How to Cook Kale – Healthy and Tasty Kale Recipes

January 4th, 2020 by Shusree Mukherjee in Food, Lifestyle

Kale is a kind of cabbage leaf plant that is grown all over the world. They are grown for their edible leaves. Unlike headed cabbages, Kale plants do not form ahead. The scientific name of kale is Brassica oleracea. Rich in nutrients and probiotic properties, Kales are globally consumed and are even traditional in some cultures. For those of you who do not know how to cook kale, this article will help you to eat it in many ways.

How to Cook Kale Crispy

For those who like crispy salads more than steamed ones, this crispy kale recipe will surely refresh your taste-buds.

Ingredients You Need:

Three bunches of Curly Kale
Half a cup of Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Fleur de sel

Cooking Instructions:

Take each kale leaf and with the help of a knife cut the hard stem. If the leaves are large, divide them into two halves. Repeat this process for each leaf and then wash them clean.
Drain all the water from the leaves and allow them to dry.
Heat your pan and pour the olive oil when the pan is hot. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to add flavor.
Take each leaf individually and fry them for about 10 minutes in medium heat. Notice that if you put your oven in low or high heat, the leaves will become soft. If you do it in high heat, then the leaves may burn.
Fry each leaf evenly until they are crisp.
Sprinkle some fleur de sel and eat it hot.

How to Cook Kale Greens Southern Style

If you are from Georgia, you must have eaten your mother’s or your grandmother’s Kale Greens recipe. It is a traditional dish there and is now cooked and served throughout the world. This dish is very healthy and easy to make. Let’s discuss more on how to cook Kale Greens’ southern style.

Ingredients You Need:

Three bundles of Kale Greens
Black pepper
Salt
Light Olive Oil
Turkey Bacon
Red Onion
Distilled White Vinegar

Cooking Instructions:

Wash your Kale leaves properly and drain out the dirty water.
Pour some water in a pan and allow it to boil. Cut the bacon into strips and add them in the boiling water. Boil the bacon for about one hour to allow the water to thicken. Pour the necessary water to keep it from boiling out.
After your bacon soup is ready and smells good, pour salt and black pepper. Chop onion into fine pieces and add them next. Then pour some white vinegar and olive oil for a traditional taste.
Cut the kale into small pieces but not too small. Add the Kale into the pan and cover the pan with a lid. Allow the kale to cook for about two and a half hours in low heat. This ensures the seasonings penetrate the green leaves and the taste is evenly spread out.
Your southern style Kale Greens is ready to serve.

How to Cook Kale in Oven

Cooking kale in the oven is easy and takes about half an hour to forty minutes. Most people use an oven to cook roasted kale. So let’s take a look at a recipe that serves us roasted kale with a flavor of ginger and garlic. Here’s how to cook kale in the oven:

Ingredients You Need:

Three to four bundles of Kale leaves
Garlic
Ginger
Salt
Black Pepper
Virgin Olive oil

Cooking Instructions:

Prepare two trays in the oven and preheat them to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut six to eight cloves of garlic and finely shred the required amount of ginger.
Cut the kale leaves into one-fourth portions.
Take a bowl and toss the leaves and the seasonings.
Spray little water over the leaves.
Roast them in the oven for about twenty to thirty minutes until they are tender and crispy.
Your roasted ginger garlic kale is ready to serve.
You can keep the roasted kale in your refrigerator and use them for a week. You can add them to snacks, soups, meals, and stir-fries.

How to Cook Kale without Oil

Cooking kale without oil is the easiest way to prepare it. Eating boiled kale is the most nutritious way of consuming it. Having it without any seasoning ensures all the vitamins are absorbed by the body. However, you can follow any kale recipe and just exclude the oil from the recipe’s ingredients.

Ingredients You Need:

Three to four bundles of Kale leaves
Salt
Black Pepper
Meat (Chicken/ Pork/ Turkey)

Instructions for Cooking:

Wash the Kale leaves properly and drain excess water.
Cut the stems of the leaves and chop them in medium-sized pieces.
Cut the meat into small slices.
Pour two to three cups of water in a pan. Allow it to boil.
Add the sliced meat into the boiling water. Cover with a lid and boil for twenty minutes.
Add the chopped kale leaves and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for more than twenty minutes.
Add seasonings and your boiled kale stew is ready to serve.

How to Cook Curly Kale

Curly kale is another variety of Kale leaves. You can prepare soups to meat stews from them. Curly kale carries almost all the same properties of kale and is consumed all over the world. They are added into salads, meals, stews, and even snacks. Let’s take a look at how to prepare a tasty curly kale meat stew.

Ingredients You Need:

Three bundles of Curly kale leaves
Salt
Black Pepper
Beef
Olive Oil
Red Onion
Garlic

Cooking Instructions:

Rinse the Curly kale leaves in freshwater to remove dirt and sand.
Cut the leaves into medium to small-sized pieces.
Wash the beef and chop it into little pieces.
Cut thin slices of garlic and red onion.
Toss some Olive oil in a pan and heat it for two minutes.
Toss the chopped onions, garlic, and beef.
Deep fry them in high heat for about ten-fifteen minutes. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
Pour some water in a pan. Allow it to boil.
Add the fried meat, onions and garlic in the boiling water.
Add seasonings and if you want it spicy cut two green or red chilies and add them.
Let cook for half an hour.
Add the chopped curly kale leaves and cover the pan with a lid.
In low heat cook the kale for about one hour.
Your curly kale meat stew is ready to serve.

How to Cook Kale and Spinach

Kale and spinach both contain high amounts of iron and can make a nutritional dish when cooked together. To keep your diet fat-free as well as nutritional, you need vegetables that would make up for your body’s requirement of essential nutrients and minerals. There are various delicious recipes for spinach and kale. Let’s see how we can make Lemon-Garlic Spinach and Kale.

Ingredients Required:

Extra virgin olive oil- 1 tbsp
½ onion- finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic- minced
Spinach- 4 cups
Kale- 2 cups
Lemon juice
Roasted pine-nuts- ¼ cup
Salt and pepper (according to taste)

Directions to cook:

Put olive oil in a hot pan and heat it over a high flame.
Add chopped onions and fry until golden.
Add minced garlic and sauté until the kitchen smells of fried garlic.
Start adding the spinach and kale, little by little. Try adding a little at first and when the leaves are wilted add more.
Cook for 7-8 minutes over medium flame.
Once the leaves are all wilted, take out the pan from heat and add the lemon juice.
Add salt and pepper for taste and stir mix it well.
Add roasted pine-nuts on top for a textured garnish.

How to Boil Kale for Smoothies

Steamed or boiled kale is highly nutritious and prevents bloating, gassy-tummy or cramps. Since boiled kale does not taste very good, you can use it later to make smoothies with other fruits.

Preparing boiled kale and freezing them for smoothies is an excellent alternative to frozen fruits and can make your drink healthy and calorie-free. Especially if you are going through a weight-loss program, boiled and frozen kale should make one of the most essential components of your diet. Let’s see how we can boil kale and use it in our smoothies.

Steamed Kale is much easier to digest than raw. Boiling breaks down the cellular structure of vegetables and makes it easier for the body to digest. For best results, start by washing the green leaves thoroughly, so that there is no pesticide left on the surface. Cut the leafy greens slightly and add them in a boiling pot with little water covering the base of the pot. Lightly steam the leaves, just enough to break them down and make them soft. Then, pick the steamed leaves and add them to your high power blender. Along with the greens add the boiled water containing rich nutrients and antioxidants from the Kale. Blend it well and put the mixture in your ice trays and freeze it for later use.

However, please remember that kale does not bode well with blood-thinning medications and you should avoid having too much Kale to avoid blood clotting. Kale also contains oxalates, which have been found to cause kidney and gall stones. Kale also consists of a compound that disrupts thyroid functions in your body. Therefore, it is always advised to cook Kale before consuming it.

How Do You Cook Kale To Be Tender?

Kale belongs to the family of cabbage and is high in vitamins, calcium and essential minerals. While you can eat young Kale leaves stir-fried, steamed or even raw, the mature ones need proper boiling to make the leaves and stems tender and easily digestible. Besides being easily digestible, boiled Kale helps in easy absorption of the minerals and nutrients.

Steps to cook kale to make it tender

The process of boiling Kale to make it tender is described below in a few steps:

Step 1: Put the Kale leaves in a bowl full of water. Shake the leaves and stir them in water to get rid of the sand, dust and leftover pesticides. Washing the leaves clean is important for a healthy dish. Drain the water in a strainer.

Step 2: Prune the leaves by taking out all the discolored ones. Use a knife to chop off the tough stems. Pull the leaves downwards to break them from the main stem. Throw away the tough spine.

Step 3: Fill a pot with water and add ½ tsp salt to it. Bring the water to boil.

Step 4: Roll up the Kale leaves and chop them into ½ inch thick slices.

Step 5: Add the chopped Kale leaves to the boiling salt water and put it on high heat until the water starts boiling again. Cover the pot with a lid and leave a little space to release the steam.

Step 6: Keep cooking the leaves for at least three minutes. Stir the pot once in every minute.

Step 7: Next you have to test whether the Kale is appropriately ender. Use a fork to take a leaf out of the pot and let it cool down. Try to tear the leaf gently in order to check whether it is cooked properly and chew it to check its texture.

Step 8: Use a strainer to strain the water from the Kale leaves. Wash the boiled leaves in cold water to avoid over-cooking. Drain the water using a strainer.

Final thoughts

Though Kale is loaded with useful nutrients, eating raw kale is usually not advised as it is not good for people with high levels of cholesterol. If you’re planning to add it to your diet, you need to know how much your dietician allows you to have it. Once you know this, you can start preparing these recipes.