Confession: I’ve written about kale and all of its magical health properties no fewer than four times in the past year and a half (here’s one SELF story where I mention it).
But I haven’t, ahem, actually attempted to eat it. I love spinach–I have it in my scrambled eggs most mornings–and rationalized that I was already getting a healthy dose of dark leafy greens. And there was that pesky rumor that kale was difficult to make edible.
A conversation with Dave Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, made me decide to give kale a chance. The secret to making kale tasty, Dave told me, was to cook it for a good long while.
So on a trip to Fairway–my local grocery store–I picked up a huge bunch of deep green and purple organic kale greens (about $2.50). When I got home, I threw a tiny bit of chopped up prosciutto in a pan along with a healthy dose of canola cooking spray, and after that had browned, I tossed in thin strips of Kale and sautéed it for about seven minutes. When it was done, I sprinkled it with a little salt and a smattering of pine nuts and served it with a lean steak for dinner.
My fourteen-month-old daughter declared it delicious. Meanwhile, my husband and I weren’t sure if we were in love with its sharp, decidedly green taste.
The next day, the weirdest thing happened: I got a craving for kale. It was like my body knew that the stuff was too darn good not to eat. So, scratching my head, I cooked the greens I hadn’t used the day before, this time omitting the prosciutto, and ate an entire plate of it (setting me back about 80 calories; one cooked cup contains 39). I’ve had it twice since then can easily see it becoming a staple in my diet.
-Camille
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Camille
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Camille, I eat a lot of kale. A. Lot. When summer comes and our CSA share starts including copious amounts of it, I cook it up. It’s not my absolutely favorite veggie, but you’re right that your body tells you, “more, more!” I often sautée it with olive oil and garlic and some salt (which chemically cuts the perception of bitterness a bit).
Recently I felt like I was all done on kale ideas. I couldn’t bear another sautée…even if I used it as a filling to a wonderful tart with a salty cheese dotting the top. So I made baked kale chips with hefty doses of smokey paprika and ginger. Delightful, uses very little oil, and declared by my 3-year-old to be magic. I suppose with those healthy properties, it *is* magic.
(check it out if you’d like: http://bit.ly/kfmnb)
Kale leaves are really tough. I add it to my juicer (yes, a great remover of fiber, but SO EASY and delicious!!), which manages to extract an impressive amount of juice from a pound of kale, and dump all those beautiful vitamins into my usual apple-ginger-carrot juice. AND it’s yum…
Here’s another idea: chop your strips in thirds and plop in fried rice, along with those eggs, scallions, and ham (yes ham!)
you know whats also really good is kale or collard greens sauteed with onions, any white beans, sausage (I like it with sliced kilbasa) and a small ammount of BBQ sauce to cut the bitterness.