Tuesday

Cooking with a wise herb

2008 appears to be a year for unexpected gifts. It started with chocolate, then decadent mango burfi from my sister in law and most recently, sachets of dried sage (get the bad pun in the title?) from the lovely Jaden. And it's only February. Hopefully the year of the Rat will continue to bring more goodies (hint).

kale

I have been cooking all sorts of greens lately. So much that the cashier at the store asked me if I was going to use the kale and chard for an 'arrangement' like lemons! Gosh no. Methinks kale looks better in the pot than the vase.

Cannellini beans and kale is a Tuscan classic. The smooth beans complement the woodsy kale nicely. Though I prefer mashed comfort you can keep the beans whole and serve it as a soup with a little elbow pasta thrown in. Leftovers make a great pizza/ tart topping.

beansandkale2

CANNELLINI BEANS AND KALE
(serves 2-3)
1 15-oz. can of cannellini beans (or fava/ Great northern etc)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
half bunch of kale, picked, washed and roughly chopped* (or broccoli rabe/ spinach etc)
1 tsp dried sage
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
salt and freshly milled pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and onion. Saute till onion turns pink. Add kale and 3-4 tbsps of water. Cover and cook until leaves are tender (this takes anywhere between 7 to 10 minutes. Check periodically).

When kale is done, add beans and sage. Season to taste. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes for flavors to blend. Remove from heat. Mash beans with a potato masher until smooth. Spoon onto a serving plate, drizzle with olive oil and cheese. Serve with crusty bread.

* Kale requires a slightly longer time to cook depending on how mature the leaves are. I remove the stalk and tough stems, roughly chop it into strips and steam it until tender.

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39 Comments:

Blogger Uma said...

Looks yummy! Healthy too! Nice post! I love greens!

6:33 PM  
Blogger evolvingtastes said...

eye spy ashwini in the olive oil jar. :)

7:30 PM  
Blogger Kalai said...

I adore this combo! Great one, Ashwini!

8:03 PM  
Blogger Meera said...

Wonderful recipe! Loved the picture too.

8:15 PM  
Blogger Mythreyee said...

lovely recipe.

8:16 PM  
Blogger bee said...

whose the one in the red t-shirt?

8:25 PM  
Blogger amna said...

wow! looks so pretty and green!

9:34 PM  
Blogger Suganya said...

Ooh! Make it garlic toast please :D

9:40 PM  
Blogger Jayashree said...

Nice pic...haven't tried kale so far...

10:35 PM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Uma - you will definitely like this dish then

ET - I take my anonymity very seriously. Be careful, very careful from now... maybe one of my "staff" is at your door right this minute?! :-D

Kalai - me too. Thanks

Meera, Mythreyee, Nags - thanks

Bee - that would be... no. If I told you I'd have to kill you :-)

Sugs - a girl after my own heart. After all that garlic I still like the beans with garlic bread!

Jayashree - you should try it. It has an unique foresty taste.

12:05 AM  
Blogger FH said...

Kale has the most Iron and Folate of all the greens too, I love it.Chopping it is little but yummy in the dishes. Beans and Kale are perfect combo!:))

6:52 AM  
Blogger Meeta K. Wolff said...

I absolutely love this dish. In our travels around Tuscany I think I almost always ordered this dish where ever possible. Perfect with Italian bread, Chianti and the view of the Tuscan hills!

7:44 AM  
Blogger Sia said...

i am confused! not sure what i like more, pic or recipe;)

8:37 AM  
Blogger Alpa said...

Lovely recipe... i am making the soup version of this tonite!!

8:56 AM  
Blogger AnuZi said...

Kale!! We make quite a bit of spinach upkari in our home. But I got a taste of soul food where Kale is used quite a bit at my best friends home. And since then I have loved kale. this bake looks delish!! Will try. As always your pix amaze me!!

9:55 AM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Asha - I didnt know that. I love greens so I buy them anyway.

Meeta - you have painted such a vivid picture. I had a fava+rabe version in Italy and that was equally delicious.

Sia - the recipe of course! Its tastes even better than it looks.

Alpa - its very hearty. Top it with a little pesto or cheese and it's comfort food for these winter months.

Anuzi - Thanks dear. When you chop kale it feels as if the entire forest is in your kitchen :-)
It tastes great in dals too.

12:28 PM  
Blogger Cynthia said...

I hope the bounty continues all through the year.

5:22 PM  
Blogger Swaroopa said...

looks gr8! thanx 4 sharing...

1:08 PM  
Blogger Dhivya said...

looks yummy and delicious...first time here..nice blog dear

7:32 PM  
Blogger Sagari said...

nice comdo ashwini

11:02 AM  
Blogger Linda said...

Hey Ashwini, this is perfect as I have recently discovered cannellini beans. You're brave to be cooking with kale, but I might give that a go :)

10:45 PM  
Blogger Viki said...

Kale is power food and I love it.

Try just boiling kale in hot water for maybe 5 minutes, drain, throw some salt and pepper and good olive oil. Tastes like a million bucks!

I made kale and chickpea soup, threw in a potato for some starch - good to go for an evening dinner.

5:39 PM  
Blogger Shah cooks said...

kale does have a garnish look to it, doesn't it? but i love the slight bittery taste nad u are right it goes well with beans.thanks!

1:57 PM  
Blogger pnoasnidtiinvie said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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9:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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7:40 AM  
Blogger vivari said...

hi
I have never tried kale should tri it. looks yummy!!!

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4:29 PM  
Blogger Arlene Delloro said...

This looks like comfort food at its finest. I've only made kale a few times in casseroles. I love the idea of it with my favorite beans.

7:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That dish looks interesting and the recipe is very easy. I think I will try that too. The protein rich cannellini beans & kale will be great for health and the super simple dish will save me a lot of time.

2:27 AM  
Blogger Jeanne said...

Now THERE'S an idea! I love beans and I love kale - what a perfect combination! Thanks for this recipe.

7:20 AM  
Blogger Pavithra Elangovan said...

Nice post! I love greens! nice clicks too,

6:35 PM  
Blogger Songs Download said...

i like your recipe its very delicious thansk for share with us
orangy

1:26 AM  
Blogger Jill said...

I just ran across your blog today and just had try this dish as I had a beautiful fresh bunch of kale in my fridge. I hope you don't mind but I added two of my standard ingredients which are red pepper flakes and prosciutto to the dish and might I say it was absolutely delicious! Thanks again I'll be checking back soon!

3:33 PM  
Anonymous Free Credit Score said...

Seems very healthy, I should try huh?

5:57 PM  
Anonymous Pune Hotels said...

looks yummy, Wonderful recipe,
Thanks For Sharing Ashwini,

12:19 AM  
Anonymous Jaipur Escorts said...

I got many things from this blog because everything is very well in this blog. you should continue do this type of blog.

6:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i think it is so test

11:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I may be reading the receipe wrong, but you say add the beans to the kale..... then mash the beans. Well do I mash them with the kale?, take the kale out then mash?

2:09 PM  
Anonymous kosher market florida said...

Hello, I just don't like kale but after i saw the prepared pic of your dish I found it to be good and mouth licking. I am surely gonna try this one out but tell me if it taste a bit sour or not . I m a bit confused. Can this type of dish prepared in kosher market Miami?

5:05 AM  

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