Kale – The Best of the Bunch 

Kale is a super green leafy vegetable of the wild cabbage family, big in the times of ancient Rome and widely used by peasants, brought to the US by English Settlers in the 1600s.

The plant is hardy and tastes best after a frost, sweeter when fresh, more bitter as it ages… best in the winter, but available year round. Choose crisp vibrant looking leaves with no discoloration (yellowing), and make sure it is organic.

Popular varieties

•  Curly Kale (Scotch Kale): Dark green leaves, a bit tough, defined stock and a nice peppery, pungent bitter deliciousness.
•  Dino Kale (known also as Lacinato Kale): very dark green with an embossed texture, slightly less stocky, a bit sweeter and more delicate than the Curly Kale.
•  Russian Kale (known also as Purple Kale): broader and deeply serrated leaves. More delicate and mellow flavored kale. Easy to eat raw, or very quick blanching or steaming.
•  Ornamental Kale: like a bouquet of flowers, ruffled edged violet and cream leaves. Mostly used as garnish.

Health Benefits

•  Kale is an excellent source of Carotenes, Vitamin C, B6, and manganese.
•  1 cup of Kale supplies more than 70% of the RDA of vitamin C with only 20 calories!
•  It is a great source of fiber, minerals including copper, iron and calcium, and a good source of B1, B2 and E Vitamins.
•  Kale is warming, eases lung congestion, benefits the stomach, and is a specific healer for the liver and the immune system. Good for the eyes (contains Lutein).
•  Ayurveda: This super green reduces Pitta and Kapha

Preparation tips

Start by washing the kale well. Then remove the leaves from the stem. If cooking kale you can start by chopping the stems and cooking them first, adding the leaves later. The leaves are ready as soon as they turn bright green. If you cook them too long they turn not so pretty olive green and lose lots of their nutrients. Salt helps bring out the bright green, while acid might turn it army green. So if adding acid, like lemon, add it at the end before serving, and it will stay beautiful.

I love my kale raw. My favorite salad is inspired by Esalen’s famous Kale salad. Any type of kale would work.

Kale Salad

Yield: 4 portions / Prep time: 10 minutes 

Remove the leaves from the stem, and shred them (you can simply tear them by hand to bite size pieces. Save the kale stems for stock or throw them into your juice or smoothies, they are a great source of fiber.

Dressing Ingredients

•  1/2 cup olive oil
•  1/4 cup lemon juice
•  1/4 cup NamaShoyo (or any other good quality organic soy sauce, including Braggs) NamaShoyo is unpasteurized, and raw, so better flavor and more health benefits.

Procedure

• Whisk dressing well.
• Massage the dressing into the leaves till they are completely coated ( and look bright green). The longer the kale sits with the dressing on it, the softer it gets, so sometimes I make it a few hours ahead. It also means that it will still be great the next day.
• I love adding nuts and seeds, like pumpkin and sesame (I sprout them first, but not a must). You can also slice some daikon radish thinly into the mix.
• Play and enjoy!

Make veggie juices and shakes

•  4 large leaves of Kale and stock rough chopped • 1-2 Cups apple juice (to get the blender turning)
•  Combine with veggies like daikon and radishes for a pungent taste
•  Try a small amount of beets for a sweeter juice
•  Throw in some berries for a summer feast

If using a strong blender like a vitamix, you can just use kale and some frozen fruit (mangos, pineapple, berries, and blend. You need less water or apple juice needed to “make it move”).

More Ideas

•  Lightly sauté kale leaves in olive oil with some fresh garlic. Add a bit of lemon juice or tamari (soy sauce) before serving.
•  Braise Kale. Remove from heat and add balsamic vinegar, apples, walnuts and goat cheese. • Use it as a Pizza topping. Yummy and looks great on red sauce or white cheese.
•  Add it to your favorite bean soup or stew (add stock first and leaves at the end)
•  Try it in your tomato pasta sauce or as a layer in your lasagna

More healthy and nutritious salad recipes like this can be found in The Doron Yoga Cookbook, featuring many joyful recipes for hungry yogis, available to download here.

Enjoy your cooking journey and taste the bliss!