Kale recipes

Kale is a sturdy, nutrient-rich cabbage that holds up to heat better than spinach. First remove the thick central stem, tear the leaves into pieces, and for salads massage the kale with oil and salt in your hands for about a minute – massaging softens the texture and removes the bitterness.

The most popular kale recipes are kale salad, oven-crisped kale, kale stew and pastas where the kale is briefly simmered in the sauce. Roast kale at 180 degrees for 8–10 minutes with a thin coating of oil; in a hotter oven the edges burn easily. In a pan, 2–3 minutes is enough to keep the colour bright green.

Kale goes well with minced meat, bacon, white beans, parmesan and lemon, and it can also handle plenty of garlic. Rule of thumb: kale shrinks to about a third when cooked, so for warm dishes allow clearly more than looks necessary.

Store kale in the fridge loosely bagged and use it within a few days. If the leaves have wilted, plunge them into cold water for a moment. In Ruokaboksi's weekly recipes, the kale comes pre-measured, so you won't have a whole bunch left unused in the fridge.