Vitamin Rich Veg

Food trends are funny things. You hear a lot about one ingredient for about a season and then it's on to another. I swear farmers and food co-ops get together and decide which vegetable should be pushed, who knows. Kale is one of those such vegetables. Over the last year it was quite big, it seemed everyone had kale on their menu or was passing new recipes around. It's now seen a bit of a dip in interest, but that doesn't bother me, I never ate it for a trend in the first place. 

As I had mentioned in a previous post here about kale, it's a super-food. It's chocked full of vitamins and minerals and is one of those leafy greens that is good cooked and raw, it's very versatile.

There are different types of kale. Curly kale is the most common. I personally like it best cooked. For salads, I prefer lacinato kale (also known as "dinosaur" kale), which has dark green smoother, less fibrous leaves, making it both easier to chop and to eat. Baby kale is conveniently packages in the produce dept in plastic boxes, it's sweet, easier to convince children and picky husbands to consume.  


Winter Greens Salad 4 servings

Dressing:
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup pecans
4-5 leaves dinosaur kale, stems removed and leaves cut into thin strips
1 Cup of Spinach leaves
1 cup roasted diced butternut squash (see note below)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tart-sweet apple peeled, cored and diced- granny smith or jonagold, even jazz
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
                                *you could easily add diced chicken to make it a full meal

You can grab cubed butternut squash from your local whole foods or trader joe's store already cleaned and cubed which is what I did, but if you'd like to roast your own...

To roast butternut squash, preheat oven to 475 F. 1. Toss 2 cups cubed butternut squash with 1 tbsp. olive oil and a pinch of salt and spread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, stir squash and roast an additional 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside, you can even refrigerate it. 
Heat a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the pecans and toast until fragrant, tossing occasionally, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool, then coarsely chop.
Combine pecans, kale, spinach, squash, cranberries, apple and blue cheese in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat.

Now if that recipes doesn't sit well with the kids, this next one will. 
This recipe I adapted to be gluten free (see notes) and it comes from one of my favorite sites The Little Epicurean

Brown Butter Spaghetti with Baby Kale and Roasted Squash serves 4

6 oz spaghetti ( I used ancient harvest GF Quinoa)
2 cups butternut squash, cut into cubes
1 or 2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter ( used vegan butter)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed or minced
2 small onions, sliced, about 2 cups
4 packed cups of baby kale (by lettuces in a plastic box)
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan
salt and pepper, to taste
additional Romano or Parmesan, for serving
finely sliced chives, for serving 

You'll roast the butternut squash as listed above, just adding salt and pepper.
Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until squash is soft and can be easily pierced with a fork or knife. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook spaghetti according to package details. When draining pasta, reserve a 1/2 cup of pasta water.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Once butter is melted, continue to cook over medium low heat until butter has browned and is fragrant (should smell nutty). If you are using vegan butter, do not brown it, it will still taste nutty without browning it. Add minced garlic (I like to also use jarred garlic sometimes) and sliced onions.  Cook until onions are almost translucent.  Add baby kale in two additions.  Cook until kale begins to wilt. Remove from heat.  Add Romano, Parmesan cheese, and roasted butternut squash. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat pasta. Add 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water at a time until pasta is well coated with sauce.  (I ended using 1/2 cup of pasta water).

Sausage Kale Soup serves 4-6 1 tablespoon olive oil (+ 1tsp rendered sausage fat)
1 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt
1 1/2 cups french green lentils, rinsed

1 can garbonzo beans drained and rinsed
28 ounces canned chopped tomatoes 
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
4 chicken sausages (or substitute another kind of sausage like chicken)
1 1/2 cups chopped kale
You can slice your sausage into half moons or you can squeeze the sausage out of the casings, it's up to you. Brown the sausage on the bottom of your stock pot. If you're using chicken sausage, you'll need a little more olive oil. Once the sausage is browned, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Keep about 1tsp of the sausage fat.

Heat fat and the olive oil and add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Add a big pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, tomatoes and 4 cups water. Add the thyme and rosemary and a couple more pinches of salt. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary to cover the vegetables.
When the lentils are just tender, add can of garbonzos and taste the soup and add more salt if necessary. Add the kale and cook for about 3 minutes, until the kale is tender but still green. Stir in the sausage, make sure everything is heated through, and serve.

*optional top off with a little parm, my little one loves it that way.