Beddard - Bonjour kale - a memoir of paris, love, and recipes

Kale comes in many different shapes, sizes, and weights. Some leaves are big, some are small. Some bunches are one pound, some are only one-quarter pound. In France, kale is sold by the kilogram and rarely bunched. Sometimes it is sold as tiny, baby leaves in plastic containers or bags. This makes it a little more difficult to measure out the exact amount of kale for a recipe. In the majority of recipes, its not a problem if you have a little less or a little more than what is called for. Unless a recipe calls for a larger quantity, Ive chosen to measure out kale in cups and grams, already chopped. The measurements are not much different if it is destemmed or if the stems are intact.

Buying Kale

Look for leaves that are a deep green color and avoid leaves that are brown or yellow or extremely tough. Tough kale means it is the end of the season. Kale is a heavily sprayed crop, so if possible, try to buy organic. If not, thoroughly wash each leaf.

Washing Kale

Take each leaf individually and run under water. Move your fingers through each fold and crevice to remove any excess dirt or, if organic, any potential pest.

Destemming Kale

It sounds difficult but destemming kale is easy and quick. After washing each leaf, take both sides of the leaf, fold them together, and rip the stem away from the leaf. Save stems for juicing.

Massaging Kale

The key to any good kale salad is a good kale massage. On already washed and dried kale, add the dressing of your choice and massage the kale with your hands for a minute or so. The dressing will marinate the leaves, slightly wilting them and making them softer to eat and enjoy.

These are a few ingredients and kitchen tools I recommend you keep on hand to complete your kale kitchen:

Lemons, garlic, shallots, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and sea salt: Whether making dressings or sauting, these ingredients are commonly used.

Lemon squeezer: This is something I take away on vacation with meespecially if I know we will be making a lot of salads. Its quick, easy, and efficient. Ive never found anything that juices a lemon as well as thisand it ensures no seeds accidentally fall into the juice.

Tongs: Another item I have a hard time cooking without, tongs are a great tool to use to saut and serve kale.

Salad spinner: I had a friend who once admitted to using a hair dryer to dry the kale she was going to use for kale chipsI bought her a salad spinner for her birthday. Like lettuce, a salad spinner will dry the kale well enough for either storing or immediate use.

Plastic freezer bags: If you buy a lot of greens but want them to last through the week, wash them right away, dry them, and store them in plastic freezer bags in the refrigerator. The leaves will keep longer, and it will be that much easier to cook with the greens throughout the week because the hard work of cleaning and destemming is already done.