K is for Kale

 

I don’t know if it is just another urban vegetable myth but the biggest consumer of kale in the United States is reportedly Pizza Hut, who uses it to decorate the salad bar. I mentioned this to a fellow-shopper who was buying kale in the supermarket and was unimpressed that it was only being used as a decoration. She came from Bremen in Germany and told me about the annual kale festival. Apparently the really keen ones compete to be crowned the King of Kale. My children love trivia and I like to welcome a new vegetable with a few impressive facts. I went home and told them about the “Kohl and Pinkel Fahrt”. This involves strolling around, decorated with sprigs of curly kale and stopping off at inns to enjoy kale with schnapps and a special sausage known as pinkel. Freddie giggled at the word ‘fahrt’ and Alexandra muttered “losers.” But at least it introduced them to the curly kale that was sitting looking pretty in the corner of the kitchen.
I decided to serve our first kale recipe as an accompaniment to sausages and mashed potato – sadly there was no pinkel to be found. Savoy Cabbage, with its dark green leaves had been a surprise hit with Freddie early on in the challenge. He gave curly kale eight out of ten, which surely made him a contender for King of Kale.
KALE AND AVOCADO
Serves 4
250g Curly Kale
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ripe avocado
1 clove of garlic
Half a lemon
Wash and roughly chop the curly kale leaves, getting rid of any really tough stalks.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat.
Add the finely chopped garlic and keep stirring. Add the curly kale to the pan and stir. The leaves should wilt in the heat. Sauté them for about 7-8 minutes, stirring continuously. The leaves will soften slightly. Take off the heat. Transfer to serving dish and add the chopped ripe avocado; squeeze the juice of half a lemon on top. Season with salt and pepper and stir round so that it is evenly coated. Serve warm