Superfood Spotlight: Kale

Kale has become quite the popular vegetable these days and I have been experimenting with it for some time.  I haven’t written about it because, to be honest, every time I made it, I couldn’t get myself to like it.  Until now.  I found this vegetable to be very tough to eat and bitter for my taste.  However, I recently made kale chips and fell in love with them.

Kale is a part of the Brassica family  which is also the family to broccoli, cabbage, collards, brussel sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables. It comes in three different types: curly, ornamental and dinosaur (or Tuscan).  Curly kale is a dark green and has a bitter and peppery taste.  Ornamental kale comes in green, purple or white leaves and has a mellow flavor.  Dinosaur has dark blue-green leaves and is slightly sweeter than the other varieties.

Although the best way to cook kale is by steaming (it enhances and preserves the most nutrients), I made these dinosaur kale chips by oven roasting them…

Get fresh kale and separate the leaves from the thick center stem

Place in a bowl and soak in cool water for 5 minutes

I decided to roast some mushrooms at the same time

• I failed to take pictures here but next, toss the kale with olive oil, salt, pepper and any other spices you wish you use.  Toss until all leaves are fully coated.
• Spread on a roasted dish and roast at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping every 10-15 minutes
• At the end, they should have shrunk a little and become crisp and delicious!

I will admit, I finished the entire batch that I made in one night.  The next time I made it, I made a lot more kale and saved some in ziploc bags.  This is such a money saver.  I bought the entire bag of kale (far right bag pictured below) for $1.99 and made enough kale chips for over a week.  At the store, kale chips are selling for $6-8 dollars for a TWO ounce bag.

went a little “green happy” at the store

What to look for when buying kale:

• Dark green leaves with moist stems
• Fresh looking leaves (not wilted, discolored or holed)
• The smaller the leaves, the more tender it will be

How to cook kale:

• Once the kale is chopped, let it sit for 5 minutes to get the most health benefits
• Like mentioned above, the best way to preserve the nutrients is by steaming for about 5 minutes
• You can throw this is pastas, eggs, lasagnas, or eat raw as a salad.  It is very versatile like spinach :)  As I develop more of a taste for kale, I will try to incorporate it into other dishes.  Try it out!