K is for Kale

pic from here

We had friends over for lunch on saturday and one bought a big bag of home grown vegetables including some rather wonderful kale. I put some in a veggie thai green curry with tofu but cooked the rest last night with some home grown spring onions, parsley, chilli, brocolini and parmesan and added some pasta-delish!

Here's some recipes I've found:

North African Chickpea and Kale Soup




1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced or diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch saffron, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
8 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)
1 large bunch kale, thick center ribs removed and chopped (at least 8 cups)
about 2 cups water
salt to taste

Spray a large saucepan with olive oil spray and heat it. Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium-high heat until the onion begins to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the spices, including bay leaves and cinnamon stick, and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat them with the spices. Pour in the 8 cups of vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped kale and stir. If necessary add water to cover the kale and cook until it is tender, about 10-25 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your kale. Check frequently to see if it is becoming dry and add water as needed. Add salt to taste and serve.


Winter Vegetable Hash

• 45 ml olive oil
• 30 g butter
• 455 g Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
• 225 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small acorn squash, diced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 6 g garlic powder
• 1 g salt
• 1 g ground black pepper
• 65 g chopped kale
• 4 sprigs fresh sage

DIRECTIONS

1. Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and mix in potatoes, mushrooms, pepper, squash, and shallot. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.
2. Mix kale and sage into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Serve and enjoy!

Kale and Roquefort Parcels

I'm a sucker for pastry so will be trying these for sure!

Ingredients

250g shortcrust pastry 200g kale (or Swiss chard or winter spinach) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 100g blue cheese, e.g. Roquefort or Stilton Handful pine nuts Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Heat a large frying pan with no oil and toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set on one side. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently sauté the onion with the garlic for 10 minutes until it is soft. Wash the kale well and dry thoroughly. Shred it finely. Add the kale to the pan and sauté with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted. Then remove the lid and continue to cook until most of the moisture has evaporated. Roughly chop the pine nuts and mix in with the kale. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir well. Roll out the pastry to about ½ cm thick. Use a saucer and a knife to cut 4 circles, to make the pasties. Put 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the middle of each pasty. Crumble the blue on top of the filling. Brush the edges of each circle with a little milk or beaten egg, then seal together to make a pasty shape. Brush the top of the pasty with milk or egg. Put on a greased baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crispy.