One of my current fav TV shows, Modern Family, had a character argue that kale was totally a garnish and shouldn’t be use as food; I beg to differ. Kale is a great vegetable. Like other cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage), kale contains several antioxidants (ex. Lutein). It’s rich in vitamin A (eye health), K (important in cellular metabolism) and C (cell growth and repair). It’s also rich in calcium. So essentially, kale is a super food, and if you’ve thrown it to the side of your plate, reconsider it’s vast potential as an excellent vegetable to add to your diet.
The other night, I made lentil and kale soup. Lentils are great soup beans, and compared to other beans, they don’t take very long to cook. They’re packed with so much nutritional value in one small bean! Like most beans, they have a fiber, but unique to lentils is that they have a significant amount of folate and magnesium, which are important in heart health.
To start this recipe, I chopped up my mirepoix (3 large carrots, 3 celery stalks, ½ onion) and added ¼ tsp of salt and pepper, which I sautéed in 3 tbsp of olive oil until the onion became translucent. Then, I added a chorizo-like sausage (1/4 lb) and cooked the sausage through. If you would like to keep this soup vegetarian, you can skip this step.
Next, add your lentil beans (1/2 lb, rinsed), 4 cups of water, a bullion cube, and two bayleaves. I cooked the beans for 15 minutes before I added the kale, because they do take longer to cook. Rinse, clean, and chop a bushel of kale and add to the soup. Cook for another 15 minutes. Serve!
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