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Anyone who belongs to a CSA understands the beautiful鈥攁nd often overwhelming鈥攂ounty of kale. Just looking at the green, you can tell it鈥檚 hearty, making for a wonderful addition to any plate.
Many call it a super-veggie. 鈥淥ne cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K,鈥 Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD. 鈥淚t is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.鈥
Usually, when something鈥檚 this good for you, it doesn鈥檛 taste good. But not in the case of this powerhouse. Though kale can taste pretty similar regardless of what it鈥檚 paired with, it can go with so many different foods鈥攑astas and garbanzo beans and chicken and steak. (This offers kale 14 ways.)
One of the best uses we鈥檝e found thus far has been in a crustless quiche. Any simple quiche recipe will work for the base; we鈥檝e used in the past. Before combining the cream, eggs, cheese, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper, we saut茅ed two cups of fresh kale with garlic scapes and a little bacon. Mix it all together and bake for 30 minutes in the oven.
You can also try kale chips. Wash and dry a head of kale, then cut out the middle ribbing. Break up the remaining leaves into chip-size pieces, toss with olive oil and salt, and bake for about 20 minutes at 275掳 or 300掳. Rotate once. These are best when eaten right out of the oven because they retain their crunch; eaten later they鈥檙e still tasty but, let鈥檚 be honest, a little chewy.
In talking with my colleagues about kale, someone suggested making a smoothie with the greens. I鈥檝e not yet tried it, but I included a recipe below, in case it piques your interest. Plus, four other kale-inspired recipes:
, Taste for Adventure
, Cooking Light
, Real Simple
, Serious Eats
, Martha Stewart
Next week I plan to tackle the tomato, which we鈥檙e getting this week for the first time this CSA season!