The Kale Edition

Whole Foods' paper grocery bags tell us to eat more of it. Modern Family just announced it as "the new spinach." It's an anti-inflammatory packed with antioxidants, anti-cancer agents, Vitamins K & C, betacarotene, and even some calcium. Apparently, it is time for more kale in our lives. I've been meaning to do a little experimenting to diversify my arsenal of kale dishes so I'll include it in my lineup more regularly. So this week when my local grocer began carrying kale in clam shells, a combined rainbow of varieties already de-spined and chopped, it felt like a sign. This week was The Week of Kale. After ingesting 8 cups of the dense green leaves in 3 days, I've found some wonderful techniques that may convert even the harshest of this bitter leaf's critics, as well as please its most hardcore fans.

I will start with the recipe that most eases one into the world of kale, and work my way up to the recipe that most embraces its natural flavor and texture. And you don't need a clamshell of prepared kale to make these dishes. To prep a head of kale, remove and discard the toughest stems and ribs and coarsely chop remaining leaves into bite-sized pieces. Rinse with cold water and spin or pat dry. All measurements below are of chopped kale.

Kale & Kashi Pilaf

This side dish combines kale with whole grains in a way that softens it to peak tenderness and masks any bitterness with a balanced combination of sweet and salty from cranberries and soy sauce. Serves 4.

1/2 cup chopped onion (omit if using onion broth)
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 cups of your favorite broth (I used beef, but chicken, vegetable, or onion would work very well)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf (or other rice and whole grain blend)
2 cups kale
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (really, just so handy to have around)

Spray a pot generously with Pam and heat to medium-high. Sauté onion for a couple minutes, until just softened. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add broth and soy sauce; heat to a boil. Stir in Kashi, kale, and cranberries. Cover pot with tight fitting lid and reduce heat to a high simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes or until grain is tender and broth is almost entirely absorbed*. You may add another 1/4 cup of broth and simmer for another 5 minutes if you'd like the grain a little softer. Remove from heat and stir in almonds. Great served hot immediately or as a cold salad the next day.

*Or cook according to package directions of your chosen grain blend. If it requires longer to cook, add kale and cranberries only for the last 20-25 minutes.


Fast & Easy Kale & White Bean Soup

This soup uses canned beans instead of dried for a nutritious, low calorie starter or entree ready in about half an hour. The grated rind of hard cheese makes this simple soup just slightly thicker and richer, a little trick I learned from a class at the Tante Marie cooking school. Plus, it gave me a chance to use a little snip of the rosemary that grows wild in the area. It took me awhile to find some bushes in our neighborhood, but now I have rosemary for the picking. This soup only improves with a day or two in the fridge. Serves 4-6.

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups broccoli florets
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups kale
1 can white beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 tsp diced fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp grated parmesan or Parmesano Reggiano rind
Salt and pepper

In a large soup pot sprayed generously with Pam, sauté onion and broccoli for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add broth, kale, white beans, diced tomatos (including liquid), rosemary, bay leaf, and grated cheese rind. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Quick Sautéed Kale

My favorite of the four, this simple recipe highlights the kale's flavor without masking it. A combination of sautéing and steaming the kale wilts the leaves in about a quarter of the time of sautéing alone. I built my version from this Bobby Flay recipe, with just a couple minor alterations. Serves 2-4.

4 cups kale
2 gloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup broth or water
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (reduce by half if using intense imported balsamic instead of a gentler domestic brand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray large skillet generously with Pam and heat to medium-high. Add the garlic and sauté until just fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the broth and kale and toss to combine. Cover with tight fitting lid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove lid and sauté, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has evaporated. Salt generously, pepper to taste, and add vinegar. Toss until combined and serve hot.


Massaged Kale Salad

When I first started researching ideas for my Week of Kale, I stumbled upon a technique of which I'd never heard before and which claimed to make kale tender enough to eat raw in a salad. Massaging kale? Really? It seemed like a joke. So I put the question out to my friends to see if they'd had any luck massaging their kale. Almost immediately I received a shocked response from a friend who seemed baffled that I had NOT had luck massaging MY kale. I still wasn't sure if he was joking or not. But further discussion showed him full of sincerity. So I tried it. And kale salad will now be in my regular rotation without even wearing out my jaw.

The trick is simple. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on the chopped kale and, surprise!, massage it gently with your hands for about 3 minutes. Set aside while you prepare the rest of your salad makings. Add your toppings, toss in the dressing, and that's all it takes. Might I suggest tossing with either glazed pecans and cranberries with a balsamic vinaigrette or garbanzo beans and halved cherry tomatoes with a soy ginger dressing. Apparently you can also just mix the kale with your dressing of choice (preferably an acidic dressing, such as one with a vinegar or citrus base) before massaging, but I preferred to skip the resulting oily hands.

Autumn Pilafs

Well, it turns out the inability to cook saps my desire to write about cooking. But I'm pretty much back on my feet enough to prepare simple dishes and make short trips to the nearest market, so my interest is once again piqued. So it's about time I shared those Autumn dishes I promised so long ago! Just in time for winter. Oops.

I just reread my last post, Vegan Refried Black Beans, and thought I'd get back into the swing by showing my successful experiments using French Onion soup in place of vegetable broth in cooking grains.

Vegetable broths are often tinny with off flavors, and lack that umami flavor I love so much in chicken and beef broths. In my search for a satisfactory alternative, I first made some weird attempts with mushroom broth, since mushrooms are packed with umami. But everything just came out tasting like musty mushrooms. But then I saw onions in a list of foods that contain the molecule or whatever that has that delicious meaty umaminess and had an epiphany that has delivered many successful vegetarian dishes. French onion soup, available in most grocers' soup and broth aisles, makes a great vegetarian substitute for beef and chicken broth. It has become the standard vegan base for my favorite grain, Kashi 7 Whole Grain and Sesame Pilaf, as in these three recipes. Feel free to substitute your favorite whole grain or whole grain blend.


Veronica's Kashi Pilaf

The simple starting point from which my pilaf dishes grew, this is a super easy and delicious way to add whole grains to any meal.

1 packet (1 cup) Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
2 cups beef or onion broth
1-2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 dashes garlic powder
2-3 dashes onion powder (omit if using onion broth)

Cook according to package directions using the above ingredients in place of water.


Kashi Stuffed Acorn Squash

I found this recipe in the comment section of Kashi's website. Yes, I'm that big a fan of Kashi Pilaf, as well as a number of their other products, that I have been on their site and even read the comments of other fans.

Of course, the day I finally made this, I did my shopping at a market that sacrilegiously did not carry Kashi Pilaf, so I used a blend of red & brown rice with rye and barley instead. I cooked one cup of the rice blend according to package directions, substituting onion soup for water. I omitted the diced onion since I figured the broth would add plenty of oniony flavor. Also, always remember to add garlic only for the last 30-60 seconds of sauteeing, just enough time to become fragrant. It really should never be sauteed as long as other vegetables. I added pressed garlic cloves at the end of the cooking time with the carrot, almonds, and spices/salt. I skipped sprinkling with grated cheese before serving because the thought of curry and cheese together weirded me out. Instead, I served the squash with raw brown sugar on the side for copious sprinkling by the spoonful. The extra sweetness was perfect to balance out the super strong spices and saltiness. This was just the final touch this fragrant autumn dish needed to reach true culinary heights.


Delicata Kashi Pilaf
  

I developed this dish as a faster, simpler alternate to the stuffed squash I love so much. Delicata makes  a great substitute for the cook in a hurry. Since the skin is edible, you can bake thin slices much faster than preparing other varieties, and you can then toss everything together and skip the second baking post-stuffing. The removal of spices, omitted to recover the extra time it takes to bloom the spices on the stove, also makes this version more versatile and easier to pair as a side dish with a larger variety of entrees.

The tiny delicata squash has a thin, edible skin that reduces prep time.

1 packet (1 cup) Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
2 cups onion broth
2-3 dashes garlic powder
2 Tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.)
1 delicata squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices

1 Tablespoon olive oil 

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup toasted almond slivers (these are just so handy to have around)

Cook pilaf according to package directions using onion broth, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce instead of water. Add raisins or other dried fruit during final 15 minutes of cooking. In the version pictured above I used freeze dried Just Apricots to add tang and sweetness.

Meanwhile, toss squash slices with oil, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Spread in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Roast in upper third of a 475º oven 15 minutes, or until squash is just tender. I even use the toaster oven to avoid preheating time.

Combine rice, squash, and toasted almond slivers.