Kale was the most successful crop in our vegetable garden last year. So successful that this year we planted three times the amount (or to quote Mr Grumpy, we went ‘long on kale’). As the plants begin to reach maturity, I can attest that it is entirely possible to have far too much of a good thing. There are only so many kale chips I can make at any one time, and I am not really a green smoothie kinda gal. This leaves me with a lot of kale to do something useful with.
Kale chips aside, I don’t quite get the fascination with raw kale in everything. I find raw kale tough and far too chewy. There are far better things to put in salad in my opinion. Like lettuce, rocket and even cabbage, which doesn’t seem as hard to chew as kale. Unless kale is quite young, it can be quite bitter. I’m not convinced it tastes any better lightly cooked by stirring it into eggs, stir fry’s or anything else that could do with a dash of greens.
It took reading Food and Healing by Annemarie Colbin to make me reconsider kale. Until twenty or thirty years ago it was customary to boil leafy greens before discarding the cooking water. This practice fell by the wayside when it was discovered that valuable minerals and nutrients leached out of the vegetables into the cooking water. Colbin, however, presents a case for boiling your kale prior to using it in other dishes. Kale is incredibly high in vitamins and minerals. So high that recommended daily allowances of Vitamin A and C, iron and calcium will still be more than met even after boiling the vegetable for ten minutes. Boiling kale also removes strong and bitter compounds from the leaves, and breaks down oxalic acid which interferes with calcium absorption.
I tried this (now) radical method of cooking and loved it. The resulting kale is delicious, with no trace of bitterness. Kale is also extremely high in chlorophyll, so even after boiling it remains a bright green colour. Unless I am using young kale for kale chips, I now prefer to boil my kale before adding it to other dishes.
To blanch kale, bring a large pot of water to the boil, and fill the sink with cold water. After removing the thick central stalk from the leaves, plunge the kale into the boiling water. Boil the leaves for about five minutes, then fish out the wilted leaves with tongs, allowing excess water to drip back into the pot. Plunge the kale into the cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, squeeze out the excess moisture and use the leaves as desired. I process a large amount of kale at once, then chop and freeze some of the wilted leaves for later use.
This spicy kale pesto came about after surveying the vegetable patch and realising that the kale situation had got out of hand. Some leaves were so large they were breaking off under their own weight. Even after harvesting an armful it looked like I hadn’t touched the plants. I’d run out of my usual pesto so thought I might be able to reduce the harvest by whizzing it up for dinner.
Kale pairs well with lemon, chilli and Parmesan. The resulting pesto was glorious (in my not so very humble opinion). I stirred it into spaghetti, but I have also been eating it spread on sourdough toasts or just by the spoonful – it is that good. The Princess has given it her tick of approval by using it in her sandwiches for school
If you’re like me and don’t quite get the raw kale movement, try boiling it instead. You may be pleasantly surprised, and even be moved to try growing your own. Although I advise you to not go ‘long on kale’.
This pesto will keep for up to a week in the fridge in a sealed glass jar. It is great spread on crackers or eaten straight from the spoon if you need a quick snack.
I have only added a small amount of chilli to this in deference to The Princess. Feel free to add more if you want it spicier. Author: Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas Serves: Makes 2 cups Ingredients
- 1½ cups (approximately 200g) blanched kale {or one bunch young kale)
- 1 large or two small cloves garlic
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 small dried chilli
- Salt & Pepper
- Place the kale into a food processor and blitz briefly, until the kale is finely chopped.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients and blitz until well combined.
- Taste the pesto and add additional lemon, salt and pepper if desired.
- Use immediately or store in glass jars in the fridge.
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