Walsh Consultant

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Kale : A super food from ancient times

Kale : A super food from ancient times
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Kale, an ancient green dating back to 300 BC,  is a challenging vegetable,  ( crunchy  when eaten raw with slight bitter overtones, when slightly heated, creates a softer kale . If made into a wilted Kale and ground nut salad with a warm vinaigrette,  as in the following recipe, something magical happens to make this vegetable crazy good!

First the science: Highly praised for it’s low Carbohydrate  content of 7 grams of CHO per cup, it is a diabetic friendly food called a non starchy vegetable like many other vegetables in this group. ( a free food for the carbohydrate controlled diets.)  Kale also possesses anti inflammatory components like Vitamin C and  alpha lipoic acid, preventing free radicals from developing high blood sugars.  Kale contains sulforaphane, a detoxifying enzyme activated when chopped .  A perfect  green for great immunity .

The secret to keeping the Vitamins from lowering their effectiveness in cooking is the “wilted salad ” One minute in a pan of warm oil, and mixed in a bowl with vinegar and other ingredients will maintain it’s healthy punch.  Lets get started with our dish.

This recipe uses ingredients like Sherry Vinegar, smoked paprika, walnuts or almonds, breadcrumbs (gluten free works well), and  optional Manchego cheese .

  • 4 cups of chopped kale with leaves ripped off from the rib of the green
  • 2 slices of bread
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or almonds
  • 4 tablespoons of Sherry vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of  ground thyme or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
  • 4  tablespoon so Olive Oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 shallot chopped

In a food processor, pulse together the nuts until finely ground. Put aside.  Process the  breadcrumbs until fine texture ( 5 pulses), mix with the nuts in a mixing bowl and add the smoked paprika, thyme, salt, cayenne and black pepper and 2 T sherry vinegar.

In a saucepan , heat the 1 tablespoon  of oil,  saute the shallot over medium heat until soft, and  add the nut/spice breadcrumb mixture, cook  for 3 minutes, until golden. Now add the kale, and wilt for only  one minute. Take off the heat and  pour into the mixing bowl. Wisk in a separate bowl,  the additional  2 T sherry vinegar and 3 T olive oil  and pour over the breadcrumb kale salad. Mix  until well coated and and serve.