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What is Kale and Why Would I Want to Cook with It?

By: KC Kudra A lot of cooks see kale in the grocery store and leave it in favor of another vegetable because they do not know exactly what it is or how to best prepare and cook it. If you find out a little more about this leafy green, you will discover that it is both delicious and very versatile. You might like to try a kale soup recipe, a kale salad recipes or a kale stew first of all. Kale can be eaten raw or cooked.

Before the 1600s, kale was the most common green vegetable but it has been around since long before then. There is evidence of kale cultivation going right back to the fourth century BC in Greece. Kale was a popular addition to the British Victory Gardens of World War II and people are rediscovering the goodness and flavor of kale these days. There are a lot of new kale recipes and kale is cooked in recipes all over the globe.

If you have been out for dinner several nights in a row or not cooked for another reason, you have probably opened your refrigerator door at some point and winced at a soggy, brown pile of what were once vegetables. Kale freezes very well and actually tastes sweeter after being exposed to a frost. If you have fresh kale and especially fresh kale shoots which are very tender, try adding them to a salad. If you are making a kale salad, you might also want to add strong peppers, roasted nuts and peanuts, all of which bring out the strong, smoky flavor.

Kale is a green that is eaten around the world, and there are plenty of recipes to choose from. If you like cooked vegetables over raw ones, take a look at the kale recipes from the southern half of Africa, where kale is typically boiled with coconut milk and ground up or powdered peanut before being served on top of rice or a variety of flat breads. This is a great way to enjoy some extremely tasty vegetarian food, if you are looking to cut back on the meat in your diet.

Kale is often combined with ground or sliced meat, such as ground beef or spicy sausage, in Europe. It is usually combined with broth, olive oil, and potatoes to complement the meat. This means the meat will not obscure the taste of the greens because kale is quite a strong and tasty vegetable and can easily stand up to the meat flavor. It is nice chopped up and used as a stir-fry ingredient. This type of dish is made in many different countries.

If you want to stir fry kale, add some Japanese shiitake mushrooms to the mixture. Remove the stems of the kale and cut the leaves into large parts. Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan and gently fry the garlic, mushrooms, and anything else you want to add. When these ingredients are tender, add the kale and season with pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil and you will have a delicious, healthy meal within minutes, which is great served with some noodles or rice.

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