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What to do with kale

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Are you wondering what to do with kale? Do you know how to cook it? Do you serve it to your family? And how on earth do you get your kids to eat it?

Kale isn’t a vegetable that my children request and kale salad or crisps haven’t gone down well with them. Which isn’t a surprise.

I mean if they don’t even like strawberries or carrots what’s the hope of them ever eating up a leafy green vegetable like this?what to do with kale

I know several adults who claim not to like it either.

Too chewy. Very green. A bit boring.

But it’s worth persisting with because kale (sometimes called leaf cabbage) is packed full of nutrients (see more below) especially if you know how to cook or prepare it properly.

What is kale?

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that is a member of the cabbage family.

There are many different varieties including:

  • curly, which can have green or purple leaves
  • cavolo nero or black cabbage, which is my favourite.

This leafy green veg is widely believed to be extremely good for you. You’ll find it on many health food cafe menus in salads and smoothies.

It also makes great pesto.

Kale pesto recipe

What to do with kale

1. Preparing the leaves

Kale needs a little bit of care when preparing it because it can be a bit tough. No-one wants to be chewing a single mouthful for minutes at a time.

First cut out the thick stem from the centre of the leaves with a sharp knife. Once you’ve done this wash and shred the leaves.

With the thick stem cut out it’ll look a little bit like this:

what to do with kale

2. Soften the leaves

Now you need to make sure the leaves have had a chance to soften.

This could be by:

  • boiling them (although you’ll lose a lot of its goodness by doing so)
  • stir frying
  • roasting
  • turning them into crisps
  • marinating for use in a salad.

Citrus is a good ingredient to use in a marinade as the juices will help the tough fibres in the leaves to break down. Ideally you should massage the citrusy dressing into the leaves with your hands for 2-3 minutes. 

3. Other ways to serve 

Another option is to blend it. I sometimes chuck a handful in with a curry sauce or pasta sauce and blend it up.

You can also add it to smoothies – although we’re a (long) way off of the kids enjoying green smoothies. Or even healthy “nice” cream (made with frozen bananas) according to blogger More Than Just Carrots.

Hands down my favourite way to serve kale to my family though is to make pesto.

I’ve recently updated my kale pesto recipe to include a vegan alternative.

It’s also good in a simple bean soup like this borlotti bean and vegetable soup – just sub the spinach for kale (removing the stem first).

Why kale is good for you

Kale is a good source of  many vitamins, including A, C, B6 and E. In fact it has more vitamin C, gram for gram than an orange!

It also has more calcium than milk and is a good sort of folate, manganese, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, iron, potassium, and phosphorus. (source Wikipedia and Huffington Post)

Fun facts 

  • There are over 50 varieties.
  • Cavolo nero is often called dinosaur kale.
  • Farmers have been growing it for over 6000 years! (source National Kale Day)
  • In 2011 three senators in the US state of Vermont introduced a bill to make it Vermont’s official state vegetable. (source National Geographic)
  • This leafy green vegetable is a staple part of the diet in countries as varied as Ireland and Kenya. 

Pin for laterwhat to do with kale

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Comments

  1. Julie's Family Kitchen

    Lots of kale inspiration here, Mandy. Thanks for writing such an informative post. I usually sauté kale with just a little butter and a splash of water, and season well. 🙂 x

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      Thanks Eb! It’s funny how kale really divides opinion with some people loving it however it’s served and some people really struggling with it x

      Reply

  3. Corina

    I sometimes add kale to a soup but really need to try massaging it in a citrus salad soon. It is one of those vegetables that I feel I don’t use as often as I should. It would be great if I could get the kids to eat it too!

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      I was surprised how much I enjoyed it in a salad the first time I tried it Corina – but there’s no way my kids would eat it like that!

      Reply

  5. jenny paulin

    very informative post Mandy, thank you for collating so many kale recipes and your guide is spot on. My two won’t eat kale as it is, I would need to disguise it in my dishes x

    Reply

  8. Monika Dabrowski

    This is a great post Mandy! I’ve always felt there must a way of preparing kale that makes it taste nice and it turns out there are several ways of accomplishing it – thank you for making me believe in kale again! #CookBlogShare

    Reply

  10. Jo @ Jo's Kitchen Larder

    I honestly thought that my kids are the only ones who run when they see strawberries! I feel much better now, thanks. 😉 Brilliant and really informative post Mandy, some great recipes! I usually steam the kale briefly and pan fry it with garlic and some olive oil but am so going to try blending it now and “smuggling” it into sauces etc. for added goodness. Cavolo Nero is my favourite! x

    Reply

    • Mandy Mazliah

      Ha ha! My eldest used to run out of the room crying at the sight of fruit but he’s learnt to ignore it as the years have gone on.

      Reply

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