How to Cook Kale
Like other dark leafy greens, kale is a powerhouse of nutrition. It's loaded with vitamins A, C and K, and is even a good source of calcium and iron. Kale makes a popular dinnertime dish in many regions of the world. If you're not sure how to cook kale, try this simple sauteed version that delivers a deluxe combination of flavors, including subtle hints of garlic and red pepper juxtaposed with a blast of sherry vinegar.Transcript
-Hi. I'm Miranda with Recipe.com, and today, I'm gonna show
you how to make basic sauteed kale. This simply sauteed
kale recipe is seasoned with a nice big punch with
sherry vinegar and makes it really something special. So let's
get started. I have all of our ingredients laid out
here. We have 1 pound of clean and chopped kale.
Then we have a ¼ teaspoon each of crushed red
pepper and salt, 2 cloves of garlic which should be
minced, then we have both a teaspoon and tablespoon of
extra virgin olive oil, then we have 2 to 3
teaspoons here of sherry vinegar. I really like, you know
the big punch it gives us I mentioned earlier, so
I'm actually going with 3, and then we also have
½ cup of water. So over here you'll notice I
have this nice big pot so we're gonna use a
large pot with a lid or on a Dutch oven.
So let's turn it on medium heat right now, and
we are going to start by putting our 1 tablespoon
of extra virgin olive oil right in there and let's
add in our kale, and we're just gonna pop this
all in. So what we're gonna do is just sort
of toss this and cook until the kale becomes bright
green about a minute. So if in the beginning you
feel you have pop corn happening here with kale, no
worries. It's just cooking down. It will welt. It get
get?? it will pack in nicely. As you can see
that's happening already. So just a few more and now
look how beautiful, like see how bright green this is
getting, just like super bright gorgeous. That's what we're looking
for here, and it smells fantastic. You're gonna start to
smell that like yummy, yummy kale goodness. Okay, now, we
are ready to add in our water. So we're gonna
reduce the heat to like a medium, medium-low. Add in
our ½ cup of water. Hear the sizzle, and then
we're going to put the lid on. So we are
going to cover and cook now, stirring occasionally for about
12 to 15 minutes until the kale is nice and
tender, and we'll come back then. Okay, so it's been
12 minutes, check out how beautifully welted and green our
kale is. Look at that. Gorgeous darker green, like a
lot of leafy greens, it's packed with vitamins and fiber,
but kale has an unusually high amount of fiber, making
it like an excellent, excellent leafy green choice. If you're
trying to watch your diet, and really pack it with
vitamins, which we all are today, okay. So the next
stuff to do now that we are all beautifully welted,
we are going to push the kale to one side
of the pot so you have one side kind of
like open and free. Let's turn down the heat a
little bit because we're about to introduce the remainder of
the olive oil so pop that right in on the
side where you don't have the kale, then let's put
in our garlic. We're also gonna pop in the red
pepper and just give this a little stir. We're just
gonna let this hang out for like 30 seconds to
a minute until it becomes bright red. That's already starting
to happen. Okay, we are good to go. Let's turn
our heat off and we're just going to toss this
now so just toss, toss, toss, and you know, just
make sure that the garlic and the red pepper is
getting, you know, all throughout the pieces of kale. Now,
with that yummy sherry vinegar that we talked about, let's
pop that on. Do another little toss, so a lot
of tossing happening with our kale. It's gonna be just
the happiest kale in the world and now, and now
our salt, our very last ingredient. Look how gorgeous that
is, so healthy. Now, let's put it on a plate
and get ready to enjoy. So, so super healthy, so
delicious, vitamin and fiber-packed. That's how you make basic sauteed
kale. Thanks for watching, and for more great recipes and
savings, visit us at recipe.com.
What You'll Need
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1-1 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped (see Tip)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Step By Step
1
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add water, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Push kale to one side, add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the empty side and cook garlic and crushed red pepper in it until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in vinegar to taste and salt.
2
Tip: A 1- to 1 1/2-pound bunch of kale yields 16 to 24 cups of chopped leaves. When preparing kale for these recipes, remove the tough ribs, chop or tear the kale as directed, then wash it--allowing some water to cling to the leaves. The moisture helps steam the kale during the first stages of cooking.
Being adventurous about trying new vegetable dishes is a great way to expand your culinary skills--and boost your health. Once you master the basics of how to cook kale, perhaps you'll be inspired to explore other unfamiliar choices at your local farmer's market or produce section.
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