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Agrochemicals & Pesticides | Vegetables | Fruit | Plant Seeds

What is Kale and How to Use it in Cooking

[2008-7-21]

Tag : boiled mixed vegetable
This is something that many cooks of all levels of experience askthemselves, but if you do a little bit of investigation, you'llfind that there are plenty of things that you can do with thishighly versatile leafy green. When you eat kale, you are in goodcompany.

Kale was the most commonly eaten green vegetable in Europe untilthe seventeenth century. There is actually evidence that kale wascultivated and used in the fourth century BC in ancient Greece. Itwas a popular addition to the British Victory Gardens of World WarII and people are rediscovering the versatility and deliciousflavor of kale nowadays.

If you can go long periods without cooking, you have probably hadthe unpleasant experience of opening up your refrigerator andfinding that your vegetables have turned brown and soggy. Luckily,kale freezes very well, and gets a sweeter taste after beingexposed to a frost. If you have fresh kale, especially if you havethe very tender shoots, add them into your salads. Some ideas for akale salad include using roasted nuts, strong peppers, and peanuts,all to emphasize the strong, almost smoky taste.

Kale is a green that is eaten around the world, and there areplenty of recipes to choose from. If you like cooked vegetablesover raw ones, take a look at the kale recipes from the southernhalf of Africa, where kale is typically boiled with coconut milkand ground up or powdered peanut before being served on top of riceor a variety of flat breads. This is a great way to enjoy someextremely tasty vegetarian food, if you are looking to cut back onthe meat in your diet.

Kale is frequently combined with ground, sliced meat, such asground beef, or spiced sausage, in European kale recipes. It can bemixed with broth, olive oil, and potatoes and served as anaccompaniment to the meat. A milder vegetable might not be able tostand up to the strong meat flavor but kale does the jobexcellently because of its strong, rich flavor. Something else youcan do with kale is to cut it up and add it to stir-fries,something that is popular all over the world.

When you are looking to stir-fry kale, try adding Japanese shiitakemushrooms to the mix. Remove the kale's stems and slice the leavesinto large chunks. Heat some oil in your frying pan or wok, andgently fry up the mushrooms, garlic, and anything else you thinkmight be tasty. When these ingredients are relatively tender, addkale, and seasons like soy sauce, pepper, and sesame oil, and youwill have a tasty dish in very short order.

Kale is very underrated but you can see now that it can be used inmany different recipes. So why not buy some kale the next time youshop for vegetables and discover its unique taste for yourself!


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