Ingredient: Kale
Category: Vegetables
Season: Winter to Spring
Kale or Borecole is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), green in color, in which the central leaves do not form a head.
It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable, with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin and reasonably rich in calcium
Kale freezes well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavorful after being exposed to a frost.
Tender kale greens can provide an intense addition to salads, particularly when combined with other such strongly-flavored ingredients as dry-roasted peanuts, tamari-roasted almonds, or red pepper flakes.
In the Netherlands it is very frequently used in the winter dish stamppot and seen as one of the country's traditional dishes, called Boerenkool.
A traditional Portuguese soup, caldo verde, combines pureed potatoes, diced kale, olive oil, broth, and, generally, sliced cooked spicy sausage.
In the former Portuguese colony of Brazil, under the name of couve, kale is also popular, in caldo verde, or as a vegetable dish, often cooked with carne seca (shredded dried beef).
When chopped and stir-fried, couve accompanies Brazil's national dish, feijoada.
Kale is eaten throughout south eastern Africa, typically boiled with coconut milk and ground peanut and served with rice or boiled cornmeal.
A whole culture around kale has developed in north-western Germany around the towns of Bremen and Oldenburg as well as in the land of Schleswig-Holstein.
There, most social clubs of any kind will have a "Grünkohlfahrt" ("kale tour") sometime in January, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps.
Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a "kale king".
Curly kale is used in Denmark and Holland and Sweden, to make (grøn-)långkål, an obligatory dish on the julbord in the region, and is commonly served together with the christmas ham (Sweden, Holland).
The kale is used to make a stew of minced boiled kale, stock, cream, pepper and salt that is simmered together slowly for a few hours.
In Scotland, the traditional Irish dish Colcannon is made from kale and potatoes.
Kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in dialect Scots is synonymous with food. To be "off one's kail" is to feel too ill to eat.
Kale is a very good source of iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin K and Carotenoids (which provide vitamin A).
In Japan , kale juice (known as aojiru) is a popular dietary supplement. |