Kale-licious

I’m not much of a vegetable person. When I go out to restaurants I’m far more likely to order a good steak with french fries than anything with leaves.

About a month ago I was having coffee with my friend Adeline complaining that the vegetables in the supermarkets, though beautiful in appearance, were much wanting in taste. Having grown up on a farm near Montpellier, she sympathized and suggested I sign up for the Community Supported Agriculture delivery system. She explained that farmers from the surrounding areas prepared boxes with a selection of fresh produce in season, and had them delivered to multiple locations in the city.

As Adeline takes her vegetables very seriously and enjoys cooking, I decided to go on her recommendation. I chose a farm called J.R. Organics and their boxes have become an absolute hit in our home. My husband loves vegetables and I can now truthfully say that I’m actually enjoying them. Because they’re fresh and organic they taste wonderful and my diet is far healthier than it was before. One of my new discoveries is a delicious leafy green called kale.

Never having even heard of kale, I was a little nervous to try it out. I searched online for a recipe and discovered a delicious one from a website called 101 cookbooks. The selling point for me was that it literally took five minutes to prepare. All I had to do was fry some white beans for a few minutes in olive oil, add the kale with a bit of garlic and salt, then top it with lemon juice before taking it out of the pan. Adding some parmesan cheese at the end definitely adds some extra flavor but I generally eat it without and I think it tastes wonderful. The creamy texture of the beans provides a great contrast to the crispiness of the kale. Its light, crunchy, delicious, and I just feel healthy eating it. Its become one of my favorite lunches.

Here’s the healthy kale recipe from 101 cookbooks. http://www.101cookbooks.com

Kale and Bean Recipe

Serves 2 people

Ingredients

½ bunch (170g) kale. Remove stems

2 tbsp olive oil

2-3 handfuls of cooked large white beans (cannellini, corona)

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup walnuts (optional)

1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp garlic paste)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

¼ cup parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Finely chop the kale, wash it, and shake off as much water as you can. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in the widest skillet you own. Add the beans in a single layer. Stir to coat the beans, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes (I usually do it for 1 minute because I use canned beans). The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside.

Add the kale and salt to the pan and cook for less than a minute (I recommend adding a little more olive oil at the same time), just long enough for the kale to lose a bit of its structure. Stir in the walnuts and garlic (or garlic paste). Wait ten seconds and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Remove from heat and serve dusted with Parmesan cheese.