Kale. Who Knew It Could Be This Easy?

Spring is here. At least in SF. It's got to be close to 70 degrees here with lovely clear, blue skies. A perfect day for a walk over to our local farmer's market.

There was a nice kale salad in our lunch this past week, so I decided to try my hand at cooking some. I've used kale in soups before, but never any other way.

Many varieties of kale showed up this week at the farmer's market. I got some and then stared it in on my kitchen counter for a good long time. I realized that I had no idea what to do with it. Since it seems very fibrous, braising seemed like a good idea. Then I remembered how we always cooked sausages in boiling red wine before putting them into the tomato sauce when I was growing up. Maybe red wine was the way to go.

It most certainly is the way to go with kale. I don't know if there are purists out there who have a particular right way to cook these hearty leaves, but I recommend that you give the red wine a try.

Once I had the kale cooked down, I thought I'd try two different final dishes with it. I served it alongside boiled potatoes straight from the pan with some of the braising liquid and garlic.

And, I made a pesto-style preparation, by pureeing the cooked kale, garlic and braising liquid in the food processor. Both were good, but I preferred the pesto-style, since I'd never tasted kale this way before.

Red Wine-Braised Kale with Boiled Potatoes

• 1 bunch Kale (or Hearty Greens)
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, whole, skin removed
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 cups Potatoes, cubed and boiled

1. Wash Kale thoroughly in cool running water.
2. Set a large skillet over a burner turned to high-heat.
3. Add the oil and water.
4. Turn off the heat and add the wine.
5. Turn the heat back to high.
6. Add the Kale and garlic. It will run over the side of the pan at first. It shrinks to less than half it's original volume once it is cooked down.
7. Cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until leaves are tender.
8. Serve over the boiled potatoes, being sure to scoop up some of the cooking liquid to pour over the potatoes.

Red Wine-Braised Kale Pesto with Boiled Potatoes

• 1 bunch Kale (or Hearty Greens)
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, whole, skin removed
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 cups Potatoes, cubed and boiled

1. Wash Kale thoroughly in cool running water.
2. Set a large skillet over a burner turned to high-heat.
3. Add the oil and water.
4. Turn off the heat and add the wine.
5. Turn the heat back to high.
6. Add the Kale and garlic. It will run over the side of the pan at first. It shrinks to less than half it's original volume once it is cooked down.
7. Cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until leaves are tender.
8. Put the cooked Kale and its cooking liquid into a food processor.
9. Process until all leaves and stems have been chopped up and incorporated into a mixture.
10. Serve over the boiled potatoes.

A version of this recipe is featured on The Fruit Guys website.

The Day After: Pesto

I know, you've probably all eaten your body weight in treats, ham and gooey goodness by now, but I had to share a-not-so-light recipe with you. It's traditional, I guess, to start off the post-Christmas season with light, healthy foods, but it's so darn cold, I still think we need these stick-to-your-bones dishes to get us through.

Remember how I mentioned that my sister and I made a book for Gran Fran with her recipes and my photos? Well, here is another

recipe from that project, Lasagna Geonvese. I've not made many lasagna's in my time, but figured I should give this one a go since it's different than any others I've had.

I, of course, don't eat gluten or dairy, so I only had a small taste of this. It was superb. You could adjust this easily with gluten-free noodles, but I'm not a fan of non-dairy cheese, so can't recommend anything on that front.

OK, back to the recipe. It was really fun to make. Lots of steps, as I've mentioned before, but the potatoes and pesto really made this dish stand out from your traditional lasagna. I love the colors, too, since it's a little unexpected to see a green lasagna. I do have to say, though, I don't recall when Gran Fran may have made this for us.

I do remember her excellent Pesto, and know that when we were in Italy in 1989 we did have a lasagna with pesto and potatoes in it. Yes, that's right, I (and probably Gran Fran, too) can probably recall every dish we ate that month in Italy. The fried bread (savory and salty) is one thing I have yet to be able to recreate in my own kitchen.

Enjoy a piece of this right out of the oven.

original recipe courtesy of Fran Claro of The Italian Pantry

Lasagna Genovese

Serves ten

Pesto

• 3 cups basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, roughly grated
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2   teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Dried red pepper flakes to taste

1. In blender or food processor, pulse all ingredients, until sauce is thick and creamy.
2. Add more oil if necessary.
3. Set aside.

Lasagna

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

• 1 pound curly edge lasagna noodles
• 10 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed, salted, thinly sliced, steamed until tender
• 1 pound green beans, sliced on the bias, salted, steamed 5 minutes
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, coarsely grated
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced
• 2 cups whole milk ricotta, drained
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Pesto

1.  Boil noodles in salted water, according to package directions, drain well.
2.  Blend mozzarella, ricotta, and eggs with parsley;  salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Layer pesto, noodles, green beans, pesto, grated cheese, potatoes, blended cheeses, pesto.
4.  Continue stacking ingredients in the same order, ending with noodles, pesto, and a sprinkling of Parmigiano.
5. Cover loosely with aluminum foil; bake 35  minutes; remove foil; bake 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Let rest 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

I Love My Food Processor

Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?

If you've seen my previous posts, you may know that I grew up in a household without a food processor, let alone knives that had any kind of a sharp edge.

I resisted for years, fearful that Gran Fran's paranoia about these machines with killer blades would come true.

Well, I'm glad that I bit the bullet and got myself a new-fangled food processor. It is my new best friend (though that Microplane is coming in a close second).

I never imagined how quickly it could take a ingredients to pulp, soup or otherwise smush lots of stuff together instantly and consistently.

And, so, here are a few of my greatest hits: pesto, no-cook cranberry sauce and mushroom soup.

Pizza In Five

Remember when I told you all about the Foodbuzz Festival? Well, while I was there, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the book Pizza in Five by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I made their gluten free pizza crust dough and I certainly was pleased with the results.

It has been really challenging adhering to a gluten-free (and dairy-free) diet this past year, so when I saw their recipe I was excited to try it. There are a lot of ingredients, some of which you just won't have in your pantry, but all of which were well worth purchasing. I found most everything I needed between Whole Foods and Safeway. I also know our local organic co-op sells all of the ingredients in bulk. At the bulk stores you have the option of buying smaller quantities.

The crust had a great chewy quality to it, but it was also crisp, which is something I've been missing with other gluten-free doughs I've experimented with.

Oh, and there are tons of other people cooking from this fantastic book and posting their results to #PizzaPartyIn5 today, so go and check it out!

Herewith, are the step-by-step photos of what I did to make this delicious pizza.  I'll post the recipe and the instructions soon, but was excited to get this up for everyone to enjoy.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Brown Rice Flour
• 2 cups White Rice Flour
• 2 cups Tapioca Flour (aka Starch)
• 1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
• 2 tbsps Granulated Yeast
• 1-1 1/2 tbsps Kosher Salt (I used Fleur de Sel)
• 2 tbsps Xantham Gum
• 3 1/4 cups Lukewarm Water
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsps Sugar, Honey, Malt Powder or Agave Syrup (I used Honey)

Method:

• Mixing and Storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, cornmeal, yeast, salt, and xantahn gum in a 5 quart bowl, or a lidded, (not airtight) food container.
• Combine all the liquid ingredients with the sweetener and add the mixture to the dry ingredients, using a spoon, 14 cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle), until all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated. You may have to  use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.
• Cover (not airtight), and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises, approximately 2 hours.
• The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.  Or store the dough for up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 pound portions.  When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before use.
• On pizza day, break off a piece of the dough. It will not have any stretchiness like wheat doughs.
• Roll out the dough directly on a pizza peel, (I rolled mine right onto my stainless countertop with flour on it) covered generously with flour and cover the dough with plastic wrap.
• Roll into a 1 1/8 inch thick round.
• As you roll out the dough, use a dough scraper to make sure the dough isn't sticking to the peel (or whatever surface you're using); add more flour if needed.
• Gently pull off the plastic wrap, and top.

Put the Pizza Together and Bake It:

my own interpretation of the method from the book

• Turn oven up to highest setting (mine was 500 degrees).
• Put your pan in the oven to get it as hot as possible.
• Prepare all your ingredients: I used bacon, chanterelle mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, pesto,  and egg.
• Roll out the dough as described above.
• Remove the pan from the oven (must do this quickly so the pan doesn't cool down too much). Add some olive oil.
• Using a flat stainless scraper to pick it up and put it on the super hot pan.
• Working quickly, add all your toppings (see photos below, I have them in order of ingredient application).
• Finish with the cracked egg on top, and add a bit of olive oil and spices.

Bake in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the egg has set.

Enjoy!