Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Yet another recipe with guess what??

Yup, you guessed it right, kale again. :-) Oh yummy, this was easy and a delicious one dish main meal. I did use one out of the ordinary ingredient, black mole sauce, that I happened to have because it was in a basket of food items from Zingerman's Deli (www.zingermans.com) that I won at a local silent auction. Zingerman's is currently sold out of the type I used, however, I am sure you can find something like it where you live. Here goes:

Kale Stew over Brown Rice

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 medium zucchini - cut into quarters, length-wise, and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large handfuls kale (or more), washed, any stiff stems removed, then chopped
3 cups (or more) drained pinto beans
1 can (15 oz) chopped tomatoes (include juice)
2-3 teaspoons mole sauce (spiciness can vary, start small and then adjust to your own taste)

Heat olive oil, add onions and garlic and cook for ~1 minute or so (do not burn garlic), add zucchini and kale, stir until kale starts to wilt, add tomatoes, mole sauce, and beans. Stir. Cover and cook over a low temperature until all is heated through, kale is wilted completely but still green and the zucchini is still tender-crisp. Maybe 10 minutes max.

Garnishes: as with all chili, some people like to put little additions on top of a stew such as chopped green onions, grated cheese, etc etc. However, I don't think this recipe needs anything else.

Makes 4 generous servings. I served it in a bowl over cooked brown rice, which I started cooking in my rice cooker about an hour before we sat down to eat.

Serve with some whole grain bread to get all the delectable juice at the bottom of the bowl, some fresh fruit, a huge glass of water, and a small glass of red wine (we drank a 2006 Lindemann C-S on sale for $5.99/bottle) for a very satisfying simple meal.

The garlic, onions, tomatoes, and kale were all from our garden.

Hmmm, I wonder what I will use the rest of the kale for? Maybe I won't even get to freezing any. I still have a HUGE bag of it in my frig. Keep looking for more kale recipes to come!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

2 comments:

Ed Bruske said...

Love your enthusiasm for kale, and it doesn't get any better than grown in your own garden. Have you tried the "Lacinato" variety, sometimes called "Black Italian"? A striking, upright plant, very decorate, tall with long, dark leaves growing in a profusion from the stem. Looks more like an ornamental, but delicious and profuse.

Good luck with the chickens. I wish we could raise them here in the Disrict of Columbia.

Diana Dyer said...

Yes, I have purchased Lacinato kale from our local farmers, although this was not one of the many varieties we planted in our garden this year. My older son also calls this variety "Dinosaur kale". I'm already looking forward to planting more varieties.

I'll post updates about the progress toward chicken approval (hope, hope!).