Cavolo Nero

Cavolo Nero, cooking.

It just sounds, delicious, doesn't it? Say it out loud:

Cavolo Nero.

Black kale.

So fancy! And so easy to cook. I made it with my friend Jen, straight out of Suzanne Goin's Lucques cookbook, and I'll never deviate from her recipe - it is perfection. It's really just olive oil-braised kale... but richly seasoned with fresh rosemary and black pepper, and spiked with chilies d'Arbol.  It's unlike anything I've ever had. It's taken my love affair with kale to a whole new level.

Make it as a side dish. Toss with with pasta. Pair it with eggs. Serve it on bread with a tangy cheese. However you serve it, it will make kale disciples out of even the most ardent kale-haters (see: Hazel).


Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Number of Ingredients: 6

2 bunches dinosaur kale, trimmed from stalks
1 cup olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
2 chiles d'Arbol, crumbled (I found them in the Mexican spice area of Safeway)
1 cup (about 1 medium) onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup garlic, thinly sliced

Set a large pot of water to boil.

Trim the kale from the woody stalks and rinse them well. When the water boils, blanch the kale until just limp, about 60 seconds, and remove to towels to dry.

In in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1/2 cup of the oil with the rosemary sprig and chilies, allowing them to sizzle for about a minute. Turned the heat to medium/low and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes, until it begins to soften, then add the garlic. Cook gently until the onion starts to color slightly, 5-7 minutes. Add the kale and 2 or 3 more tablespoons of olive oil and stir to coat. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Turn heat to low and, stirring often, cook approximately 30 minutes, until the kale begins to darken and get crisp at the edges. (To achieve crisping, Suzanne Goin recommends that you alternately turn the heat way up, so the kale sizzles, then back down again, so it braises.)

Check for seasoning again, then devour, then write to me to tell me how much you love this dish. I dare you not to love it.

Cavolo Nero, cooked.

Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto and White Wine

When I get a craving for Brussels sprouts, nothing else will do. I love their toothy texture, their slightly sweet but pungent flavor, their bite-size-ness. They are delicious roasted in the oven, creamed, pan-sauteed, fried. Yes, fried. If you've never had a deep fried Brussels sprout, then you are missing out! Get thee to a deep fryer!  I sometimes make sprouts with bacon, because... well, you know. And I usually de-glaze the pan with veg or chicken stock. But I was out of both of those things when I made this version, so I winged it.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients: 3

Chop prosciutto into small pieces, while heating 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Cook prosciutto until crispy over medium heat, about 6 minutes. While the meat is crisping, slice ends off sprouts and cut in half. Remove meat to paper towel with a slotted spoon. Dump sprouts into hot grease and sprinkle a little salt and several grindings of black pepper. Toss sprouts frequently, so they get nice and brown, about 5 minutes. De-glaze pan with about 1/4 cup white wine (or stock), taking care to stir up all the lovely brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook on medium heat until wine/stock reduces by half, about 5 minutes, then cover and cook until tender, another 5 or 10 minutes. A little more fresh pepper (maybe salt?), then remove to serving bowl and top with crispy prosciutto. I served these little beauties with creamy polenta, and was very popular that night.

Mexican Slaw

I'm usually not a big slaw person. I really like cabbage, raw and cooked, but slaw has never been my jam. So when I found a giant head of purple cabbage in this week's CSA box,  I thought... well, stuffed cabbage is out. And it's too warm for soup. Aw, what the hell. Why not give slaw another chance? The box also contained a big, beautiful bunch of cilantro, giant carrots, and French breakfast radishes, which I somehow forgot about when I was making this (they didn't make it in, obviously, but would've been a fabulous addition). Since I was making this to serve along side traditional beans and Really Good Mexican Rice,  I gave my slaw a Mexican twist by tossing it in a smoky/salty/sour cumin/lime vinaigrette. It was freaking delicious, and provided a crispy, cool counterpoint to the soft, warm beans and rice. Ay, Dios mio!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: None!
Ingredients: Under 10

*CSA Ingredients

1/2 medium head purple cabbage*, sliced thinly
1/2 bunch cilantro*
4 medium carrots*, grated (I used the large holes on the box grater)
(This is where a less-forgetful cook would add 4 thinly sliced radishes*)

Throw into a large bowl.

Cumin/Lime Vinaigrette **

1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp lime juice
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine cumin, salt, lime juice and mayo, then slowly add half the oil, in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Taste to decide whether or not to add more oil, or lime juice, or whatever. Vinaigrettes are very personal, and if you're me, they never come out the same way twice. So just keep playing with it. When it's to your liking, drizzle over the raw veggies, toss to coat, taste, and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, taste again, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

** I realized, when making this, that what I dislike about traditional slaw is that cloying sweet twang that the dressing tends to have. There is none of that malarkey here, and that's what made this non-grody, for me.

Really Good Mexican Rice

It took me several years, and recipes tweaked, to make a satisfying Mexican-style rice. I always order rice when I go out for Mexican food, because I love comparing and contrasting one restaurant version to another. Everyone puts their own twist on it - some have chunks of tomatoes, some chunks of onion, some both - or none. Some add peas. My version is heavy on tomato flavor, and I always use brown rice, because I prefer its taste and texture to white.  I always add peas, because peas are the bee's knees. And a bouillion cube (preferably the Mexican kind, which you can find pretty much everywhere) is not to be underestimated. The real trick here, though, is to toast the uncooked rice in the pan, before adding any liquid, way longer than seems necessary, or even prudent. You may think it's burning, but it's just developing that toasty, nutty, hard-to-put-your-finger-on flavor that makes this rice Really Good Mexican Rice. Trust.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Ingredients: 8-10

1/2  small yellow onion, diced
1 large (or 2 small) clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Mexican bouillion cube
1 tsp cumin
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup tomato SAUCE (homemade is good, but canned is really good)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)

Sautee onion, garlic and bouillion in all the oil over medium heat until barely soft. Add all the uncooked brown rice and cumin, and stir every 30 seconds, for about 4 minutes.  A little more/less won't hurt. You may see the bottom of the pan start to brown, don't panic.  Add tomato sauce and stir well with a wooden spoon, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. There will be a fair amount of sizzle. Add water and stir again. Bring the whole shebang up to a boil, then cover and  reduce to a simmer for about 40 minutes (20 if you're using white rice). Remove from heat and pour the frozen peas right over the top, then cover again and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and devour.