Monday, July 12, 2010

Braised kale with white beans

We were looking for something to do with the latest batch of Red Russian Kale and Kerrie found a braised kale and white bean recipe that sounded promising. I made a few substitutions to the original that I think worked really well.

The Original Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 cloves garlic
one onion
2 cups stock
one can of white beans
salt and pepper
olive oil

My additions:
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 garlic scape
1 clove garlic

My Replacement:
I used three small purplette onions instead of a white onion

I used my electric skillet for this since it is still hot and the electric skillet doesn't heat up the kitchen  nearly as much as the stove top. If using a regular skillet set the heat to medium low, I had the skillet at 275 or so.
Chop the kale into bite size pieces and set aside. Chop the onion, garlic cloves and the garlic scape
Sweat the onions, garlic and garlic scapes in the olive oil until they are soft. Then add your kale and chicken stock, cover and braise for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes add the white beans and stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste.  I thought the first taste was a bit flat so I added the balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes to give it a bit of a bite. It turned out really well, the vinegar was a nice touch and the heat from the red pepper worked for me. All in a nice simple side dish.

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