Sauteed Kale

Sauteed Kale

Sauteed kale has become such a staple in my cooking repertoire, it’s hard for me to believe I went most of my life not even knowing about kale.

Kale is a dark, tough leafy green and is considered a cruciferous vegetable. It’s practically become known as the poster-kid for super foods because it has so many beneficial properties.

Kale has oodles and oodles of vitamins K, A and C but it’s not just the vitamins that helped kale earn its name as a health food. Kale is anti-inflamatory, provides cardiovascular support, aids in detoxifying your body and has been known to help prevent 5 different types of cancer: bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate.

If that’s not enough of a reason to scarf as much of these leafy greens down as humanly possible then I don’t know what is. I can’t believe the U.S. has gone so long before realizing kales fighting power.

Let’s not waste anymore time without including kale in our diet! Sauteed kale is probably the best place for you to start if you are a dark leafy green newbie.

When I first tried kale, chard and the like I wasn’t fully prepared for how strong their flavor was. I was expecting something more like most lettuces or spinach which have a more delicate flavor. Sauteeing kale is a great way to enjoy its strong flavor while softening the leaves a bit and combining it with other wonderful tastes like freshly minced garlic.

To me there’s just no better way to start my weekend mornings than with a heaping pile full of sauteed kale. I know it will give my body what it needs if the busy work week prevented me from being perfectly healthy all the time.

So give it a try yourself, and if you don’t like it the first time you try kale, that’s okay. It took me a couple times to get used to it but now I actually crave it on a regular basis! Be patient as you develop the taste buds for it--your body will appreciate the investment!

Ingredients

  • 1 whole bunch of kale
  • 6 cloves of garlic (or to taste, you can scale back if you’d like)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Clean your kale leaves then remove the middle stem. The stem is tougher and slightly more bitter than the leaf section so if it’s you’re first time trying kale, I’d suggest leaving it out. You can eat the stem but it takes a lot longer to cook than the leaves so chop it up into smaller pieces if you choose to. Once cleaned and de-ribbed, coarsely chop the leaves into about ½ inch strips.
  2. Mince garlic cloves.
  3. Put a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once its had time to warm up, add a drizzling of olive oil. Put your minced garlic in the pan (it should sizzle lightly). Then after about 30 seconds of cooking the fresh garlic add your kale leaves. Toss a bit in the pan to get the olive oil and garlic distributed over the leaves. Cover the pan.
  4. After about 2-3 minutes, remove lid and stir to make sure the leaves aren’t sticking to the bottom. Replace lid for another minute or 2 depending on how they look. When the kale looks wilted but still green it’s done. (Covering the pan will simultaneously steam the kale which preserves more of the nutrients than a straight sautee does.)
  5. When it’s finished cooking, add a healthy amount of salt and lots of black pepper. Stir to combine and serve.

Eat your sauteed kale with eggs for a wonderful brunch meal, or to accompany black beans and cornbread for a more dinner-like meal. Either way just enjoy it!

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