On Slow Cookers, Beans, and Greens

I was a slow adapter of the slow cooker.  What can a slow cooker do that a Dutch oven and a low oven temperature can’t accomplish?  Not much, actually.  But the slow cooker can allow you to fix dinner and forget it, walk away, even leave the house.  Even garden if it ever stops raining.  And the slow cooker won’t heat the whole house – if it ever gets warm enough to matter.

Heat the whole house isn’t a bad idea in this season that is not summer, not yet anyhow.  Tonight the low temperature will be 48°, tomorrow it will be 39°, the next day 43°F.  We’ve planted the garden, except for the eggplant, which we are still babying in pots.  The basil will brown or even die.  The beans will lie inert in the soil.  The tomatoes are barely hanging in there.  Spinach is on hold. The weather is dispiriting.

 Middlebury Farmer's Market.

So I will be forgiven for making a slow-cooked, out-of-season Tuscan White Beans and Kale stew.  We needed it to fortify our spirits.  What inspired the dish was a trip to the Middlebury Farmer’s Market, where Jon Folger of Pine Wood’s Farm of West Pawlet, Vermont, was selling his heritage beef and pork.  He had pork neck bones, which I had never cooked with.

“What do you do with neck bones?” I asked.  He suggested simmering it in tomato sauce for pasta.  “The meat will just melt off the bones.”

Pasta sauce made me think Italian.  Italian made me think Tuscan.  Tuscan made me think of white beans and kale, a dish my family loves.  This version, the simplest one yet, was also the best I've ever had.  It really does make a difference to start with dried beans.  The meat adds a silken texture and meaty background flavor.  Any cut of pork will do, but something bony like neck bones or trotters are best.

Oh, and to make it more seasonal?  Substitute spinach for the kale—if your garden grows.

 Substitute spinach or another green for the kale if you prefer.

Tuscan White Beans and Kale

Serves 8 to 10

2 cups cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained

2 to 3 pounds pork neck or trotters

4 cups chicken broth or water

4 cups water

1 whole head garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1 large sprig sage, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 large sprig rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1 large bunch kale, stems removed and discarded, leaves chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Grilled or toasted bread, to serve

1.  Combine the beans, pork, broth, water, garlic, sage, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon salt in a slow cooker.  Set on high and cook for 6 hours, or until the beans are tender.  (If you combine the beans, pork, broth, water, garlic, sage, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil before transferring to the slow cooker, you can knock off 1 to 2 hours of cooking time.  Or combine in a large Dutch oven, bring to a boil on the stovetop, then cover and bake at 250°F for 4 to 6 hours.)  Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if needed, and pepper.

2.  About 15 minutes before serving, reheat, if necessary.  Stir in the kale and cook on High in a slow cooker or on top of the stove in a Dutch oven until the kale is wilted and tender, about 10 minutes.

3.  Place two slices of bread in each shallow pasta bowl.  Ladle the stew on top.

© 2013  Andrea Chesman.  All rights reserved.

Dried Kale Chips

Kale again?

 Here I am massaging the oil and seasonings into the kale.

No kidding.  Besides the fact that I really like kale, I love to feed people.  That means when I give a class, you can expect samples.  Here I am making a batch of dried kale chips.

Last weekend, I taught a couple of workshops on the many faces of food preservation at the Vermont NOFA winter conference.  Saturday’s workshop was an overview of the pros and cons of the various different food preservation methods. Most of the folks at the workshop were new to food preservation, I had to deliver the idea that each method involves a trade-off – whether it is time, storage space, dependence on electricity, use of plastic, or nutrition.  There is no perfect method of food preservation for all foods in all conditions and at all times.

I brought samples of dried kale chips, which may be the best reason to explore dehydration.  Dehydrators are great for wild mushrooms and all manner of snack foods, from seasoned seaweed (more on that at another time) to dried berries.  Unfortunately, my dehydrator (bought at a yard sale for $10) is a small-capacity dryer, and just doesn’t seem practical for serious food preservation.

No matter, the kale chips are delicious – the perfect snack for a long car ride.  Tomorrow I am off to the Rhode Island Flower Show to talk about making pickles and winter salads.

Dried Kale Chips

Makes about 8 cups

 Don't crowd the kale on the dehydrator sheets. I have both lacinato and curly kale here.

Any type of kale can be used.  I have a slight preference for lacinato kale because it is flatter and fits better in the narrow space between trays in the dehydrator.  Don’t overdo the salt; it doesn’t require a lot.

1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped (about 8 cups packed)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Toss the kale with the oil until well coated.  Sprinkle the salt, garlic powder, and onion powder over the kale and toss to distribute. 

Spread out on dehydrator trays.  Dry for 4 to 5 hours at 125°F. 

Store in glass jars. 

It isn't the most beautiful food in the world, but it is delicious.

An On-going Love Affair with Kale

Call me Kale Woman.  I just love the stuff. 

Kale and me

I love the way it grows tall, allowing the grower to snap off the lower leaves as it continues to grow taller and put out more leaves (just don’t cut off the tip of the plant).  I love the way it is hardy up to 10°F in the garden—even under a layer of snow.  I love the way it has all these healthful properties (high in vitamins A and D, calcium, and fiber).  I love the way it is so versatile in the kitchen, lending itself to steaming, sautéing, and stir-frying. But most of all, I love the way it tastes—so green and just slightly bitter.

So whenever someone approaches me about a cooking class, I suggest a class on cooking with kale.  Which is what I found myself doing this past Wednesday for City Market Co-op Burlington, Vermont.  The class was held in the kitchen of Sustainability Academy, an elementary school in the Old North End.  I’ve taught cooking classes there before—it always feeds my fantasy of becoming a school lunch lady.

The class was titled, Kale Three Ways, and the students were both kale lovers and kale virgins.  All were aware that kale is very good for you and available from local growers through much of the winter.  And although the class was promised three dishes, we actually prepared four.

 Red kale tastes the same as curly kale or Lacinato kale.

We worked with curly kale, lacinato kale, and red kale—and I assured them there was no difference in flavor or texture once the kale was cooked.  First, we started a minestrone soup which featured kale, then we roasted some, then we massaged some kale with a soy vinaigrette until it was tender enough to be enjoyed raw, then I sautéed some with garlic.

 Everything tastes better with garlic--especially kale.

The point of sautéing the kale was to go over a few salient points.  First, in my opinion, everything tastes better with garlic (and a little salt).  Second, the skillet was preheated with olive oil until it shimmered, which is how we knew it was hot enough.  Third, the kale was added in batches; as the first batch wilted, the second batch was added, and so on, until all fit in the pan.   Then I sautéed the kale for about 8 minutes, until it was tender.

Finally, I encouraged everyone to drizzle a little extra flavoring onto the finished kale: either balsamic glaze (available in supermarkets), pomegranate molasses (ditto), or a little soy sauce and sesame oil.  As I wrote in a March 2012 entry about cooking winter greens, Chinese black vinegar also makes a tasty drizzle.

Here’s the recipe for roasted kale.  This is a pretty foolproof recipe, unless you are the type to get easily distracted.  If kids are underfoot, and you don’t have a working timer, roast the kale at 250°F for 20 to 25 minutes, instead of roasting at 450°F for 10 minutes.  The color of the chips will be brighter and the flavor and texture will be just as wonderful.

Crispy Kale Chips

Serves 1 to 4

            Potato chips: be gone! Roasted kale is so delicious, you never need to turn to them again for a hit of crisp and salt.  Like potato chips or popcorn, this is more appropriate as a snack or hors d’oeuvre than a side dish because of the high volume of the pieces.                           

1 bunch curly kale, leaves chopped in 1-inch pieces and tough stems discarded

About 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

            1.  Preheat the oven to 425°F.

            2.  Measure the kale and transfer to a large bowl.  For every 4 cups of firmly packed leaves, add 1 tablespoon oil.  Mix well with your hands to make sure the leaves are evenly coated.  Spread out on a large sheet pan into a single layer.

            3.  Roast for about 10 minutes, until the curly tips of the leaves are darkened and the interior of the leaves are a bright green.  The leaves should be mostly crunchy, but not blackened.

            4.  Toss with salt and serve.

Recipe adapted from Recipes from the Root Cellar.  © 2010 Andrea Chesman.  All rights reserved.

Cooking Winter Greens

It’s the first of March and the snow has finally arrived here in Vermont, where the western slopes of the Green Mountains have been sorely deprived of our usual white blanket.  The wacky weather has brought our early maple sugaring to a halt and promises some much delayed cross-country skiing.  Still, the body knows what it knows.  And right now, I am craving greens.

The further along we get from the growing season, the more greens I crave.

I know I’m not the only one.  Last week I cooked winter greens for a very receptive audience at the Rhode Island Flower Show.  (Oh! Those masses of tulips…) The recipes that follow are the greens I prepared for the flower show.  I cooked kale at the flower show mainly because kale is my favorite vegetable.  Today I cooked those same recipes using collard greens and bok choy.  The recipes work with any hearty green.

Every time I demo making winter greens, I get a comment from someone who says the greens never become tender.  At first the comment mystified my, then I realized the problem was that the stems were not being stripped away.  You must hold the stem in one hand, and strip away the leaves.  Chop the leaves and discard the stems.  (Or mince them and add to soups.) But don’t try to cook kale or collard greens quickly when they are still attached to those tough stems.

The Chinese-style steamed greens are steamed for just 5 minutes, then drizzled with soy sauce and sesame oil.  Lately I have also been adding a drizzle of Chinese black vinegar.  This rich vinegar is to Chinese cooking as balsamic vinegar is to Italian cooking – a bold flavor accent.  Vinegar is often paired with greens because it cuts through bitter flavors.  The greens can be served hot or at room temperature. 

 

Steamed Chinese Greens

Serves 4

It doesn’t get any simpler than this, and this way of preparing greens is simply perfect.  It is terrific with kale, especially lacinta kale, and most Chinese greens, including baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, and Chinese or napa cabbage.  It is also an excellent method for preparing regular broccoli and broccoli rabe.  

1 1/2 to 2 pounds greens, tough stems discarded

Soy sauce

Asian sesame oil

Chinese black vinegar

1.  Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring to a boil.  Put the greens in a steaming basket and steam until tender, about 5 minutes.

2.  Arrange the greens on a platter.  Drizzle generously with soy sauce and sparingly with sesame oil and vinegar.  Serve hot.

Kitchen Notes: For an extremely simple meal, steam cube silken tofu and place over the greens before drizzling with soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar.  Serve over rice.

From Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman.  ©2010.  All rights reserved.

Portuguese Kale Soup

Serves 4 as a main dish

Caldo verde (“green soup”) is considered one of the national dishes of Portugal. I like it best when it is kept simple, made with homemade chicken stock, potatoes, sausage, and kale.  The only seasoning needed is salt and pepper.  Don't confuse dried, cured Portuguese or Spanish chorizo with fresh Mexican chorizo -- they are very different in flavor.

1/2 pound Portuguese or Spanish chorizo, sliced

8 cups chicken stock or broth, preferably homemade 

3 to 4 medium-sized potatoes (1 pound), peeled and diced

12 ounces kale, stems discard and leaves chopped (8 cups lightly packed) 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the sausage and stock in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer while you prepare the potatoes. 

2. Combine the potatoes with water to cover in a medium-size saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Boil until tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain and briefly mash with a potato masher for an uneven, lumpy texture.  Add to the chicken stock along with the kale.

3. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the kale is quite tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

4.  Serve hot.

Adapted from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.  ©2008.  All rights reserved.

Steamed Chinese Greens

Serves 4

It doesn’t get any simpler than this, and this way of preparing greens is simply perfect.  It is terrific with kale, especially lacinta kale, and most Chinese greens, including baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, and Chinese or napa cabbage.  It is also an excellent method for preparing regular broccoli and broccoli rabe.  

1 1/2 to 2 pounds greens, tough stems discarded

Soy sauce

Asian sesame sauce

1.  Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring to a boil.  Put the greens in a steaming basket and steam until tender, about 5 minutes.

2.  Arrange the greens on a platter.  Drizzle generously with soy sauce and sparingly with sesame oil.  Serve hot.

Kitchen Notes: For an extremely simple meal, steam cube silken tofu and place over the greens before drizzling with soy sauce and sesame oil.  Serve over rice.

Adapted from Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman.  ©2010.  All rights reserved.

Eat More Kale

Eat more kale.  It’s been my words to live by for years, ever since I discovered that this delicious green was for eating, not for decorating salad bars at steakhouses.  This enlightenment happened for me sometime in the 1980s.  When I wrote Recipes from the Root Cellar I included 33 recipes for kale – wilted salads, stir-fries, sautés, braises.  And, of course, crisp oven-baked kale chips.

Indeed, after returning from the Mother Earth News fair this fall where I did some cooking demos, I wrote about cooking—kale!  

I usually phrase my personal mantra as “Can’t Cook Enough Kale” so as not to infringe on a Vermont artist who supports his family with a small business selling t-shirts and bumper stickers saying “Eat More Kale.” But when mega fast-food chain, Chik-fil-A threatened a lawsuit against Bo Muller-Moore for trademark infringement, I had to jump into the fray in defense of kale. 
Chik-fil-A has a marketing slogan of “Eat Mor Chiken,” which appears as hand-written signs held by cows.  The defense, of course, is who ever confused a leaf of kale with an extruded piece of chicken nugget?  And how can you trademark a saying of “eat mor” and have it apply to eating more of everything?

Yesterday I brought Crispy Kale Chips and a Wilted Kale Salad, both recipes from Recipes from the Root Cellar, to the Middlebury Natural Foods Coop and gave out samples.  My display included a hand-written sign that read, “Eat More Kale.” 

 “Aren’t you afraid of being charged with trademark infringement?” someone asked?  “They’ll never take me alive,” I replied.

 Enjoy More Kale.  Plant More Kale. Grow More Kale. Eat More Kale.    

Crispy Kale Chips
Serves 1 to 4

 Potato chips: be gone! Roasted kale is so delicious, you never need to turn to them again for a hit of crisp and salt.  My son introduced me to this delicacy, but he learned to make it in a cast-iron frying pan over a hot wood fire outdoors.  It took me a while to figure out this version, which is faster, more suited to the average lifestyle, and so good it will make kale lovers out of the most picky eaters.  This is more appropriate as a snack or hors d’oeuvre than a side dish because of the high volume of the pieces.    

1 bunch kale (I prefer curly kale), leaves chopped in 1-inch pieces and tough stems discarded
About 2 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

 1.  Preheat the oven to 425°F.
 2.  Measure the kale and transfer to a large bowl.  For every 4 cups of firmly packed leaves, add 1 tablespoon oil.  Mix well with your hands to make sure the leaves are evenly coated.  Spread out on a large sheet pan into a single layer.  Use two sheet pans, if necessary.
 3.  Roast for about 10 minutes, until the curly tips of the leaves are darkened and the interior of the leaves are a bright green.  If you are using two sheet pans, roast in batches, unless you can use the “convection bake” option.  The leaves should be mostly crunchy and browned, but not blackened.
 4.  Toss with salt and serve.

Adapted from Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman.  ©2010.  All rights reserved.

Can't Cook Enough Kale!

Can’t Cook Enough Kale!

That was the title of a workshop I recently gave at the Mother Earth News fair in Seven Springs.  I am still catching off from my time there, when I promised to post recipes I prepared at the demo.  At last, I am fulfilling that promise. Below is the stir-fried greens I prepared for that demo.  I am also posting recipes for a salad and for shredded sautéed winter vegetables – two recipes I prepared for a workshop on Cooking Winter Vegetables.

 Kale is still growing.

      I am behind in every aspect of my life – in part because I have been busy trying to put my garden to bed.  Not a minute too soon, because the snow came this weekend.  Putting the vegetable garden to bed was a fairly easy task, because the soil is so lovely and yielding.  I planted a nice big bed of garlic and mulched the salsify, which I won’t harvest until the spring.

    

  Garden writers can wax poetic about time and worries slipping away in the Zen of gardening.  Not me, I was caught up in a sweaty profane battle against bishop’s weed in my perennial bed.  Bishop’s weed spreads by underground runners, and I suspect in a battle for territory against mint, the bishop’s weed would prevail.  It arrived unannounced and unwanted, probably in a perennial I purchased or was give by a “friend.”  Trying to get rid of it required digging up every square inch of garden and then sifting through the soil to remove even the smallest piece of root that remained.  I have no illusions that I succeeded in eradicating that pest, but I do think I made serious headway.  And along the way, I separated the iris and daylilies, which were in need of attention.

      Quite honestly, I’d rather be cooking.

Sichuan-Style Stir-Fried Chinese Greens

This has a few exotic ingredients, because I wanted to keep this vegetarian and I wanted to make something you might not have already tasted.  The odd ingredients are: Sichuan peppercorns and Chinese black vinegar.  Sichuan peppercorns are actually the berry of the prickly-ash and can be found at Asian groceries, perhaps under the name anise pepper, Chinese pepper, fagara, flower pepper, or sansho.  Chinese black vinegar has a distinctive flavor, closer to balsamic vinegar than to regular rice vinegar.  To make a reasonable substitute for Chinese black vinegar, mix 1 part soy sauce, 1 part Worcestershire sauce, and 1 part rice vinegar.

4 small dried chiles

2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds napa cabbage, bok choy, Chinese broccoli, kale, or other Chinese greens or a mix of greens, trimmed and sliced 1 inch thick, tough stems discarded

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

Salt

Chinese black vinegar

      1.  Chop 1 ½ pounds kale or other greens

      1.  Heat 2 tablespoons in a large wok over high heat.  Add the 4 small chiles, 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, and 2 minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.  Add the greens and stir-fry for 3 minutes, until the greens are wilted.  Cover and let steam until tender, 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the green and your preferences.

      2.  Add the ½ teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and salt to taste.  Toss to mix.  Drizzle with the vinegar and serve immediately.

From Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman. ©2010.  All rights reserved.

Thai Sweet-Spicy Cabbage Salad

Serves 6 to 8

      This cabbage salad uses regular green cabbage, but napa cabbage could be substituted.  The secret ingredient is Thai sweet chili sauce, a condiment found in Asian markets.  It is made of sugar, vinegar, and chiles and makes a wonderful dressing for salads or a dip for spring rolls.  This salad combined with chicken makes a delicious wrap.

1 small head (about 1 1/2 pounds) green cabbage, cored and very finely sliced

2 teaspoons salt

1 carrot, grated

1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

      1.  Combine the cabbage and salt in a colander and toss to mix.  Let stand for about an hour to wilt the cabbage.

      2.  Taste the cabbage.  If it is too salty, rinse with cold running water.  Then drain.  Combine the cabbage, carrot, and chili sauce in a large bowl and toss to mix.  Add the peanuts and toss to mix.

      3.  Let stand for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend before serving. 

From Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman. ©2010.  All rights reserved.

Sautéed Shredded Root Vegetables

Serves 4 to 6

      This sauté of vegetables takes 10 minutes to cook and looks as beautiful on the plate as it is delicious to eat.  Vary the seasonings if you like, the shredded vegetables are amenable to experimentation.

3 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil

4 cups peeled and shredded mixed root vegetables (beets, carrots, celery root, parsnips, rutabagas, salsify, and /or turnips)

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

      1.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the root vegetables, leek, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are limp, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 more minutes.    

      2.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Serve hot. 

From Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman. ©2010.  All rights reserved.