The kale bandwagon leaves me in the dust. I don't find any variety good to eat raw. The somewhat more delicate Tuscan kale is okay in soups, but to my taste it doesn't improve on the always versatile swiss chard, which I like not only for soups but sautéed with garlic, on pizza, etc. And, for those who have been convinced by marketing ploys that kale has superior nutritional value than other greens, go look it up; it's a middling leafy green when it comes to calcium and vitamins, with the exception of high marks when it comes to vitamin C.
So if you love the taste of kale go for it. I like spinach for a gratin, baby collards as a vinegary side and chard for most everything else. One vendor at the Berkeley Farmers' Market used to have baby Russian Kale.. When it was tiny it was quite good in a saute of mixed greens, but I haven't seen it recently. As for dark greens right now I'm totally into Choi Sum--sort of a cousin of bok choi, but the leaves are darker and tastier. Great in any stir fry or tossed into Asian soups.
That risotto looks lovely.
