Kale from Farmer’s Market
Nutrition packed kale
Kale, a cousin of the cabbage family has been around since the Middle Ages and grew in popularity in the UK during World War II during the period of rationing across Britain. This was because it was easy to grow and was a great way of keeping people healthy at a time when food was scarce.
Kale is mainly famous for its fantastic health benefits. These include its detoxification benefits, cancer prevention, support for your cardiovascular system plus much more. Kale is packed full of antioxidants which means that they are great for flushing out your body of illness and also allowing better digestive health. The antioxidants called carotenoids and flavonoids are particularly beneficial for helping the prevention of cancer reducing the risk of inflammation.
Ways to cook kale
Kale chips – Kale can be made into chips and fried in olive oil and salt, or they can be heated in oil in a skillet. The skillet method is a great way of quickly cooking up a healthy side dish and only take 2 to 3 minutes to prepare and cook. The stems are generally thrown away and the leaves when wilted in the skillet are truly delicious.
Salads – Kale goes really well in a salad and can be left raw if you want a cold, crispy salad to eat in the summer. This needs a little preparation however – if you aren’t cooking it, kale can be very tough. Therefore massaging it can tenderise its tough texture and develop its flavour.
Blanching – Remove the stalk, and cook the kale in boiling water for three minutes. Have ice cold water ready in a separate pot. After three minutes, remove the kale using tongs and soak it in the cold water straight away. This is great if you want to save a freeze kale to reuse another time.
Boiling or Mushing – In order to remove the bitterness from kale, many people like to boil kale for 4 to 5 minutes. In general, massaging the kale by hand releases the bitter flavours and leaves you with a tasty vegetable!
5 Recipes to enjoy kale:
Find these, and more kale recipes on Recipebridge.
