Kale braised for an addition to a meal is so good. Apart from making a dish on its own as in my recipe below, I put kale in soups and stir-fries. Learn more about Kale – 8 Health Benefits and Cautions
What is Kale
“Kale is one of the oldest forms of cabbage, originating in the eastern Mediterranean. Kale is thought to have been used as a food crop as early as 2000 B. C.” – Laurie Hodges, Ph. D. Extension Specialist.
Kale has a high mineral content of manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, and some vitamin E. It is also rich in Vitamin A and C and phytochemicals including sulforaphane and indoles, which may protect against cancer.
Researchers have identified over 45 different flavonoids in kale. Just two of these, kaempferol and quercetin, combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in a way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
Braised Kale Recipe
Ingredients:
1 pound kale (about one bunch)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
Directions:
- Wash the kale; remove and discard the stems from the kale and tear it into bite-size pieces. Save the stems for another use, such as vegetable stock.
- In a large pot heat oil and lightly sauté garlic.
Add kale and water. - Cook covered for 5 to 20 minutes until tender (The time also varies depending how old the kale is).
More Kale Recipes
Delicious Mandarin Orange Kale Salad – This is a very healthy and nutritious salad. The addition of the mandarin oranges makes it yummy.
Delicious Winter Grapefruit Green Smoothie – How about having a colourful grapefruit green smoothie for breakfast filled with nutritious greens, grapefruit, orange and flax seeds? Being warm, it is great for the winter and also helps with weight loss. This nutritious smoothie is very filling too.
Steamed Winter Vegetables This is one of my easy ways to prepare vegetables. Perfect for fall and winter seasonal eating.
Pear Green Smoothie All ingredients are alkalizing! A great way to start your day with a very nutritious green smoothie.
KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP This is for sure a delicious soup and with some kale in it makes it even more nutritious.
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Very well written post. It will be helpful to everyone who usess it, as well as yours truly :). Keep doing what you are doing – for sure i will check out more posts.
This is very interesting, but leaves a load of questions unanswered.
I love kale, and was brought up on kale in soup, though rarely as a vegetable. My Dad grew kale in the garden, for years till greenfly became too much of a problem.
I don’t grow leafy veg in my garden, because of too many neighbourhood cats, especially un-neutered males who still want to spray for “their'” area – it’s bad enough that so many cats want to use my garden as their toilet area.
Having to buy good produce like kale, where I live, is either very difficult or very expensive, or both. And I live in a fairly fertile area. The supermarkets don’t seem to bother adjusting prices for seasonal produce. They just, at the very most, change the package size, or show the product as one of their “reduced price” items.
Hubby and I love kale as a veg, as well as on soup. So I reckon we need to wait another 8 weeks or so, till natural, un-forced, local kale becomes available. Then, I’m sure, the price will rise – yes, that’s what I said, “rise” – even though we’re then talking about in-season produce.