Greens, greens, and nothing but greens

Now that's a lot of kale!

I may have mentioned earlier that we've got a serious kale crop this year. Now, we're not in a super rush to use it all up or anything - barring a super intense snow/freeze, the kale will last here well into winter - but we will have to eat it quite consistently in order to get through it all this winter. While we really enjoy kale, it turns out that we don't actually have a lot of go-to recipes for its use. I've been doing some experimenting these past few weeks and have a few to share with you, some new and some we've used for awhile.

First up is a new one to us, from my perennial favorite. This was an especial winner, as it used some of our copious sweet potato harvest too. The only changes I made were, obviously, substituting kale for the chard, using cheddar (it's what I had), and leaving out the fancy herbs (which I didn't have). I blanched the kale before cooking it with the onions (I was worried it might be too chewy/crunchy, otherwise, but it may have been an unnecessary step).* I do recommend being a little skimpy with the first sauce application, as the top will get crunchy if you don't have enough to cover it. Oh, and it's totally delicious.

Next is a family recipe, from my Oma. We've typically eaten it as a side dish at Christmas time, but it's also makes a nice meal, with some potatoes (I especially like it on her dumplings).

Grünkohl
2-3 large bunches of curly kale
4 slices of bacon
1/2 large onion
2 tbsp. oatmeal
water or stock
bouillon (optional, see above)
salt and pepper

Strip kale leaves from stems and wash thoroughly. Blanche, by placing kale in boiling water, returning to a boil, and draining. Puree in food processor. Chop bacon and fry in a large pot. Set bacon aside and and cook onion in bacon fat until glassy. Add kale, water or stock to cover (I usually go the boullion route, since I don't know how much stock I'll need - you just add one cube, regardless of the amount of water you use), salt, and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add oatmeal (I know this sounds weird, but it's just a thickener), and cook for about an hour (add water if it dries out). Taste it - if it's bitter, cook it longer. This is best if it sits for a day before you eat it.

This is the closest I could come to a Silas-related

photo with kale, it's a year old and he's picking cabbage

This next one's from my sister and for all of you raw kale lovers out there (it made a believer out of me!).

Kale Slaw
Chop up a bunch of kale. Not teeny - more like potato-chip sized.
Put in a bowl.
Squeeze a whole lemon over the top of it.
Dump in a fair amount of sea salt.
Drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil.
Drop in a cut-up avocado.
Knead thoroughly (a couple minutes - with your hands).

This soup is from another old standby in our house. It's quite adaptable to what you have on hand and seriously delicious - I won't lie, though, I can't think of a way to make a vegetarian version that's nearly as good. Thoughts?

Portuguese Kale Soup (adapted from Marian Morash's The Victory Garden Cookbook)
1 pound kale
1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 pound smoked sausage (I love chorizo, she also recommends linguica), sliced
1 medium/large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil, if needed
2 quarts stock
1 quart tomatoes (she calls for 3 lb.)
1 1/2 cups cooked beans (I occasionally leave these out if I don't have any on hand, but it's better with them)
salt and pepper

Wash and strip the kale from its stems, then diagonally slice it in thick strips (you should end up with 6-8 cups). Fry sliced sausage in a large pot until lightly browned, then set aside. Warm sausage fat over medium heat (adding some olive oil, if needed). Add onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add potatoes and stock, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are cooked. Mash potatoes against the side of the pot, add tomatoes and beans, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add kale and sausage, cook for 5-10 minutes, and season to taste.

One last winner, which I won't repost in its entirety here, is to mix 3 large bunches of kale (blanched and pureed) into the sauce of our macaroni and cheese recipe. This was definitely Silas's favorite of the above and we liked it a lot too.

There you have it, 5 of our favorite kale recipes and plenty of kale left in the garden for further experimentation. Got any favorites you'd like to share?

*I made this again this past week and pureed the kale in the food processor after blanching, as Silas had a hard time eating the chopped pieces, and this worked well too.