Kale and Broccoli Saute

As promised -- here is my favorite recipe, I mean, METHOD for cooking up kale and broccoli.  Fortunately, both are still in the grocery stores right now at a reasonable price.  And while they aren't nearly as good as what we can find from our local farmers in season, it is certainly good enough that we clean the pot!

Basic ingredients:
Kale & broccoli -- how ever much of each you like -- I use
1 - large farmers market size bunch of kale (or 2 smaller grocery store sized bunches)
1 - head of broccoli
2 or 3 pieces of bacon
a few Tablespoons of olive oil
splash of good balsamic (optional)
1/2 - 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
a small handful  -- 1 - 2 Tablespoons of pine nuts


I wish I had loads of nice photos to take you along step by step, but I just don't.  Sorry.  Use your imaginations ... I know you can do it.

Start out with a big bunch of kale.  Italian kale is good, but my favorite is the curly kind.  I mean, really, it is so fluffy.



Wash, dry, remove the stems, and chop.   I chop it into what I guess you would call a "rough chiffonade" by rolling a bunch of the leaves up into a giant cigar shape and slice about every 1/2" - 1" or so.



(I like to use scissors sometimes -- )

Once the kale is chopped, the real fun can begin.

I take 2 pieces of good thick bacon, stack on top of each other, cut them lengthwise, and then cut into even little 1/2" squares.  Again -- I like to use the scissor for this -- works great right over the pan.

Favorite pot to use -- my All Clad dutch oven.  THIS IS MY FAVORITE POT IN THE WORLD.  Anytime I get mad at my honey I remember that he got me this pot for Christmas about 10 or 15 years ago and then I'm not mad at him any more.  It's THAT good.  I use it for everything, on the stove and in the oven.  Have I convinced you yet?  Seriously -- worth the investment.

Okay, back to business here.  In a large heavy pot of some kind -- if you don't have a dutch oven, a large skillet will work fine -- slowly cook the bacon bits until brown.

Your house will smell excellent.

Remove the bacon and put in a small bowl.  There will be a fair amount of bacon grease left in the pot.

Do. Not. Touch. It.  (Bacon grease is goooood.)  Add a swirl of olive oil to make things even more interesting, and throw in all that chopped up kale.  (Go ahead -- quit being so afraid of fats.  We'll talk about those sometime, too...)

The kale will be piled high and will sizzle and pop a bit.  Stir it around and it will very quickly cook down. Kale needs a bit of time to cook, so this is where you leave it for a few minutes over low heat.

While it is slowly cooking, grab your broccoli and chop it up.  I only use the tender stems and heads of the broccoli, because that's my favorite part, and I chop it up pretty fine.




Throw the broccoli into the pot with the kale and stir around until it turns really bright green.

Add about 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock to the pot and simmer.  The stock should be just enough liquid to make a little steam rise and keep your vegetables from sticking to the pan as they cook.  Remember we're not making soup here or "boiled greens."  This is also where I think it needs a little bit of something acidic to round things out, and like to lightly sprinkle it with a good balsamic.  I suspect that wine would work, too.

While everything simmers, toast a handful of pine nuts.  Some people recommend toasting the nuts in the oven, but I prefer to do them in a small skillet on top of the stove.  Just throw the nuts into the dry skillet and toss around over the heat for just a few minutes until they smell very "piney" and start to turn golden.  Be sure to keep them moving and watch closely that you don't burn them -- they are too expensive to have to throw away.   And I have to add a cautionary statement here about pine nuts (and I've just found this out) -- apparently -- and OF COURSE this would be true -- they are very high in calories.  So, use some sense and remember that a little goes a long way here, okay?

Once the nuts are toasty, set them aside (I put them in the bowl with the bacon pieces).  Stir the kale and broccoli around to be sure most of the liquid is cooked out or absorbed, sprinkle the bacon / pine nut mix on the top, and let it settle for a few minutes over the low heat to let the flavors mingle just a bit.




Delicious.

Leftovers make a fantastic lunch to warm in the microwave or saved to stir into wild or brown rice for a great rice dish.  Even little tiny bits of leftovers (you know -- the little bit that isn't really enough for a full serving?) can be used in an omelet.  I keep thinking that one of these days I'm going to stir this stuff into a little cream sauce and toss with fettuccine...if any of you try this first please let me know!

Again...DELICIOUS.