Here are two easy ways to use the green kale you just brought home.
Braise it.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot. When it starts to shimmer, add one diced yellow onion. Fry the onion for three or four minutes while you prep the kale. Note: this kale is clean as a whistle, so there’s no reason to wash it, and if you’re braising it, there’s no reason to take the ribs out either. Just chop it into bite-sized pieces, and then add about four cups of it to the stock pot. Add a teaspoon of salt, and then stir it around with the onion until it starts to wilt. Put the lid on the pot and let it steam for three or four minutes. Then serve it as a stand-alone side. It’s delicious with pinto beans.
Make a fresh kale salad.
Hold each leaf from the bottom of the stem and strip off the curly part. If the stem breaks half way up, you can leave that part. When your salad bowl is mostly full, sprinkle about half a teaspoon of coarse salt over the kale and massage it with both hands. Squeeze it about 25 times. Then add a stalk of chopped celery, a couple of chopped green onions, half a cup of dried cranberries, and half a cup of toasted almonds. For dressing, whisk together two tablespoons olive oil, two tablespoons high-quality balsamic vinegar (the kind that’s dark and thick and costs enough to not be cheap), one tablespoon real maple syrup, half a teaspoon of salt, and a little black pepper.
Many variations are possible, in both the dressing and the salad. I just try to strike a balance between bitter and sweet.
