Wilted Greens Salad

Ever try cooked lettuce?

Wilted lettuce salad is fast and fun when you have a lot of greens to eat-up and empty the fridge for more. The soft, cool lettuce, hot crisp bacon and tangy-sweet dressing all come together in a veritable explosion of different but complementary textures and flavors. Making wilted lettuce salad is simple and takes very little time.

Too Much Kale left over?

Add it to the recipe below when cooking the bacon and then toss it with the salad after it cooks for a few minutes and drain well on paper towels with the bacon.

Wilted Greens Salad

 adapted from Taste of Home, Alberta McKay, Bartlesville , OK

Ingredients:

• 4 cups lettuce, washed, dried and torn 
• (optional - 1 cup kale leaves removed from rib) 
• 4 to 6 green onions, sliced 
• Cracked pepper 
• Coarse salt 
• 4 bacon slices 
• 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar 
• 1 tsp. lemon juice 
• ¼ tsp. sugar 
• 1 hardboiled egg - chopped 

 Preparation:

Put lettuce and chopped onion into a large bowl and toss them well. Sprinkle a generous amount of cracked pepper and a smaller amount of coarse salt over the lettuce and green onions and toss them again. Add chopped hard boiled egg.

Place 4 bacon slices into a frying pan and fry them over medium heat until they are crisp and completely cooked through. Put the cooked bacon onto a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. (Now is the time to add and cook kale and drain it too on paper towels)

Turn the heat up under the bacon drippings until they start to sizzle. Add the vinegar, lemon juice and sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Crumble the bacon into the frying pan and stir, this is your hot dressing; then pour the hot dressing over the cool lettuce, onions, eggs (and optional slightly cooled fried kale), toss well, and serve.

Beet Kale Salad

From the Center for Nutrition and Healthy Food Systems at Fletcher Allen

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 beets 
• ¼ cup vinegar, balsamic 
• ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• Clove powder 
• 4 cups kale, fresh 
• 1 tablespoon parsley, fresh, chopped 
• Black pepper 

Directions

Place beets in a saucepan and cover with cold water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 to 40 minutes (depending on size) or until beets are very easily pierced with a sharp knife. Allow beets to cool in cooking liquid. Peel beets under cold running water by squeezing skins so they slip off. Slice beets thinly; place in a bowl. Add vinegar, caraway seeds, salt and a pinch of clove powder. Set aside for at least one hour in the refrigerator, mixing occasionally. Remove stems from kale. Discard stems and slice leaves very thin. Steam over medium-high heat for three minutes. Spread warm greens on serving platter and arrange beets on top. Garnish with parsley and a pinch of pepper.

Kale and White Bean Soup

from leftfootorganics.com

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 ounces kielbasa sausage, cut into thin rounds
1 medium onion, chopped
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 large bunch kale, stems cut away, leaves thinly sliced
1 can small white beans, drained
3/4 cup dry white wine. (Sauvignon Blanc highly recommended)

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add sausage and onion, sauté until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add broth and kale; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Add beans and wine. Cook until kale is tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 2 servings, can be doubled.

Kale Salad

12 oz kale
13 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 quart boiling water with 2 Tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

Rinse Kale; tear leaves into about 1-inch pieces, discarding tough ribs and veins. In a 5 to 6 quart pot over high heat, bring about 1 quart of water to boil. Add salt. Add Kale and cook until slightly wilted,3 to 5 minutes. Drain.
When cool, squeeze excess liquid from kale and place in bowl. Combine soy sauce and oil and pour over kale.
Serve at room temperature.

(Serves 6)

Kale Crunch Chips

From Devlin Farms, Tennessee

A little olive oil or oil spray for the baking tray
1 large bunch fresh kale, stemmed (remove the harder center rib) and torn (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon salt (I like sea salt or coarse salt)
2 to 3 tablespoons grated parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a large baking tray or two with foil, then brush or spray it with oil. Add the torn kale, spreading out each leaf as much as possible. Avoid overlapping the leaves. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time. Sprinkle with parmesan, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until it's as crisp as you like it. (The kale will continue to shrink and crisp the longer it bakes. If you watch it closely and stir it enough, you can get it quite crisp without burning it.)

Remove the tray from the oven, and let the kale cool on the tray. Kale Crunch will keep for a week or two in a covered container--no refrigeration necessary.

Autumn Minestrone

When a dark chilly afternoon in October portends a killing frost, gather the last of the garden's bounty and make a steaming pot of soup for dinner. This recipe makes a generous amount that will feed a family for more than one satisfying meal.

2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2½ cups peeled and cubed winter squash

2 celery stalks, diced (I chop 1 cup of stalks and leaves)

½ cup peeled and diced carrots

2½ cups cubed potatoes

4 cups chopped kale (I remove center ribs)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cups water

1½ cups cooked or canned cannellini beans (15 oz can drained)

Warm the oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, then add garlic for 1 minte. Add the squash, celery, carrots, potatoes, kale, oregano, salt, pepper and water, and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done. Add the beans and simmer for antoehr 5 to 7 minutes, until the beans are hot.

Serve immediately with fresh organic bread to soak up every last drop. Leftovers reheat very well.

Makes 12 cups; serves 6 to 8.

epicurious | October 1999

The Moosewood Collection

Kale Crunch Chips

You will need:

• A little olive oil or oil spray for the baking tray
• 1 large bunch fresh kale, stemmed and torn (about 1 pound)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons grated parmesan or other hard cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking tray or two with foil, then brush or spray it with oil. Add the kale, spreading out each leaf as much as possible. Avoid overlapping the leaves.

Bake for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until it's as crisp as you like it. The kale will continue to shrink and crisp the longer it bakes. If you watch it closely and stir it enough, you can get it quite crisp without burning it.

Remove the tray from the oven and let the kale cool on the tray. Kale Crunch will keep for a week or two in a covered container -- no refrigeration necessary.

- from Devlin Farms, Tennessee