How to Identify Kale in Your Share:
We grow two kids of kale--dinosaur or lacinato, which is dark leaved and wrinkly, and curly kale, which is as you can guess curly, as well as lighter, brighter green. Dino kale is more heat tolerant, so we save that for the mid-summer boxes.
When it's in Season at Hartwood Farm:
All season, sporadically! Kale is reliable throughout all seasons, but tastes best in the early spring and late fall when it’s cold outside, so you will see it more often in your shares then.
Crop Category and What it Tastes Like:
Cooking Green! And a salad green!
Kale is a strong, earthy green with tougher leaves than some of its substitutes. When eaten raw, it can have a slightly tough, crunchy, and dry texture and be somewhat bitter. When cooked, kale becomes tender, sweeter, and takes on much of the flavor of its accompaniments.
How to Handle and Store:
Best stored in a bag in the crisper drawer. If it's a hot day at pickup and gets a bit wilted (which can happen easily because the leaves are so darn tender), you can re-wash it and store it in the bag and it should perk back up overnight. Kale can last 2 or more weeks in your fridge, and shows that it’s getting too old when it turns yellow and black.
How to Prep for Use:
Lots of recipes say to discard the stems, but some think they are the best tasting part of the leaf! We tend to cut off the stems and chop coarsely, cooking them first for a minute or two before adding the leaves (which are best chopped coarsely or into ribbons).
For a raw kale salad, coarsely chop the leaves and (optional!) massage them with a bit lemon juice and salt before tossing with your additions! The acid and salt massage will help tenderize and moisten the leaves and reduce bitterness.
Ways to Cook and Eat:
Any way you can imagine! Our kale gets big fast, so it's best lightly cooked, but fans might also enjoy it raw. Sautéing, braising, steaming are the best ways to prepare, and it's also great in soups and stir fries. Can be used as a substitute for cabbage or collards, or as a fill-in for chard or spinach (especially if you prefer the kale flavor to the chard flavor).
Quick and Dirty Hangry Farmer Go-To Preparations:
I honestly didn't like kale for many years, but over time it wormed its way into being my favorite veggie. We usually have simply sautéed kale 2 or 3 times a week (often topped with toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds), add it to most of our stir fries and soups, and occasionally put it in smoothies (where you actually rarely can taste it). I love eating kale chips, but am less successful at baking them!
Typical time to:
Steam—2 to 10 minutes (stem may need an extra 2 minutes--add that first!)
Saute—2 to 10 minutes (stem may need an extra 2 minutes--add that first!)
Bake—We don't recommend, unless it’s kale chips!
Boil—2 to 10 minutes (stem may need an extra 2 minutes--add that first!)
Our Favorite Recipes:
Massaged Kale Salad, Three Ways (Nutrition Stripped)— a super easy salad base you can customize however you’d like! this recipe includes three options to start!
Spicy Simmered Kale with Eggs (Williams Sonoma)— a delicious way to eat your veggies for breakfast! Bonus points for poaching the eggs separately for extra runny yolk goodness