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I'm new to all this.

I'm trying to cook kale, in a wonderful Thai soup. After a long time, it is finally to the point where it is less like plastic and can sort of be chewed enough to swallow...maybe.

But certainly not something I would choose to eat.

I had been juicing it, but since juicing is not part of this program, I'm trying to find ways to get some of the greens, especially kale, into me.

I must be doing something wrong. I buy it at the local "healthy produce" store.

I never used Kale before. Now I know why.

I love kale, but you certainly have no obligation to eat it if you don't like it. First, I destem the kale leaves. Then I stack up a few of the leaves, roll them into a tight tube, and cut the tube into thin ribbons. This is a technique called chiffonade: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiffonade

This makes the kale cook much faster, and can also be used to add raw kale to salads.

Kate

Don't feel like you have to cook it. I like to just tear it off the stem into bite size pieces (1 bunch or a big bag full). Then I juice a couple of lemons or limes and pour it over the kale in a big pot. Then just kneed it up with your hands. I think the lemon helps to break down the kale a little. Sometimes I throw in some toasted sesame seeds. But I am odd as I put kale in my oatmeal in the morning.

Thanks,

I'll try it!

If that doesn't work, I'll juice it and then cook the pulp to make vegetable broth!

Ha. Some people like chewier kale, but I prefer it cooked tender. Usually, it takes about 20 minutes to get to that point. A pressure cooker would get it tender faster (about 5 minutes). I made kale last night. I tore it off the stems, chopped it, and threw it in a large bowl of water (I only made one bunch. When I do larger quantity of greens I throw it in a sink full of water to wash), drained it in a colander, then transferred it to a pot. I added about 5 cloves of slivered garlic and about 1/3 cup (?I didn't really measure) of water, put the lid on, and brought it to a boil. After about 5 minutes, reduce the heat to medium. Stir it every now and then and add more water if necessary. Test it to see how long it takes to get as tender as you like. Salt to taste.

In soups, you'll want to make sure it's added earlier rather than at the end. Or you could add kale that's been partially precooked (blanched). Spinach you can throw in at the end, and it only takes a minute or two to wilt down. Kale needs more time. Collards are more like kale than spinach. I don't buy chard, but I think that has a shorter cooking time than collards or kale. Beet greens (I cooked those once, believe it or not, during one of my attempts to make myself like beets) cook quicker than kale and collards, probably falling between spinach and chard in cooking time.

http://www.sustainability.jhu.edu/pdfs/ ... g_tips.pdf

Ah, thank you!

So... it does get tender. I'll try your method too...

Kale doesn't seem to taste bad. I just don't like the feeling I am chewing shards of plastic. My body was screaming, "Don't eat this!"

I had it in the soup for a while and it did sort of cook down, but it still seemed to have tough ends to it, still like plastic.

Thanks again. It is such a relief to get help on this forum. It really makes a difference to me.

I have added chopped kale to my potato leek soup, it's included in my couscous salad and I have even baked it to make kale chips.

You might have had some of the more fibrous veins from the ends of the leaf (the part close to the stem) in there. Cutting the pieces of kale leaf smaller will help some, too. Kale doesn't break down like other greens, but you can get it tender if you give it enough cooking time.

I like to cook mine in water for about 20 minutes with some mushrooms and balsamic vinegar.

I would also agree it takes a while to cook. It was only when I read Ann Esselstyn say that kale needs lots of water to cook in and for at least 10mins, that I finally was able to eat it. I save the cooking water as stock for use in soups.

I steamed mine at first (as I tend to steam everything!) but it was kind of chewy and not at all pleasant

Chop the kale leaves removing the tough inner stems. Wash it well and either place into a tea-towel or specialized salad spinner to remove all traces of water. Heat the oil to a medium to high level in a large sauté pan. And so on, and so forth..


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Kale was actually one of the few leafy greens that I could eat (apart from the usual ones, like romaine lettuce and green cabbage). I once read that it's good to cut the bitterness of greens with something sour, like lemon juice or vinegar.

I usually would saute it in water and add some balsamic vinegar and garlic, which made a nice side dish. I have also eaten it along with romaine as salad greens with a dressing of balsamic, dijon mustard, and a little maple syrup.

Unfortunately, I am now living in Israel and I hardly ever see kale - sometimes in the farmer's market, but that's about it. I have a feeling it's because kale is more of a winter vegetable and people in Israel tend to eat locally grown produce and the weather here is usually not good with winter veggies.

Djuna

We don't use oil around here.

I've only used kale in my SNAP meals for the dark leafy greens part. I just simmer it for about 10 minutes before throwing it in the pot with the other stuff.

I've been meaning to try the chips, but I don't own a baking sheet. I rarely ever bake anything.

*adds 'baking sheet' to list of things to buy soon*

I like to cook kale thusly:

Wash it and cut out the stem and rib, but don't throw it away. Finey slice it on the diagonal.

Chop the leaves into bite sized pieces.

Slice some onions.

Saute the kale stems and the onions in some balsamic vinegar. When the onions are translucent and the kale stems are soft, add the kale leaves, a little more balsamic vinegar and a handful of raisins. Cover and steam until the kale leaves are tender.

The balsamic vinegar and raisins contrast nicely with the bitterness of the kale.

I also sometimes use the sliced stems like I would celery in stir fries and soups.

I'm not especially fond of raw kale in salads. It's tolerable, but not all that great.

I prefer my greens stir-fried or steamed for only a few minutes. Check out this Potatoes with Kale recipe (make sure to leave out the oil as I note in the thread). There are also two good raw kale recipes I've gotten from this forum, but they both contain high-fat ingredients: Tahini (small amount) in the Garlicky Kale Salad and peanut/almond butter (larger amount) in the Hail to the Kale salad.

I always cut all stems and large midribs out first. This is easiest to do with the flatter-leaf varieties; I just stand on end and slice downward with a very sharp knife.