Kale: I confess my ignorance

I have a confession: I'm not a greens girl. Or at least I never have been. I've enthusiastically eaten many a salad in my day, but present me with those dark, leafy greens that need cooking and I'm clueless. They're not something I grew up eating and it's not territory I've ventured into on my own in recent years. But Farmer Rich certainly doesn't care about this, so my weekly routine with the greens goes something like this: I take home my half of the week's greens and they sit in my veggie bin, wilting, until the end of the week when I pawn them off on Diana for our weekly cook-what's-left-of-the-farm-share dinner. Except this week Diana was out of town, which meant I had no escape. Fortunately, I did have a recipe she had emailed me a few weeks ago to encourage me to attack our last batch of kale on my own (it didn't happen...). Knowing that if I didn't cook the greens right away, it would never happen, I faced that intimidating bunch of health on Tuesday night, as soon as I got home from Carolyn's. Polishing off the leftovers as a snack this afternoon, I was quite pleased, for the second time this week, to learn just how yummy those dark, nutrient-packed leaves can be. I think a conversion is in the making...

Pappas' Kale recipe

adapted from ??? (Bittman, I think)

**A note on an unorthodox substitution: this recipe calls for olives but I'm not an olive fan, so I didn't have any in my fridge. So, instead, I used bacon. Not an equal substitution, perhaps, but according to some recipes I perused it's also a good pairing with greens and I figured they've got the high-salt-content thing in common, so, what the hell. Either way you make it, this is a delish -- and super easy! -- way to prepare kale (and other comparable greens, I suppose).

kale

olive oil

1 big garlic scape, chopped (or 1 clove, now that scape season is over)

salt

pepper

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped (or some crumbled bacon...)

1/2 cup chopped ripe tomato

bit of minced red onion for garnish

Cut the kale leaves off of the stems, roughly chop the stems and set aside. Cut or tear the leaves separately into big pieces.

Put a good glug of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saute pan and heat over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic and the chopped kale stems and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

At this point, add the kale leaves to the pan and pour the wine over them, along with the tomatoes and olives. When the liquid is bubbling, cover and turn the heat down to medium-low.

Cook undisturbed for 10 minutes, then check to make sure the kale is tender. Garnish with the onion and some black pepper and drizzle a little olive oil on top once you've plated it.  

I finished mine off with a squeeze of lemon juice, as well.

Super-tasty, and not even a little intimidating :)