Sunday, October 5, 2014

Kale is King


In October, the kale in our garden is majestically huge and ready to be picked.
Kale salad can be thrown together in minutes. For that reason, I keep a supply of lemons, farmer's market onions and homemade croutons on hand. Then anytime, I can grab a handful of kale, some sprigs of parsley, a few leaves of mint and I'm good to go. If I spot a green pepper on the vine or some ribs of crunchy celery I'll grab those, too.

Ingredients:

Few handfuls of kale (curly or Lacinato)
Sprigs of Italian parsley
2 small mint leaves
1 lemon
Pecorino Romano Cheese
Croutons (recipe next posting)
Optional: Small crunchy green bell pepper or celery or a few white button mushrooms

Chop the kale and herbs fine. (A ceramic knife makes chopping a breeze. I recommend the Kyocera Revolution Series 6" knife.)  Add chopped sweet onion. (The farmer's markets still have sweet ones that aren't too pungent) and if you want add a small green bell pepper, celery and/or a few white mushrooms. Squeeze half a small lemon and drizzle with good quality olive oil. Toss well with edge of knife or hands. 

Then add some shaved pecorino romano cheese and a sprinkle of kosher salt and toss again. Place in bowl and throw on a few homemade croutons. (See next posting for homemade croutons.)