Simple Sauteed Kale
I don’t know why it took stubborn me so many years to try kale, with my recipe space here, and with kale’s explosive popularity over the past few years. I finally tried kale last Christmas, when my neighbourhood supermarket started selling it on an almost daily basis. I have not stopped buying kale since then – at least once if not twice a week! Talk about late kale love blossoming for me in a big, belated way :p
Similar Recipe:
- Sauteed Kale & Chickpeas Recipe (above)
See Also:
I started with using kale in smoothies since I also bought a nutribullet around the same time. The first impression was a very good one, as I love the taste of kale even in the raw form.
After a few kale smoothies, I started cooking kale – first by adding them in soups & hot-pots, then frying in the pan like this one. And recently I even made kale chips which was really good.
This particular simple sauteed kale in garlic and chilli flakes is my current favourite kale dish because it is so easy and quick to pull off. Sometimes when I want to eat soft & tenderly cooked kale, I will blanch the kale before adding it in the pan. If I’m in the mood for crunchier kale, I just add raw kale leaves to the covered pan to cook. Both ways, this quick cooking sauteed recipe works very well for me.
I measure kale in written recipe by the number of kale stalks used. Coarsely tear the leaves of each full stalk to bite-size pieces. The stem is usually discarded, or can be put to better use. One full stalk of curly kale, yields roughly 15 grams of kale leaves in the recipe.
Simple Sauteed Kale Recipe
The chilli flakes add a mild smokey and spicy depth to this simple sauteed kale dish. Adjust or omit it according to your preference.
For more tender kale, blanch them in a pot of boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes until wilted. Drain the blanched kale on a strainer and press out the excess liquids, before adding them to the pan in Step 2.
Ingredients:
- 75 grams coarsely-torn kale leaves*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 shallots sliced thinly
- 3 garlic cloves sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes to taste
- 5 tbsp chicken or vegetable stock
*Leaves from approximately 5 large stalks of curly kale, de-stemmed.
Directions:
- Cook the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a wide frying pan. Add shallots, garlic and chilli flakes; saute them in the pan, until the shallots turn soft & translucent.
- Add the kale. Add kale leaves and stir-fry briefly until the leaves are just wilted. Note: You can fold in the leaves in 2 or more batches if the pan is not big enough.
- Simmer the contents. Add chicken stock, cover the pan with lid and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the chicken broth is reduced.