Mom brought us some red and white kale seeds at Christmas and I planted them in seed trays in the green house in February. I transplanted them to the garden the first of March. As my palate goes, I had always put kale in the chard family and thought I did not like it. Mom kept raving about it and she used a lot in soups this winter before her plants totally froze out.
I decided to finally pick some and found a lot of great recipes. The first one that caught my eye was Bon Appetit’s “Spaghetti with Olives, Kale and Cherry Tomatoes.” I came home Monday night and whipped up my version:
Whole Grain Pasta with Pancetta, Olives, Kale and Cherry Tomatoes
2 oz. chopped pancetta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper, divided
3 packed cups of chopped kale
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper
13.25 oz. whole grain spaghetti
2/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
30 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
Fry pancetta in a large nonstick skillet until crisp (about 2-3 minutes). Add 1 T. olive oil. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper; stir 15 seconds. Add kale and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Toss kale until wilted, about 4 minutes.
Transfer to medium bowl.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Set aside.
In the pasta cooking pot (that has been drained of the spaghetti and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid), heat 2 T. oil and 4 minced garlic cloves over medium-low heat. Add drained pasta to garlic oil in pan; toss to coat. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, cooked kale and olives. Toss to coat and cook until heated through, adding pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Add tomatoes and oregano. Toss to incorporate evenly, adding more cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
I also think that the kale itself, sauteed with a bit of pancetta, would make an awesome side dish.
Last night the hubby was working late so I was by myself for dinner. I decided to try another recipe that I had found interesting: “Tuscan Kale Chips” (also from the Bon Appettit site). These are super easy to make and, to my surprise, they are delicious! I actually had some soup defrosted but ended up making a meal of these instead.
Simply toss the kale leaves with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake in a 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Other kale recipes I found and want to try are Braised White Beans with Chard(and substitute the kale for the chard) and Sauteed Kale.
So, the verdict is that I think I like the kale just as much as I found I liked chard.
Love Kale and yours looks fresh, young and tender – yummy! My first experience with kale was a simple saute to compliment a medium-rare steak. Yum!
Thanks, Tabitha! I actually made it again for Easter and added caramelized onions. Took it to a new level! (And, now I want steak, too!)