Help. What do I do with Kale

[uppityperson]

a friend grew some and gave me a bag of it. It is leaves about 9 inches long, looks sort of like oak leaves in shape. What do I do with it besides give it to my chickens? I know it is supposed to be good and good for you, but I am stumped. Do I treat it like spinach or chard? Thank you Duers.

[MissMillie]

1. cut it up and put it in soup

:shrug:

[Kali]

2. Can't go wrong with a little bacon grease, I bet.

[Critters2]

3. Here....

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/results?search=kale

I have a seasonal cookbook our CSA managers gave us with our subscriptions last year, with some of these same kale recipes. I made the polenta, and the bean soup. Both were great!

And you can sautee almost anything in olive oil and garlic...including kale!

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. ok

wash it thoroughly remove the tough stems , cut it up

sautee some garlic and onion in olive oil

add Kale slowly and stir fry

or

boil it with some ham Usually the extra water that clings to the leaves after washng is enough water to cook it in . It cooks "down " real fast Check occasionally to see if it need added water.


season with salt and pepper


it is delicious with rice vinegar

[Shakespeare]

5. Saute with some shallots (and minced bacon, if desired)....

...otherwise, use olive oil in place of the bacon fat. Saute it just until it wilts--tasty stuff!

[unpossibles]

6. I love kale

you can do something simple as a side dish, like steaming it and sprinkling some salt, pepper and malt vinegar over it.

You can also fry it - I like it with soysage, onions, bell peppers and garlic. There are probably tons of good recipes online too.

[cloudbase]

11. This is the way I make mine.

n/t

[Maine-ah]

7. throw it out

:puke: :evilgrin:

[Arugula Latte]

22. Have to say I agree -- and I am a HUGH!11!!1 veggie person.

Kale is the one veggie I just can't stand. It's so fibrous, you could use it to scour your pans.

[uppityperson]

8. Thank you everybody, even Maine-ah

Maine-ah, give to chickens?

Thank you for the advice all, appreciate it.

[Maine-ah]

10. dunno about the chickens....

my dog likes it though :shrug: but she also eats her own poop. :evilgrin: you could try a portuguese soup. Which, if you google it, you'll get some decent recipes.

[irish.lambchop]

9. Only one of two ways to deal with kale

First, cut the stems out. Either boil the crap out of it with ham hocks and onions or sautee it in olive oil with loads of garlic. Don't throw it out, though! Kale is oh so good for you.

[The empressof all]

12. Make a tart

I fry lots of onions in a little bacon grease till they are brown. Add the kale and sautee until wilted. Dump it in a pie shell and cover with 3 eggs beaten with 1/2 cup or so of half and half or milk. Bake until set. I frequently do this without cheese but It's wonderful with some swiss and with the bacon bits.....Yummers.

[Burma Jones]

13. Smoke it Duuuuude

[BluePatriot]

14. mmm, kale

It's great steamed with salt and a squirt of lemon, as a "greens" side dish.

I had never eaten kale "for real" before my husband made the stuff. Before that I had just seen it as a garnish under fried fish, LOL.

[SPKrazy]

15. Cook it like spinach

Good stuff!

or steam it!

:9

[IA_Seth]

16. I am afraid to say it...

But they use it in the Zuppa Tuscana at Olive Garden!

I like it with sauteed with shallots and some bacon or fatback, like any other greens.

[grace0418]

17. Kale is actually quite wonderful. I like it better than collard greens or mustard

greens and it holds up wonderfully in soup. We eat it all the time.

Last night I made a Thai curry soup with kale. I separate the stems from the leaves and wash it all thoroughly (kale gets gritty). The stems get cut into small pieces and they go into the pot with the aromatics like garlic and onion. For last night's version I used some leftover chicken, mushrooms, and leftover sweet potato. I pureed the sweet potato with some coconut milk, curry paste, and broth before adding it to the garlic, onion and kale stems. Then I added the chicken, mushrooms and some galangal (or fresh ginger is fine). When everything is pretty well cooked, I add the cut up kale leaves to the soup. They cook pretty quickly in the boiling soup. Season to taste and enjoy.


A really easy way to enjoy them is to saute them with onion, bacon, salt, pepper, and a little bit of vinegar. You don't have to cook the crap out of them. They aren't nearly as bitter as other greens.



And lastly, here's a low-fat, high nutrition recipe I came up with that I really love:

Sausage and Greens Soup

1 pkg of turkey Italian sausage
approx. 6-8 cups chicken broth (depending on how brothy you like your soup)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbl. bacon bits
3 or more cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans of white beans
1 bag of kale, cleaned and roughly chopped.
.125-.25 cup vinegar (to taste)
fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Remove the sausages from their casings and form in to mini meatballs (a little bigger than a marble). Or, if you prefer, cook the sausage completely and cut into small pieces. I think the meatballs are fun though! Brown the sausage in a small amount of olive oil (they're turkey, so they stick. Keep them moving) and set aside. The turkey doesn't have to be completely cooked at this point, just browned enough to keep it's shape in the soup. It will cook the rest of the way later. Saute the onion in whatever oil is left from the sausage, then add bacon bits (optional) and garlic.

When the garlic starts to cook, add the meatballs back in, then the broth. Bring to a slow boil then add the greens and the beans. Once the greens cook down a bit add your favorite vinegar to taste, plus salt and pepper. Add the fresh thyme at the very end.

I make a big pot of this and it's absolutely delicious for dinner and lunches. Plus, it comes out to less than 100 calories per cup (depending on the sausage and broth you use) and the greens and beans add a big nutritional punch. It cooks really fast too.

[Shakespeare]

20. I make that sausage and greens soup often.

And it's SO GOOD. Sometimes, when I'm in more of a cassoulet mood, I leave out most of the broth and go that route.

[grace0418]

23. Mmmmmm. Cassoulet! YUM!!

Yeah, I adapted a few different French and Italian recipes to come up with my version. We were trying to find something low calorie and high nutrition that we'd also really enjoy eating. I must say it came out pretty damn good. Now I'm hungry!

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Look up Portuguese kale soup...

It's wonderful. Also it goes very nicely with Indian spices.

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Or look here

Caldo verde
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/port/caldo_verde.html

If you can't get Portuguese sausage, kielbasa is a decent substitute.
If you're vegetarian, leave out the meat, add olive oil and more potatoes and garlic.

[crim son]

19. If you were my MIL

you would puree it raw, freeze the puree and then add it by the frozen spoonful to cottage cheese. You like? :shrug: :rofl:

[Shakespeare]

21. All I can say is....

Thank GOD you're getting away from that family, because that's fucking bizarre. :rofl:

[crim son]

25. Tip of the freakin' iceberg, Shakespeare.

:rofl: You are TOO RIGHT!

[Redstone]

26. Compost?

Redstone