My Pantry Shelf

As the winter wears on, it is easy to think fondly of the bounty of summer…  sweet juicy tomatoes, crisp peppers, non-stop zucchini.  You have to work hard not to  eat “seasonally” in the summertime.  But what about in January?  I try feed my family on as many home-grown veggies as possible.  This lofty goal is fairly easy to attain in the warm months and significantly more challenging in the winter.  I am very grateful that our life does not depend upon nourishment from our backyard.  This month, we would be subsisting on satsumas, garlic, the last stray raspberry, and an occasional egg.  Well not quite, there is always the kale.

Kale is one of the hardest working winter veggies.  It is rarely  finicky about when it is planted and practically begs for a frost.  (The cold weather sweetens the leaves).  We eat a lot of kale.  Most often I toss it in a pasta dish or sprinkle it atop pizza, but this side dish celebrates this green leafy powerhouse as the main affair.  The greens are blanched first, then sautéed with garlic, onion, and lemon.  The contrast of the slightly crunchy, yet tender kale with the bright lemon and salty olives is the perfect fresh accompaniment for a  winter meal.  It is precisely the kind of seasonal winter dish that helps us celebrate these dark days.

Winter Kale with Lemon and Olives

adapted from Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2010

Serves 4

1 Tablespoon each butter and olive oil

1 bunch Kale (curly or dinosaur preferably)

1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

zest of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons chicken broth

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Rinse kale.  Boil kale in salted water 3 minutes.  Drain and coarsely chop.  Saute onion in butter and oil until limp.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add chopped kale and rest of ingredients (except lemon juice).  Cook uncovered 2 minutes.  Drizzle lemon juice over the top and serve.

This dish reheats well.  Cool and cover.  Warm in an oiled pan on medium heat when ready to serve.  If it seems dry, add a bit of chicken broth.

Here is a printer friendly version: Winter Kale with Lemon and Olives

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