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).

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.

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.