
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (optional - I like the pure taste of greens and garlic!)
sea salt, to taste

1. Toast walnuts over high heat until fragrant. Set aside.
2. Bring 2 cups water to boil. Add kale and 1T salt. Cook about 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. Drain kale. Add to food processor with garlic and walnuts.
4. While processing, slowly add olive oil until smoothly pureed.
(5. Stir in Parmesan.)
6. Enjoy with pasta or rice, spread on a sandwich, crackers, or just by the yummy spoonful! ;-)


Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 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. Dump in a big bowl and drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Tenderly massage kale with your hands (this will lull the leafy beast into submission...) until thoroughly coated with oil and salt.
3. Spread kale on cookie sheet in one layer. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes - check often, they burn quickly!


Easy Kale With Pecans
from Summer Tomato

1 bunch kale or chard
1/4 cup chopped pecans or pistachios
Extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt to taste

1. Mince garlic.
2. Rinse kale. Remove stems and cut into 1 inch wide strips. If your leaves are wide, cut them into 1-2 inch squares. It’s okay if your greens are still wet, the water will help them steam.
3. Using a pan with tall sides and a lid, add the nuts and turn it on medium heat. Lightly toast the nuts, stirring regularly with tongs.
4. After 2-3 minutes, add olive oil to the pan and allow it to heat up. Add your chopped greens to the pan, sprinkle generously with sea salt and toss with tongs. Cover.
5. Stir the greens occasionally so they don’t burn, always replacing the lid after stirring. Continue cooking the greens as they wilt and turn dark green. If they start to burn lower the heat, add 1-2 tbsp of water and cover again to steam.
6. Kale is done cooking when it is dark green and tender.
7. Before turning off the heat, clear a space in the center of the pan and add your minced garlic in a single layer. Allow the garlic to cook until it becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds, then mix it up with the kale and nuts.
8. Continue to cook greens uncovered for another minute or two. Taste test a leaf for saltiness and adjust to taste.
9. Serve immediately.

Rockin' Recipes for All Those CSA Greens!

OK, I know it's late in the farm season to begin posting - but so far getting outdoors, digging in the dirt, and picking and eating veggies has taken priority over pecking at the keyboard! While I've got some sundown time tonight, I've got some suggestions for all of you who, like me, are receiving bushels of lovely leafy greens but have no clue what to do with them. I'm indebted to Mariquita Farm's website for a bounty of great recipes for chard, kale, and other CSA staple greens. And, of course, to Fable Farm in Barnard VT for the fabulous produce that goes into my daily experiments in vegerific vittles!

Here's one of my favorite veggie comfort foods, which we enjoyed for supper tonight. I substituted canned butterbeans (which never seem to get too mushy) and kale (which grows very, very well in Vermont and is never in short supply).

Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
½ pound medium or large dried white beans, cooked
3 tablespoons olive oil or clarified butter
Fine grained sea salt
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ baby chard, washed and roughly chopped, or 1 bunch kale, cut into wide ribbons
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Freshly grated parmesan for topping

Drain the beans, then heat the oil or butter over med-high heat in the widest skillet available. Add the beans to the hot pan in a single layer. If you don’t have a big enough skillet, just do the sauté stop in two batches or save the extra beans for another use. Stir to coat the beans with the oil/butter, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the greens and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove fromteh heat and season to taste with a generous does of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of top-quality extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Serves 6-8 as a side dish or 2-4 as an entree.