Cooked Kale (w/o bad stuff)

[mjamonica]

Hello.

I sauteed some kale in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and added 5 cloves of minced garlic.

It tasted awful (except for the garlic)

I know it's easy to make something taste good if you add fat, salt or sugar but I would like to add something more healthy.

Any ideas?

Thanks, MJ

[NulloModo]

Kale is great crispy-baked.

Place it on a baking sheet, lightly spray with olive oil (you have to use some sort of oil or fat to cook, just use a little bit if you are concerned about it), dust with a little salt and pepper and bake at 350 till the edges just begin to brown.

You can add a dusting of freshly grated parmesan as well for a little more flavor.

[laurel]

Olive oil and garlic is one of my favorite ways to have kale. Is there anything specific you didn't like about it? If it was too bitter, try adding some acid (lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc.), which can help cut the bitterness. Leafy vegetables also seem to get more bitter in hot weather...

(By the way, olive oil is fat)

Edited July 28, 2004 by laurel (log)

[Hest88]

Hm. That's the way I make it as well. To be honest, I don't think I can come up with a way to make kale without salt that I would consider tasty. Do you have to eliminate salt? Can't you judiciously sprinkle it on?

[LEdlund]

Try braising it in a little chicken stock (along with the olive oil and garlic).

[Jinmyo]

Steam it tossed with ginger and garlic over water containing crushed lemongrass and oolong tea. Dress with a bit of shoyu, white pepper, minced chile. Fish sauce if you'd like.

[helenas]

Jinmyo, sounds really interesting: i was sort of skeptical about the effect of flavor steaming, so much so that i stupidly never bothered to try...

but

i'm steaming the eggs over lapsang souchong tonight,

and couscous over dried porcini tomorrow

[mamster]

mjamonica, is it possible you undercooked the kale?

Here's what I do. Put a little oil in a pot. Add minced onion and saute briefly. Add kale, salt, curry powder, and a little water, cover, and braise half an hour. It's probably one of the most health-foodish things I eat, although it does need at least some salt.

[Bux]

Leafy vegetables also seem to get more bitter in hot weather...

(By the way, olive oil is fat)

I've been told to hold off buying kale in the late summer and wait until after the first frost. the only explanation I got was that it tastes better then. I'm in NYC. I realize some areas of the country could wait a long time for frost.

I suppose next you're gonna tell me pancetta is not a vegetable. I like my kale cooked with shallots and pancetta. It seems a lot healthier than eating pancetta without the kale. It's all relative, but a little pancetta (or bacon) goes a long way. A few spoonfuls of chicken stock is good as well.

[irodguy]

Do a mashed Red potatoes with kale. Very tasty! Just do your normal Mash, personally I use EVOO and non fat half and half. Coarsely chop your kale and mix it with the hot potatoes.

[Katherine]

Do a mashed Red potatoes with kale. Very tasty! Just do your normal Mash, personally I use EVOO and non fat half and half. Coarsely chop your kale and mix it with the hot potatoes.

I missed something here. What is nonfat half-and-half? Dairyrich?

[Carlovski]

A bit of salt to bring out the flavour of nutritious green vegetables is not unhealthy!

You may want to blanch the kale first, it can be slightly tough to just saute. And 5 cloves of garlic seemed a touch excessive!

I quite like a touch of nutmeg in my greens too.

[Pitter]

Kale is my favorite food. Call me a weirdo. I simply blanch it, without anything, then dip the leaves in vinegar. This is my late-night snack, which, I suspect, is better for me than potato chips. I stay thin, get my calcium and iron, and what could taste bettter?

[phaelon56]

I missed something here. What is nonfat half-and-half? Dairyrich?

No. The Dairyrich products I'm familiar with (made by Rich products of Buffalo NY) have no dairy components of any kind (e.g. they may safely be used in non-dairy Kosher environments if certified Kosher). Non-fat half 'n half contains non-fat milk but utilizes a bunch of other processed components, stabilizers and sweetenters to achieve it's creaminess. It's no substitute for real half 'n half but I've tried it in coffee and found it to be far superior to the non-dairy creamers - better tatse and not oily.

Ingredients for the Land-o-Lakes fat-Free half 'n half as listed on their web site

INGREDIENTS:

Nonfat Milk, Milk*, Corn Syrup Solids, Artificial Color**, Sugar, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Mono and Diglycerides*, Carrageenan, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Vitamin A Palmitate.

* Adds a trivial amount of fat.

** An ingredient not normally found in Half and Half

I find the second "**" to be amnusing. Unless I'm missing something, the entire list of ingredients is comprised of things that are not normally found in half 'n half.

[johnnyd]

I like my kale cooked with shallots and pancetta. It seems a lot healthier than eating pancetta without the kale. It's all relative, but a little pancetta (or bacon) goes a long way. A few spoonfuls of chicken stock is good as well.

This is really close to the traditional portuguese "Caldo Verde", (Green Soup).

- Simmer chopped Onion in olive oil,

- Add cubed potatos and saute til glassy, a little garlic here works too

- Add chicken stock or water, cook til potatos soft

- In another pan, saute chorizo cubes,

- Take Kale leaves and roll into TIGHT cigar and shave chiffonade style into a big pile

- bring soup to boil and add Kale and Chorizo

- Soup turns emerald green

Serve immediately w/sliced baguette and drizzled EVOO. Sometimes I put a poached egg in the middle. Yum

Edited July 29, 2004 by johnnyd (log)

[slbunge]

This is really close to the traditional portuguese "Caldo Verde", (Green Soup).

- Simmer chopped Onion in olive oil,

- Add cubed potatos and saute til glassy, a little garlic here works too

- Add chicken stock or water, cook til potatos soft

- In another pan, saute chorizo cubes,

- Take Kale leaves and roll into TIGHT cigar and shave chiffonade style into a big pile

- bring soup to boil and add Kale and Chorizo

- Soup turns emerald green

Serve immediately w/sliced baguette and drizzled EVOO. Sometimes I put a poached egg in the middle. Yum

I never thought about a poached egg in kale-based soup. Yum.

One of my staple kale soups is similar to johnnyd's.

-I add dried red chili to the onion and olive oil.

-I make a 'stock' by just simmering the stems of the kale in hot water.

-And I add brewers' yeast.

-I usually puree about half the soup in the blender.

Kale and new potatoes are a good match. Colcannon (or is it champ) is another fine example there they are used together. Essentially cooked kale mixed with mached potatoes. A little bacon grease doesn't hurt if you have it around.

[johnnyd]

Actually, a bowl of Caldo Verde w/poached egg and chorizo bits is one of my favourite breakfasts in cold weather. Hit's all the buttons and everything's fresh and honest. I wouldn't add the chili unless the Chorizo is from a package as fresh-made usually has a good piquancy on it's own. Now I'm getting hungry....

[irodguy]

I missed something here. What is nonfat half-and-half? Dairyrich?

Non fat half and half is very useful taste wise for making sauces, mashed potatoes etc., that don't require the fast component in normal half and half or cream.

For instance I do a Garlic chicken with Garlic sauce, the age old recipe called for cream or half & half, I substituted non fat half & half in this case for taste. The original had a greasy aftertaste due to the cream.

Back to a Kale note:

Another nice Kale dish is

Blanch the kale and then dry.

Hard Boil eggs

Mayo

Hot Sauce

Chopped spicy pickles

Sweet Ham

Mix everything together. Basically a kind of funky egg salad with kale. It's a very nice summer salad.

[Bicycle Lee]

Try braising it in a little chicken stock (along with the olive oil and garlic).

YUP

also, you could subsitute MSG for salt...it isn't as bad as everyone thinks, as long as you aren't allergic to it. The light fat of the stock and the flavor enhancement of the msg would make some awesome kale, I bet.

[CompassRose]

Ingredients for the Land-o-Lakes fat-Free half 'n half as listed on their web site

INGREDIENTS:

Nonfat Milk, Milk*, Corn Syrup Solids, Artificial Color**, Sugar, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Mono and Diglycerides*, Carrageenan, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Vitamin A Palmitate.

* Adds a trivial amount of fat.

** An ingredient not normally found in Half and Half

I find the second "**" to be amnusing. Unless I'm missing something, the entire list of ingredients is comprised of things that are not normally found in half 'n half.

In point of fact, here (where the only kind of creamy anything, from half and half to whipping cream, is from Sealtest/Parmalat) ALL of the non-milk-or-cream ingredients listed on the nonfat half and half are listed on ALL of the other aforementioned "creamy products" as well. I don't know how they can even call that "whipping cream".

I haven't been able to find unmeddled with cream anywhere, though I've looked.

That said, the fat-free half and half is, indeed, a boon to the counter of calories. Makes a nice low-fat "ice cream", too.

[beccaboo]

I have two ways I cook it which we all like, but they both require salt....

1. Fry some garlic, sultanas, and pine nuts in a little olive oil, then add a little water (like a scant tablespoon), a blob of tomato paste, salt and pepper and maybe some chile flakes, and the cut-up kale. Put a lid on the pan & cook till done. Sprinkle on some red wine vinegar.

2. Fry some shallots on lowish heat till dark & crispy--when they're close to done, add a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a dash of sherry vinegar. Put them in a little dish, and add the damp, cut-up kale to the pan, along with salt, pepper, and optional chile flakes. Stir around, then cover the pan & cook till done. Toss with some sherry vinegar, then transfer to a platter and lay the shallots on top.

[Jinmyo]

Actually, a bowl of Caldo Verde w/poached egg and chorizo bits is one of my favourite breakfasts in cold weather. Hit's all the buttons and everything's fresh and honest. I wouldn't add the chili unless the Chorizo is from a package as fresh-made usually has a good piquancy on it's own.

True true.

[mags]

The kale recipes alll look great, but A) Mjamonica doesn't seem to have bothered to check them, after making the initial request, and B) almost all of them -- with the exception of the "blanch and dip in vinegar" one -- involve salt, fat, or both. Of course, Mjamonica seemed to find olive oil acceptable as a non-fat fat, so....