All hail, kale

One month ago, I had never eaten kale. I had certainly never cooked kale. And to be honest, I don't think I even knew what kale looked like. I new that it was a green leafy vegetable, but that was the extent of my kale knowledge.

But recently, every new recipe book I looked at contained recipes for kale. I thought it was about time I bought some kale and tried it for myself.

This is the recipe that converted us instantly to kale lovers. (by us, I don't meant the children) It also converted us to the delights of brown rice. I have eaten yummy brown rice in healthy salads in healthy salad bars over the years, but my memories of cooking it at home were very bad. Has brown rice changed or is it me? I don't really want to go on about organics here, but I do believe that the organic brown rice that I've been buying is no comparison to the supermarket stuff.

We truly cannot get enough of this dish, I have cooked it 4 times in the last month and each time my husband quickly whisks off any leftovers to work and I am left wondering; where has it all gone?

This recipe has been adapted slightly from 'Notes from my Kitchen Table'.



Fried Brown Rice with Kale

serves 4

• 225 grams kale (washed, stems discarded and shredded)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 3 shallots (cut into 3 cm diagonal slices)
• 200 grams cooked brown rice (cooked weight)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

Steam the kale for 7 minutes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes before raising the heat to medium and adding the kale and shallots. Cook for 2 more minutes and add the rice. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the soy and sauce and cook for another minute. Serve immediately.

Simple, quick, easy, yummy and healthy. What's not to love. My husband has been eating it cold at work with his salad and I'd like to try adding a poached egg on top, to make the perfect lazy night dinner.

Do you eat kale? How do you cook it?