Kale Crisis

[rakip]

I need some kale recipes for my kitchen. I'm getting weekly kale from my organic farm share and need some fresh inspiration. Please help.

[will47]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/785029
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/716424
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/743253

[soypower]

For an overabundance of kale, I'd recommend making a few green smoothies. Super nutritious and if you add the right fruits, it can be mighty tasty! I usually fill my vitamix about 50% full of kale leaves and then add half a banana, handful of grapes, handful of blueberries a couple of ice cubes and about half a cup of water. Blend until smooth. It may not sound so great, but it actually tastes good and makes me feel great in the morning!

[tcamp]

I feel your pain. One of my favorite kale treatments is in a marinated salad. There are dozens of different recipes, here is one:

http://www.grandstreetcsa.org/2010/06...

[odkaty]

That sounds good.

[odkaty]

I've been making Epicurious' Wilted Kale and Roasted Potato Salad, and Whole Foods has several recipes for salads on their website that have turned out well.

[limonay]

Kale soup! You can add more kale than the recipe calls for - they cook down anyway.

http://fortychestnuts.com/2011/06/18/...

Kale and Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage

(Serves 4

)

3 medium sweet potatoes, coarsely cubed

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

5 cups chopped kale, stems removed

1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced

6 ounces (about 3 links) chicken sausage, sliced

6 cups chicken stock

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F.

Place cubed sweet potatoes in a baking pan or dish. Season with salt and pepper and coat with olive oil.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium heat, warm some olive oil.

Cook the chicken sausage until just browned.

Add in onion and mushrooms and cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, until softened.

Add in garlic, thyme, coriander, some sea salt and black pepper. Stir in and cook for about 1 minute.

Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 – 10 minutes.

Add in roasted sweet potatoes and kale.

Push the kale down into the soup so it’s submerged. Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, until bright green and tender.

[kevine]

I usually strip the leaves off of the stalks, boil them for about 15 minutes, drain, then saute in garlic, olive oil and pepperoncini (red pepper flakes) for a few minutes just before serving.

[SilverlakeGirl]

Actually a Kale Krisis seems more apropos.

Nevertheless, my favorite kale recipe is the Portuguese soup, Caldo Verde with longings and kale. My favorite version is from Arthur Schwartz, the Food Maven available online.

[Isolda]

My go-to dish when I am overloaded with greens, any kind of green, is gumbo z'herbes. The greater the variety the better.

[biondanonima]

I like kale (steamed until tender) in just about any recipe that calls for cooked spinach - so, kale and artichoke dips, kale quiche, kale frittata, layered in lasagne, creamed kale, etc.

I've also been wanting to make this stuffed pizza recipe from Epicurious for a while - I'll bet it would be great with kale: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[nemo]

If you Google "kale chips" you'll get lots of hits for roasting the leaves in the oven with a little oil and salt. Crispy, delicious. We can eat an entire head of kale chips in one sitting. Other seasonings that I've seen are garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne. My oven is usually at 400. We like them a bit black and very crisp. Kale does well in soup, as others have said.

[rakip]

I have tried kale chips and I'm in the minority in my opinion of them. I was entirely 'under-whelmed'. I did use them up crushed up in casseroles and salads but I prefer dulse with its crunchiness and natural salt and minerals. Kale is wonderful in soups and I made a curried kale dish that was a success.

[weezieduzzit]

If you search for kale on the board there is a recent thread with some yummy suggestions.

I just wanted to add that if you have too much you can chop/blanch/drain and freeze it to add to winter soups and casseroles when the weather gets chilly, too! I'm intentionally growing far more than we can eat (and we eat it several times a week,) so we will have some all year.