Kale - The Superfood

Although I love vegetables above all other foods, I didn't grow up eating a lot of different varieties. I feel as though there are many more types of these nutritious foods available to us nowadays. In the grocery store produce aisle you can find local and exotic imports from pretty much every corner of the globe.

I knew kale was one of the superfoods even before Dr. Oz began to preach same.  I first tried cooking it and found the taste unpleasant, bitter as it were. Then I would throw raw kale into the blender with some type of liquid, close my eyes and gulp green slime in an attempt to down this vegetable...disgusting and also not recommended.

Hubby has had other kale experiences. While visiting relatives in northern Germany, he often enjoyed a dish called Grünkohl and Pinkelwurst. He speaks of it often,  reminisces and drools each time he sees a bunch of kale. Since I'm not a wurst kind of person and since I hail from southern Germany, the land of spätzle and schnitzel, I can't quite imagine the aforementioned delicacy,

In my search for alternate kale options, I have created kale chips...not bad but nothing special, especially if you burn them. More recently, I have come across an amazing recipe. It's a salad unlike any other. It can be put into the fridge and eaten over the course of several days without becoming soggy. In fact, it becomes tastier.

I'm afraid I don't know the origin of this recipe since it came to me from a firend, so I regret that I am unable to give credit to the source.

Lemon Kale Salad

Ingredients

1 tblsp lemon zest (that's when you use a grater and scrape off some lemon peel)
juice of one lemon (you can also use 3 tblsp of the liquid lemon)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 cups chopped kale ribs removed (wash and completely dry first)
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1/3 cup toasted blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

In a large bowl mix together the first three ingredients. Add the kale and toss to coat. Add parmesan and hazelnuts. Toss before serving.

As I said, this will last for days in the fridge. I hope you enjoy it. I do.

1000 Uses for Kale

Hubby has often talked about a certain meal he once ate in Bremen. In fact, he said he consumed the same dish many times, on an overseas vacation prior to our marriage. "Kale and pinkelwurst" to some, is a highly coveted delicacy.

I often searched for a recipe and tried to figure out what form of sausage "pinkelwurst" would be. It just didn't exist in the world as I knew it. No amount of description or babelfish translation helped me. I returned from my recent trip armed with some new information. Firstly, I found out that the German version of http://www.cooks.com/ is http://www.chefkoch.de/. I also learned that kale is "kohl". After only a bit of searching, I found the recipe. Unfortunately, it's quite complex and will require more lessons from the local library's "German for Dummies" before I can figure it out...should I even want to that is.

Photo borrowed from Menschenkind24 and chefkoch.com
Grünkohl mit Pinkel nach Bremer Art

I do sometimes eat kale. It lowers cholesterol. It reduces the risk of certain cancers including bladder, breast, colon, bowel and prostate. It provides us with vitamins, nutrients and fibre. It contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory qualities. And as if that weren't enough, Dr. Oz says to eat it.

There are as many kale recipes as there are leaves on the plant, perhaps more. When I look at some of them, I wonder whether cooks are at a loss for what to do with this vegetable and are simply attempting to be creative. Here are some examples, "lemon kale with chickpeas"," gemelli with kale, sage and potatoes",  "squash and kale phyllo pie" and "kale and olive stew".

I have found a recipe that I quite enjoy. It is for kale chips. It's a particular favourite of mine because it has the right number of ingredients...three, just three. It's as simple as washing and drying the kale, removing the spine and breaking the rest into bite sized pieces, drizzling it with 1 tsp. olive oil, sprinkling with 1 tsp. salt (or substitute) and baking on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until the edges are brown. They taste like potato chips with fewer calories, no bad fats and tons of nutrition.

Last Saturday, hubby announced he was going to the farmers' market to buy a bit of kale. He wanted to try his hand at cooking some kale and sausage similar to the recipe from Bremen. Kale is in season now so he bought a small bunch.

Does anyone have another 999 uses for kale?