How to cook kale? There are many theories which involve long cooking and lots of water, but I prefer to saute it fairly quickly in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil.
Last night, I cooked purple kale. I pulled large bite-sized pieces off of the stalk, and washed them in cold water. Sometimes, as with spinach, I’ll grease the pan by cooking some small pieces of bacon or pancetta, then throw the kale in just before the pork gets crunchy. I always use garlic, and have found that the kale gets most garlicky when several crushed cloves of garlic have been simmered in the oil for a few minutes, so that its skin is slightly caramelized. After putting in the kale, you can put the lid on for a few minutes to steam it a bit, and when it gets wilty, leave the lid off and toss it with tongs. I strongly recommend tongs, so that you can squeeze out the excess water before plating it.
Kale is also delicious when it’s tossed together in the pan with mustard greens and spinach. Red pepper flakes are a nice addition at the end.
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