Kale the winter green

If you live in a northern climate and buy your produce at farmers’ markets or through a community supported farm,

February and March make for dreary offerings, with one notable exception.

Kale is a versatile green that serves as a fine inspiration for a soup or a stew, a pasta or a gratin. Because the leaves of this Brassica family vegetable are so sturdy, kale stands up to longer cooking than do chard and beet greens. And while greens like spinach and chard readily suffer from overcooking, stewed kale has a sweet flavor.

Kale is in the same family of vegetables as cabbage. (Italians call black kale cavolo nero, or black cabbage.) Like its cousins, kale is packed with health-promoting sulfur compounds, and it has been found to have the greatest antioxidant capacity of all fruits and vegetables.

It’s an excellent source of vitamins K, A and C, as well as manganese, and a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium, iron and potassium. All of this nutritional value comes in a low-calorie package.

Supermarkets generally stock curly kale, the variety with the sturdy, silvery green, ruffled leaves. At farmers’ markets you’ll find several other varieties, including the dark green cavolo nero, plum-red Redbor kale and red Russian kale, which has purplish leaves and red veins. They can be used interchangeably unless otherwise specified.

Kale can be simmered for long periods, or it can be blanched and then quickly pan-cooked in olive oil. Long-simmered kale yields a sweet, nourishing “pot liquor” that you will want to sop up with bread or even sip with a spoon. Kale loses its bright color as it simmers and the flavor of the leaves is strong, but the overall effect is sweet and comforting. The pan-cooked kale is brighter, both in color and flavor, but it will yield much less to serve, because kale loses volume when it’s blanched. Simmered kale, on the other hand, first collapses in the pan, then swells as it cooks.

some of the recipes for Kale are:

Pan-Cooked Kale With Garlic and Olive Oil

2 large bunches kale (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
Salt, preferably kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem the kale and wash the leaves in two rinses of water. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and the kale. Blanch for four minutes, until the kale is tender. Transfer immediately to the ice water, then drain and squeeze the water from the leaves. Chop coarsely or cut in strips.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in the kale. Stir for a couple of minutes, until the kale is nicely seasoned with garlic and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and serve.

Yield: Serves four
Advance preparation: The blanched greens will keep in the refrigerator for about three days.

Simmered Kale
This recipe is a version of Judy Rogers’ Boiled Kale, Four Ways (from The Zuni Café Cookbook). Many vitamins leach into the pot liquor, so be sure to use it with the kale. Serve it on thick slices of toasted bread rubbed with garlic or topped with a poached egg.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
10 to 12 ounces kale, stemmed, washed thoroughly and cut crosswise in 1/4-inch wide ribbons
3 to 4 cups water
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about three minutes, and add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the kale a handful at a time. Stir until the kale wilts, then add another handful until all of it has been used. Add water to cover the kale by about 1/2 inch, and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. The kale should be tender but not mushy, and the liquid in the pan should be sweet. Taste and adjust salt. Add freshly ground pepper.

Yield: Serves four
Advance preparation: This can be made a day ahead and reheated. The flavor will be stronger the second day.