This Grandma loves kale. Yes, it took a new farm to table restaurant to introduce me to kale caesar salad and a friend to give me a crispy kale recipe. It seems kale is one of the oldest new miracle foods. In New York Magazine, July 29- August 5, 2013, author Alex Morris writes, “What Can’t Kale Do?” He mentions a book by Dr. Drew Ramsey called, “Fifty Shades of Kale.” No, Dr. Ramsey, your attempt to entice me with the racy title does not make me want to rush out and read about kale. However, some things about kale are interesting, like its history:
It was farmed in ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt and by the Middle Ages had become popular in England and Scotland, where the word meant “dinner” (whether it was actually served for dinner.). By the end of that era, it was one of the most common vegetables in Europe, making its way to the New World in the 1600s with the early European settlers. During World War II, Britain encouraged kale cultivation in the “Dig for Victory” campaign. So among its other virtues, kale did its part in the defeat of Fascism.
And yet, somehow, postwar, the plant was snubbed. For 60 years, it was just a hippie side note, a himble food too practical to inspire, the less sexy cousin of the decidedly unsexy cabbage. It was not until the farm-to-table movement began to cast about for “vintage” food varieties that kale reemerged for its spectacular comeback.
Here, I thought I had discovered something new! Kale is delicious and VERY healthy. When it is oven baked, not fried, it becomes crispy. And it is a miracle food:
. . . .Ramsey elevates it above its vegetable peers because of its nutrient density (“Two cups of kale has only 66 calories, and you’re going to get over 250 percent of your vitamin A, 20 percent of your folate, 10 to 20 percent of your calcium – a great dose of nutrients linked to better brain health.”); its ability to promote “gut health,” sending positive signals from our bowels to our gray matter; and its chemical composition.
However, it is green, and it is not a grandma’s job to get grandchildren to eat green.
But this Grandma has an idea! Well, it is not this Grandma’s idea, but GG’s idea. When this Grandma was a child, my mother (Great Grandma) made some “old country” dishes. She always told me that I could not eat whatever she was going to make as I was a child and this food was grown-up food. She allowed me to help her cook, but not to taste. I wanted to taste this food badly and GG made me beg. She said it was expensive and could not be wasted so I was allowed one tiny bite when the food was done. She then offered that I could have a second tiny bite but no more. I guess she knew the first bite might leave me wondering if I should wait until I was an adult. She went once more. I was hooked. I wanted to be grown-up. As a child, I ate sweetbreads. No, I relished sweetbreads and do to this day.
Hmm.
I think the way to bring up kale is tell the story of its history, and how it is a specialty for grown-ups, but they can help me make it for the grown-ups!
Ingredients:
6-8 cups chopped fresh kale, hard stems removed
3 Tbsp. very good quality extra virgin olive oil
(some people—not me–add 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or add 1 tablespoon Ranch dressing and 1/4 teaspoon salt instead of the salt listed in ingredients)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
There are some shortcuts. If you can find it, buy prewashed bagged kale. If not, with a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems, discard the veins and thick stems, and tear the kale into bite size pieces. Tell the grandchildren to break them into pieces the size of potato chips, as we are making a different kind of chip. Even if prewashed, wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Grandchildren love to use a salad spinner.
Gently toss the kale with the other ingredients in a large bowl until all leaves are coated with olive oil and salt. They will be shiny. Here is where you can talk about how expensive an olive oil you used and why they cannot have the kale chips.
The second shortcut is not to put the seasoned kale on a cookie sheet, but rather put a cooling rack inside a sided cook pan and put the kale on the cooling rack to crisp in the oven, so it does not have to be turned. Spread the kale out.
Place on the lowest rack of the oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until kale is crispy. It should be just lightly browned and crispy to the touch. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt. If the kale still bends, rather than crackles, when you touch it, it isn’t done yet. Return it to the oven. Turn down the heat if it is getting too brown. Continue cooking until crispy.
Remove from oven, put in a bowl, and taste. If it needs more salt to your taste, sprinkle with salt.
Here is where Grandma becomes an actress. Ummm. Make noises as to how delicious the chips taste. Call out to the parents of the grandchildren (who are in on the act) and have everyone savor the kale chips. Tell the grandchildren thank you for making such a grown-up treat.
Then, see if they fall for GG’s trick with Grandma
Joy,
Mema
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