Sauteed Kale

Sauteed Kale

I’ve always had a hit or miss relationship with kale. I could never cook kale as good as my mother, and sometimes, it just wouldn’t cook no matter what I did, and I was left with tasteless green stuff. Recently I’ve realized that it

wasn’t me or the kale that was the problem, but the fact that I would let it sit in the fridge for far too long before I cooked it, that was the problem. Kale seems to keep for weeks, but not so. It’s really best to cook it soon after buying it. And my mother gave me her secret to cooking it. Here is her recipe. Unlike other vegetables, I like to cook kale well before eating so that it has a little time to steam in the pan, after the heat is turned off.

Ingredients

1 bunch of large curly kale

2-3 cloves of garlic (or 1 clove and some ginger)

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

dry roasted peanuts, chopped (optional, see note below)

1. Wash and de-stem kale, chop it . Shake off the extra water or use a salad spinner.

2. Heat up a pan on medium high add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3. Add crushed garlic to pan, cook for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add kale and sprinkle with soy sauce (about 1 tablespoon).

5. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook, lift lid every couple of minutes, and push kale around (this is her secret), add more olive oil if the pan is dry. After the bottom has caramelized nicely, mix it around and get the top layer in contact with the pan.

6. Cook until limp and then cook a few more minutes, turn off the heat.

Optional toppings

Chopped dry roasted peanuts

Sesame seeds

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