Another food question: kale

[SquirrellyMama]

How do you all fix kale? I've tried it in salads but it is very tough. How should I prepare it?

 

Kelly

[Parrothead]

The only thing I know to do with kale is bake it into kale chips. (It certainly doesn't take 25 minutes to prep.)

[Samiam]

I've heard of several people making kale chips....apparently Olive oil, salt and bake in the oven....they rave about it.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I mostly use it in green smoothies.

 

For kale, swiss chard and collard greens:

 

1. Chop up and use in soup

 

2. Heat small amount of broth in a pan with minced garlic. Add greens and heat until wilted.

[Twilight Woods]

I make kale chips. Coat in olive oil sprinkle some garlic and sea salt and bake till crispy :) YUM!

[Stingyhag]

Newbie here. I use it in potato soup for one. A new way I've started it cooking cut up bacon, draining it, adding diced onion, red pepper, and garlic. Saute until cooked, then add in ripped Kale, a bit of water to help steam, cajun spice, and lemon pepper seasoning. It only takes a few minutes to wilt it.

[myfunnybunch]

We love kale.

 

Our favorite way to prepare kale: Tear kale off the main rib into bite-sized pieces. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt. Put on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 425 for 8-12 minutes until just crisp.

 

There are preparation directions for spicy kale chips here, with preparation directions for sauteed kale in the intro. :)

 

Cat

[PIE!]

we love kale chips too - but instead of using regular oil I just spray them with a little non-stick cooking spray. It's easier, and probably adds less fat.

[HappyLady]

I make kale chips, like others suggested, I put it in soups and smoothies, and I make a "BLT" salad with it where you coat the kale with a dressing and let it sit for a bit. That softens up the leaves.

[KungFuPanda]

Zuppa Toscana !

[Cricket]

I've heard of several people making kale chips....apparently Olive oil, salt and bake in the oven....they rave about it.

 

Even better if they are also sprinkled with a little cider vinegar!

[ChristyB in TN]

I saute it in olive oil with chopped pine nuts, pecans or walnuts, and garlic. Saute it until the leaves are soft and add kosher or coarse salt. We probably eat it this way a couple of times a week. You can also add some crushed red pepper, but I think it makes too many flavors happening at one time.

We try to eat a little kale every day! I also like it for breakfast. I take a block of firm tofu and a bunch of chopped kale and some garlic and cook it in a skillet like you would scrambled eggs with greens mixed in. After the kale is nice and soft, add curry powder and a little Spike seasoning. We eat this with toast like you would scrambled eggs. My oldest son likes to add Sirachi sauce to make it very spicy. My husband like to chop up whatever we have like avocados or tomatoes and put them on top.

[myfunnybunch]

Zuppa Toscana !

 

:iagree:

 

Yum! I made that a while back and loved it. So glad you posted this! I am going to put it on the dinner menu right now so I don't forget!

 

To the OP--kale is fantastic in many soups too. :)

 

Cat

[myfunnybunch]

Even better if they are also sprinkled with a little cider vinegar!

 

:) I've never tried this. When do you put the vinegar on? With the olive oil?

 

My garden is bursting with kale right now.

 

Cat

[sagira]

First you remove the leaves from the stalk. Then what I do is either of the following:

 

Chop in smaller pieces and stir fry with garlic, sesame oil, and Ponzu sauce (it cooks down a lot)

Kale chips like someone else mentioned - bake at 400 with sea salt

I love kale and kielbasa soup - a Portuguese dish - look it up :)

Chop into very small pieces, cook with olive oil and garlic, combine with frozen chopped spinach (also cook this) and include with pasta sauce in pasta dish. Yum! This is the way we had it yesterday.

 

I would not eat it raw. You can also take a few pieces raw and pulverize in blender before including in smoothie.

Edited June 28, 2012 by sagira

[edeemarie]

Definitely kale chips! We have also used it in dishes like cole slaw, but chop it up very finely. It is great in chicken noodle soup (or really any soup), and I also chop up kale with red peppers and saute them to use in omelets (beautiful as a Christmas omelet!).

[Mommy Grommy]

:

To the OP--kale is fantastic in many soups too. :)

 

Cat

 

:iagree:

 

Kale in soups is delicious!

[Geo]

I saute kale in a little olive oil, onion, and garlic until it wilts...add a can of chick peas, cover (add some veg or chicken broth if needed), and cook until desired tenderness. Serve over brown rice or pasta. If you eat meat, italian sausage is a natural with this.

 

 

ETA: I love kale in soups, too...but it's SUMMER people! :thumbdown: Too dang hot!

 

I also make kale chips with tahini smeared all over...really pungent.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Geo

[Mommy Grommy]

I saute kale in a little olive oil and garlic until it wilts, add chick peas, cover (add some veg or chicken broth if needed), and cook until desired tenderness. Serve over brown rice or pasta. If you eat meat, italian sausage is a natural with this.

 

This sounds great. Thanks!

[Ferdie]

I like this kale recipe, but I cook in a different order as some of the reviewers suggested.

 

Saute garlic and onion. Add kale and a few splashes of water. Cover and steam a few minutes under tender. Add bread crumbs. I also add some salt and few Tblsp of Parmesan cheese. Also I reduce bread crumbs to 1/2 cup.

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/stir-fried-kale/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=stir%20fry%20kale&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe%20Search%20Results

[Geo]

nm/double post

Edited June 28, 2012 by Geo

[Wabi Sabi]

I roast it with chicken legs and potatoes. Cheap and tastes amazing!

 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-chicken-legs-with-potatoes-and-kale

[LibraryLover]

Tender kale in stir fry is like chard, basically. Cut out the hard bottom stems, just as you would do for chard or bok choi, stack a bunch of leaves on top of each other, roll like a fat cigar, and chop on a bit of an angle from one end to the other. (The French call this method chiffonade.) It cooks very quickly!

 

I sometimes make Kale soup on the grill burner in summer, sometimes inside on a rainy day. I also tend to have stock in the freezer (because again, we have chickens, so it's easy to do this). It's then just a matter of adding the ingredients to the already rich broth. Adding cooked beans, and chopping the veggies smaller will help it cook more quickly. You could also do the kale chips on the grill.

 

Kale freezes fine, too. You would prepare it for the freezer just as you would spinach.

 

In summer we do eat very New England foods; Portuguese Kale soup is a resturant staple in most Cape restaurants, along with chowder. Our local kale soup has Portuguese sausage, potatoes, carrots, diced onion, a tablespoon or so of hot crushed pepper (I use the Korean kind), crushed garlic, and kidney beans. I finish with a little swirl of a fruity olive oil. I've see people put in a bit of red wine right before they eat it. (I don't add the wine to the soup when I cook it, although I have tried it with the red wine at the end. It's pretty good!)

 

We also do clam chowder --and clam boils. I've put kale in the clam boil well (ends up like so a much delicious cabbage as in a ham boiled dinner. It's basically the same thing, although we add corn on the cob, and sometimes hotdogs. And always Portuguese sausage. (We can debate the health merits of that for sure :)). I've seen people do clam boils on a grate right over a firepit, or on a grill itself (not the burner) outside. It's pretty traditional.

Edited June 28, 2012 by LibraryLover

[freesia]

The only thing I know to do with kale is bake it into kale chips. (It certainly doesn't take 25 minutes to prep.)

We *adore* kale chips here. Seriously, even my pickiest could eat them every night. If you have kitchen scissors the prep time for a whole head is maybe 5 minutes.

[alisoncooks]

I make a "BLT" salad with it where you coat the kale with a dressing and let it sit for a bit. That softens up the leaves.

 

Please share a recipe? That sounds yummy!

[redsquirrel]

I eat kale almost every day. My grocery store carries it pre-chopped in big bags. I just fill a small casserole dish with uncooked, chopped kale, add a dash of water and microwave for 2 or 3 mins. Then I add 1/2 cup beans or baked tofu, seitan or cooked egg whites (I guess chicken if you eat meat) and a drizzle of lemon juice or salad dressing. That is what I eat for lunch or dinner almost every day. Sometimes I toss in some chopped purple cabbage for variety.

[SonshineLearner]

Ok, so I'm trying Kale Chips for my family. I've heard people who love and who hate the chips talk about them :) Our CSA is bringing tons of Kale and also Choi... not like Bok Choy. Hmmmm.... And also Chard. I also made a Creamed Chard the other day over pasta which wasn't bad. I served the sauteed Chard over to the side of the pasta.... interesting :)

[mom2scouts]

I buy kale and plan to make kale chips, but I end up feeding it to my very spoiled house rabbit.:tongue_smilie:

[Mommy Grommy]

 

ETA: I love kale in soups, too...but it's SUMMER people! :thumbdown: Too dang hot!

 

Aww, don't be hating on the soups :tongue_smilie: A brothy kale and white bean soup served slightly warm (instead of hot) with a salad is nice summer dinner. And a soup in the crock pot won't heat up the house like baking kale chips :D

[Cricket]

:) I've never tried this. When do you put the vinegar on? With the olive oil?

 

My garden is bursting with kale right now.

 

Cat

 

Yes, I should have said. Mix in a tablespoon of vinegar or so with the oil. Soooooo good! If you like salt and vinegar potato chips, you'll love this!

 

I've also made a chicken and potato thing. In a large bowl I mix some thinly sliced potatoes and onion with some chopped kale. Season with whatever spices you like (I usually use garlic powder, celery salt, paprika, pepper, maybe more onion powder). Spread out on an oiled baking sheet. Top with skinned chicken legs. Bake for an hour or so until everything is cooked through. Even the kids liked that.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Cricket

[LibraryLover]

Ok, so I'm trying Kale Chips for my family. I've heard people who love and who hate the chips talk about them :) Our CSA is bringing tons of Kale and also Choi... not like Bok Choy. Hmmmm.... And also Chard. I also made a Creamed Chard the other day over pasta which wasn't bad. I served the sauteed Chard over to the side of the pasta.... interesting :)

 

 

I have lots of chard in my garden, the rainbow kind. I am always trying to figure out how to next serve it. I think it looks gorgeous as a side with pasta. Go for it. :D I've saute it in a little olive oil (butter is nice too, but I know people worry about butter), and just sprinkled with salt and pepper. If I have more time, I saute to almost melting a large onion sliced in crescent moons (rather than diced), add grushed garlic, and cook to soften (it's sweeter this way) . I add the sliced chard to the onions and garlic at that point, as chard cooks quickly, and doesn't need the cooking time of onions and garlic. I think it's a nice side to a pasta. I did this chard as a side with angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and peas from the garden. It was simple and nice. You can add the peas the last couple of minutes to the cooking pasta. They are pretty tender and don't need much. Drain it, but don't rinse it. The starch helps the oilive oil to clng so if you don't like to use too much, you don't have to. A little grating of parmesan is nice as well with the peas.

Edited June 29, 2012 by LibraryLover

[GoVanGogh]

I julienne slice kale and add it to our insalata caprese. (Fancy name for tomato/mozzarella/basil salad.)

Really - you can add it to any raw salad, just slice it thin enough that you don't gag on it while chewing.

 

I make a mixed saute of whatever veggies we have on hand - generally something like zucchini, kale, shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Last night I added some fresh pesto right before serving. Yum.

 

I also like to juice it or add to smoothies.

 

It is too hot to think about soup right now, but I love it in soups.

 

Our grocery store started carrying 'baby kale,' which I love because it isn't as tough and can be added straight to salads.

[momto2Cs]

To soften it up for a salad, you can massage it.

 

I eat kale nearly every day for breakfast. All I do is spray a pan with a little olive oil, add some chopped/torn kale, toss it around for a minute or two until it wilts a tiny bit, add some water, crack in an egg or two, salt and pepper it, cover it, and let it cook on med-low heat until the eggs are done.

 

Sometimes I will sprinkle this with a little cheese. Sometimes I top it with salsa. Either way, it is yummy!

[helena]

I make it Sri Lankan style: http://twosistersinchrist.blogspot.com/2010/10/sri-lankan-kale-dish.html

 

I mostly juice it though. :001_smile:

[happi duck]

I julienne slice kale and add it to our insalata caprese. (Fancy name for tomato/mozzarella/basil salad.)

Really - you can add it to any raw salad, just slice it thin enough that you don't gag on it while chewing.

 

 

:iagree:

[EKS]

I steam it and then put lemon juice on it.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

My DD loves it tossed with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and COARSE sea salt. She will eat a huge stainless steel bowl full of it.:)

 

It's also good in green smoothies.

[myfunnybunch]

I saute kale in a little olive oil, onion, and garlic until it wilts...add a can of chick peas, cover (add some veg or chicken broth if needed), and cook until desired tenderness. Serve over brown rice or pasta. If you eat meat, italian sausage is a natural with this.

 

YUM. Thank you! I just made this with sausage, white beans (instead of chickpeas) and tomatoes. Delicious!

 

Cat

[HappyLady]

Please share a recipe? That sounds yummy!

 

 

The recipe I use is vegan, but obviously you can make substitutions to your liking. :)

 

 

http://veganyumyum.com/2009/07/blt-salad/

[alisoncooks]

The recipe I use is vegan, but obviously you can make substitutions to your liking. :)

 

 

http://veganyumyum.com/2009/07/blt-salad/

 

That looks super yummy! Thank you. :)

[JennyD]

I braise it and put it in frittatas (same with chard). Sometimes I make kale pancakes --- chopped kale that has been boiled or braised briefly, chopped onion, gruyere cheese, and an egg for binder, then pan-fry. (The latter is actually a recipe I got from a long-ago CSA and is a great way to use up a box of greens.)

[djsmom]

I've had creamed Kale. Not sure how it was prepared but it was WONDERFUL.

[Kareni]

Cosmos posted this recipe previously Portuguese Sweet Potato, Sausage, Kale Soup. My husband used Sweet Italian pork sausage (instead of turkey), two cloves of garlic (instead of six), and less of the red pepper than was called for. He also used bouillon cubes since we forgot to buy the canned chicken broth when we shopped and fresh kale instead of frozen.

 

We serve it with fresh bread and butter.

 

Regards,

Kareni