The Amazingness of Kale

I love kale. Actually my whole family does. When I go grocery shopping D asks for kale as we go by the produce section. If for some reason we don't need it that visit (which is rare), K will cry and scream. It's a charmed life I live. :) My favorite time of year is at the end of the summer when the bunches of kale are enormous. It makes me happy. 

There are also a lot of times I will be in line at the grocery store and people will ask me "What do you do with all that kale?" Here are my answers:

Side note- You can do all of these with collard greens, turnip greens, or chard. The turnip greens are a little spicier. :)

Kale Salad:

I love salads. Like really really love them. I was at a restaurant in Phoenix and had a baby kale salad with lemon vinaigrette. The following is my recreation of that. It is now one of my favorites. 

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 4 cups chopped fresh baby mixed kale
• 1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan
• Homemade croutons (optional)

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. This will make more than you need for your salad. I make mine in glass bottles and keep it in my fridge. 

Mix the kale, Parmesan, and lemon zest. drizzle dressing over and top with croutons. Yum-O!

Kale chips:

• 1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and leaves cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil over the kale and turn to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 20 minutes. They should be crispy but not brown. The single layer part is pretty important. If they are not in a single layer they won't crisp, and no one likes a soggy chip. 

Also- The temperature really depends on your oven. The oven we had at our last house we baked the chips at 300. Here 325. So I would play around with it. Maybe start low and work your way up. 

Kale Pasta:

This is my go to meal for busy nights when I don;t have time to cook. It is done in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta. Dinner in under 15 minutes? Yes please. 

1 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 a bunch of kale, finely chopped
2 handfuls of baby spinach
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 teaspoon, crushed red pepper flakes

2-4 Tbs white wine

1/4 cup Chicken stock

handful of toasted pine nuts
salt, to taste

Parmesan for sprinkling

Start the water boiling for the penne. While the water heats heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes cook gently for about 30 seconds to let the spices bloom. Add the kale, spinach and salt. Cook until greens are wilted. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce by half. Then add chicken stock and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and let simmer until pasta is done.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta. If the veggie mixture needs more liquid add the pasta water. Add kale mixture to pasta. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan.