Kale Recipes

Kale recipes are easy to prepare. Kale is available year round, although it grows best in the cooler temperatures of fall, winter or early spring.

Kale is super nutritious, high in calcium and magnesium and chlorophyll. Kale supports your blood and builds bones.

When you buy kale, look for dark leafy greens without yellow spots. make sure it is hearty and not limp.

For any of the kale recipes, you first need to clean the kale well. The curly leaves can trap dirt. Put it in a bowl of water and swirl it around, go through it with your hands to release the dirt. Next, tear out the stem. It's too fiberous to taste good. Then, tear your kale into bits sized pieces. Now you are ready to cook!

You can boil or saute kale. I usually don't steam kale because I find it's too bitter that way. If any of the following recipes tastes too bitter for you, boil the kale longer or lightly boil the kale before you saute it with onions. Onions will sweeten the kale.

I like the slightly bitter taste but it may be an aquired taste for some.

We need the bitter taste in our diets and we don't often get it. The dark greens add the bitter taste to our food, and in natural healing, bitter taste helps to cleanse the arteries and heart.

Kale Recipes: Basic Sauteed Kale

1/2 onion, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped

1 garlic clove, diced fine

Saute onion in olive oil for about 3 minutes, until it starts to be translucent. Add garlic and saute a minute. Add kale and saute until it wilts, about 2 minutes. It will shrink quite a bit. That's it, you are done.

Serve with a splash of fresh lemon juice or vinegar to taste. Dark greens go well with vinegar.

Variations: For a heartier dish, add left over beans to the sauteed kale while cooking. Beans and greens is a traditional Mediterranean dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if you like.

Kale Recipes: Simple Boiled Kale

Clean a bunch of kale, tear or chop into bite size pieces. Add kale to a big pot of boiling water. The kale will shrink as it cooks. Cook about 2 minutes, remove from water when kale is bright green.

Pull the kale out of the water with a slotted spoon, or pour the whole pot into a colander and catch the kale. It's done. Add lemon or a sauce if you like.

Kale Recipes: Tahini Lemon Sauce for Kale

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp sea salt

2-3 Tbsp tahini

1 tsp flax oil (optional)

Mix dressing and serve over kale

Kale Recipes: Kale Raisin Salad

1 bunch kale, cut into small pieces

2 carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal

1 cup raisins

Soak the raisins in warm water for a few minutes until they become plump. Boil a pot of water and add the carrots, cook about 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the kale to boiling water and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes.

Assemble the salad on a platter. Place kale on platter and add carrots and raisins. Serve the tahini lemon sauce. (recipe above)

Kale Recipes: Kale Salad with Tomatoes

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped thinly

1 tomato, diced

3 Tbsp cilantro or basil

6-8 black olives

2 Tbsp sunflower seeds or sliced almonds

Boil kale in pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Lift out with tongs, or drain in a colander. Use the kale as the base of a salad. Add in tomato, basil, olives, and sunflower seeds.

More kale ideas: slice kale thinly and add to soup or spaghetti sauce in small amounts. You can sneak it in to meals if your family won't eat it straight.

Have fun playing with kale in the kitchen!

"Vegetables are a physical pleasure to buy and clean and prepare and then cook and serve forth. I love their color, and odors, and the feel of them" --MFK Fisher

Here's more healing greens to try, great for calcium and iron!

Spinach recipes

Spinach salad recipe

Summer salads

Parsley tea, simple medicine