Tag Archives: kale

Warm Kale Salad with Chickpeas & Sweet Potato

Posted in Healthy Food, Recipes by

I love experimenting with produce from my garden and at the moment we’re still getting plenty curly kale and cavolo nero (Italian kale). Inspired by a recent trip to Denmark I put together this recipe for a warm kale salad with chickpeas, sautéed sweet potato, chopped apple and toasted seeds. And I loved the result! The best thing is that it tastes even better the second day!

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Ingredients:

Serves 6

A bunch of curly kale (approximately 150g)

A bunch of cavolo nero (Italian kale) 

1 sweet potato

200g cooked chickpeas

50g pumpkin seeds

50g almonds

1 apple 

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

1 tbsp of good quality balsamic vinegar

Juice of half a lemon

Salt & pepper

2 tsp Middle-Eastern spice mix (SEE DETAILS BELOW)

Kale salad_MSG

Wash the kale, remove tough stalks, chop finely and set aside in a big bowl. Peel the sweet potato and cut up into 1x1cm cubes. In a small frying heat up olive oil and sauté the sweet potato until soft. Add drained cooked chickpeas and the Middle Eastern inspired spices. Add pumpkin seeds and almonds and sauté for five minutes or until all ingredients turn golden. At this point your kitchen will start smelling delicious.

Core the apple, cut up finely and set aside. Now it is assembling time: take your bowl of prepped kale and add a splash of good quality virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Mix well and you can even massage the leaves gently as this will make them more tender. Add the cooked mixture of sweet potato, chickpeas and seeds and mix well. Add salt and pepper. The final step is adding the chopped apple which will really transform this salad. It will add sweetness and crunch.

The salad is delicious on its own or you can use it as a side with meat such as grilled pork chops or roasted chicken. It keeps well in the fridge without losing its crunchiness. You can warm it up in a microwave too.

Middle Eastern Spice Mix

Makes about 50g

3 tbsp cumin

3 tbsp coriander

2 tbsp sumac

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp turmeric

I use my Nutribullet or a small blender to whizz the spices up into fine powder. Store in an airtight container.

 

Making snacking healthy

Posted in Healthy Food, Recipes by

You know the feeling – you’re trying hard to eat well, limit your portions, exercise… it’s all great during the day, but come evening time things change. The irresistible urge to open the cupboard with snacks, crisps, just one slice of cake, a bar of chocolate… it all adds up to putting on those extra pounds that are so difficult the get rid off in the long term.

So here is a little recipe for a snack that should help to battle those cravings and in fact it is pretty healthy too – kale crisps.

Kale Chips

When we were in New York in July we bought a small box of curried kale crisps at Whole Foods for approximately $8.00 which I thought was pretty expensive but I wanted to try them. I thought they were pretty good and I wondered how to make them. It seemed impossible at the time that kale would crisp up like that.

Then I came across a lovely Instagram feed of a company that makes organic liqueurs which inspired me to giving it a go. And guess what – the crisps turned out pretty good. In fact I think I’m slightly addicted on them now.

The process is very simple:

1. Wash your curly kale, remove the stems and tear leaves into large pieces.

2. Rub one table spoon of olive oil into the leaves and season them.

3. Spread the leaves into one layer on a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 150°C for approximately 10 minutes.

My seasoning was a mixture of crushed cashew nuts, Tabasco, Indian curry powder and turmeric.

Delicious and healthy. And free since the curly kale seems to be growing in abundance in the garden this year.

Shetland Kale: Possibly the oldest Scottish local vegetable variety

Posted in Growing, Inspiration by

Last year my colleague from work was very kind to give me some Shetland Kale seeds she kept that season. I was very excited about the prospect of growing an old Shetland crop and particularly because it would be grown from a heritage variety seed that was lovingly nurtured and saved unlike mass-produced commercial hybrid seeds.

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When looking for more information about Kale I came across this some interesting information at Slow Food UK:

Shetland Cabbage

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What are my special features?

Much variation can be found in this cabbage/kale (Brassica oleracea L) and the heart is a lot more open than modern cabbage varieties. The cabbage has a characteristic peppery taste and is traditionally cooked in a mutton stew.

What is my history?

Shetland Cabbage/Kale is the oldest known Scottish local vegetable variety and has been grown on the Shetland Islands since at least the 17th Century. Specific origin details of this landraceis unknown. The outer or dropped leaves were often used as winter feed for cattle and sheep.

Due to the extreme weather conditions on the Islands cabbage seeds were traditionally planted in plantie crubs, a small circular stone-walled enclosure. The cabbage seedlings were then transplanted into larger yards also often with stone walls. These structures can still be seen all over the islands despite many being in ruins.

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Why am I forgotten?

In the last 30 years, there has been a steep decline in Shetland Cabbage and competition within other well-known supermarket varieties is further problematic for such traditional varieties.

Don’t lose me… cook me!

Kale was immortalised in the Shetland poem “Auld Maunsie’s Cro” by Basil R. Anderson:

‘Auld Maunsie biggit him a Cro
Ta grow him kale fir mutton bro
Fir Maunsie never tocht him hale,
Withoot sheeps shanks an kogs o’kale’

I found out that seed of Shetland Cabbage is not sold commercially and the survival of this, and other, landraces is entirely dependent on growers saved seed. Find out more here.

I’m planning to try keep some seed this year if the plants succeed so if anyone is interested in giving it a go please let me know and I’ll get you some seed.

Photo No.3: Silent witnesses to intensive crofting in the past – plantie crubs and kale yards in Culswick. To see this magic place and enjoy a fine walk to Culswick Broch check Walk Shetland.