Greens
Massaged Kale Salad
This salad is made with raw kale, and the "massaging" softens it up. It's especially delicious with fall and winter kale that has already been softened and sweetened by frost, but good even with tougher summer (or Californian) kale. You can make it in a big batch to have on hand, as it keeps (and improves) over several days.
Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
1 bunch kale - lacinato or "dinosaur" is especially yummy raw, but any variety will work
generous pinch sea salt
1/4 cup diced red onion
handful currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
1 small apple, diced
handful sunflower seeds or your favorite nut, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (sesame oil is also really yummy)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste (or try lemon juice or rice vinegar)
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese
Pull the kale leaves off the midrib, rinse, and dry. Cut or tear the leaves into small pieces. Put into a large mixing bowl, add salt, and massage the salt into the kale with your hands for a minute or two.
Stir onion, apple, dried fruit, and seeds or nuts into the kale. Dress with oil & vinegar - tasting for vinegar and salt. Let sit for a few minutes before serving, or stick in the fridge to eat all week. I prefer to add the cheese when serving, but you could throw it in now and let it sit with the salad, too.
Kale Chips
Easy. Fun. Kale.
Kale
Olive Oil
Salt
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
Remove the kale midribs (you can save them for stock, if you want) and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. You want them to be good and dry, so pat down with a towel or spin in a salad spinner.
Put them on the cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy but not burnt. Don't let it burn. Really.
Mixed Greens with Cumin and Paprika
This is a nice recipe for greens because it uses different kinds of greens all mixed together, with fresh herbs and good spices.
From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
12 cups mixed greens - kale, chard or beet, broccoli rabe, mustard, etc
Salt
4 large garlic cloves [you could also use scapes!]
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 T olive oil
2 t paprika
2 t ground cumin
Olives, lemon wedges and tomato for garnish
Discard any inedible parts of the greens, such as kale stems and tough ribs. Set leaves in a steamer - tougher ones on the bottom, the most tender on top - and cook until tender, or boil each type separately in salted water, then drain. [We always just use our easy greens method.] Chop into pieces about 1 inch square.
Pound the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in the parsley and cilantro and pound them briefly to release their flavors. [Finely chopping or a whirl in the food processor would approximate the same, but this method - which Deborah Madison uses in a lot of recipes, really brings out the flavor of the garlic and herbs.]
Warm the oil with the paprika and cumin in a wide skillet over medium heat until they release their fragrances. Don't let them burn. Stir in the garlic, then add the greeens and cook until any extra moisture has evaporated. Taste for salt. Pile into a dish and garnish with olives, lemon and tomato.
Easy Greens
The easiest (and tastiest!) way to cook kale, chard, spinach, tat soi, beet greens....
Chop your greens roughly into bite-size pieces. Rinse them but don't dry. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat until drops of water skitter on the surface. Toss the wet greens into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover.
Spinach will only take a minute or two, and kale might take up to ten. Check often, and add more water if necessary.
We like to top our greens with lemon juice and soy sauce. Enjoy!
This salad is made with raw kale, and the "massaging" softens it up. It's especially delicious with fall and winter kale that has already been softened and sweetened by frost, but good even with tougher summer (or Californian) kale. You can make it in a big batch to have on hand, as it keeps (and improves) over several days.
Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
1 bunch kale - lacinato or "dinosaur" is especially yummy raw, but any variety will work
generous pinch sea salt
1/4 cup diced red onion
handful currants, raisins, or dried cranberries
1 small apple, diced
handful sunflower seeds or your favorite nut, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil (sesame oil is also really yummy)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste (or try lemon juice or rice vinegar)
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese
Pull the kale leaves off the midrib, rinse, and dry. Cut or tear the leaves into small pieces. Put into a large mixing bowl, add salt, and massage the salt into the kale with your hands for a minute or two.
Stir onion, apple, dried fruit, and seeds or nuts into the kale. Dress with oil & vinegar - tasting for vinegar and salt. Let sit for a few minutes before serving, or stick in the fridge to eat all week. I prefer to add the cheese when serving, but you could throw it in now and let it sit with the salad, too.
Kale Chips
Easy. Fun. Kale.
Kale
Olive Oil
Salt
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
Remove the kale midribs (you can save them for stock, if you want) and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. You want them to be good and dry, so pat down with a towel or spin in a salad spinner.
Put them on the cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy but not burnt. Don't let it burn. Really.
Mixed Greens with Cumin and Paprika
This is a nice recipe for greens because it uses different kinds of greens all mixed together, with fresh herbs and good spices.
From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
12 cups mixed greens - kale, chard or beet, broccoli rabe, mustard, etc
Salt
4 large garlic cloves [you could also use scapes!]
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 T olive oil
2 t paprika
2 t ground cumin
Olives, lemon wedges and tomato for garnish
Discard any inedible parts of the greens, such as kale stems and tough ribs. Set leaves in a steamer - tougher ones on the bottom, the most tender on top - and cook until tender, or boil each type separately in salted water, then drain. [We always just use our easy greens method.] Chop into pieces about 1 inch square.
Pound the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in the parsley and cilantro and pound them briefly to release their flavors. [Finely chopping or a whirl in the food processor would approximate the same, but this method - which Deborah Madison uses in a lot of recipes, really brings out the flavor of the garlic and herbs.]
Warm the oil with the paprika and cumin in a wide skillet over medium heat until they release their fragrances. Don't let them burn. Stir in the garlic, then add the greeens and cook until any extra moisture has evaporated. Taste for salt. Pile into a dish and garnish with olives, lemon and tomato.
Easy Greens
The easiest (and tastiest!) way to cook kale, chard, spinach, tat soi, beet greens....
Chop your greens roughly into bite-size pieces. Rinse them but don't dry. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat until drops of water skitter on the surface. Toss the wet greens into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover.
Spinach will only take a minute or two, and kale might take up to ten. Check often, and add more water if necessary.
We like to top our greens with lemon juice and soy sauce. Enjoy!