Kale and Corn Stir Fry

Last night was an opportunity to use some of those CSA vegetables from the summer stored away in the freezer – kale and corn. This recipe was a friend’s signature dish years ago when he was a bachelor. He got the recipe from the most basic cookbook his mother could find to give him. I think she was hoping he wouldn’t starve.

Kale and Corn Stir Fry

3 T olive oil
1 cup cold cooked rice
1 cup frozen corn
½ t thyme
½ t garlic powder
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
3 cups frozen kale leaves

Over medium high heat cook all ingredients in oil except spinach until hot. Stir in kale and cook until heated through.

Kale Manicotti

Yum at first bite! Just one of those dishes full of comfort.

Wednesday Menu – Kale Manicotti, Salad (It totally needed garlic bread, so have some of that on hand)
Farm Share Produce – Kale, Carrots

Kale Manicotti
Adapted from Everyday Food v78 Spinach Manicotti in Creamy Tomato Sauce

10 oz. Kale
8-10 Manicotti Shells
1 t olive oil
15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 t lemon zest
Salt and pepper
2 cups prepared marinara sauce
¼ t dried oregano
2 T half and half, optional

NOTE: I used this Basic Tomato Sauce.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/11/basic-tomato-sauce.html

The original recipe suggests filling a plastic bag with the cheese filling and cutting off a corner to fill the manicotti. I used my Wilton Dessert Decorator, it worked like a charm. Here is what it is… http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D6AD-475A-BAC0-5FB5C8A02A57ED0B&killnav=1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Roughly chop kale and boil for 7-10 minutes, until tender. Allow to cool slightly and shred with an immersion blender or small food processor. Set Aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet until ready to use. Allow to cool some before handling.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and Kale. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer filling to zip-top bag or Dessert Decorator. Pipe filling into both ends of the pasta shells and arrange in a glass baking dish (suggested: 8 inch square).

Combine marinara sauce with oregano and cream. Pour sauce evenly over shells and top with remaining ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Bake about 30 minutes, until center is bubbling and cheese is slightly browned. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes

This recipe originally included parsnips. Our CSA guesstimate for this week thought we might get parsnips, but they weren’t there. I had this on the menu, and as often happens with a CSA, I had to rethink because we didn’t get a guesstimated vegetable. That’s part of the fun. I originally thought I would substitute in carrots, but after consulting “The Flavor Bible” I discovered carrots were not on the list of what goes well with kale, but sweet potatoes were. I had a whole bunch of sweet potatoes that were about the size of my finger, they worked perfectly as I cut them up to mimic the size of the penne pasta. Oh, and…it was yummy, I’m looking forward to the leftovers at lunch today.

Thursday Menu – Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes, Salad
Farm Share Produce – Kale, Onions, Garlic, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes

Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002012801

2 T olive oil, dived
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut diagonally about the size of penne pasta
2 t butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 T fresh thyme, or 3-4 sprigs
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
8 oz. penne pasta
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Heat 1 T of olive in oil and 2-3 T of water in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook 10-12 minutes. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve ¾ cup of cooking liquid.

In skillet heat the remaining 1 T of oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and caramelize. Stirring occasionally, until golden brown and starting to crisp. Stir in thyme and garlic, cook 2 minutes. Add broth and kale, cook 5 minutes covered. Then 4 minutes uncovered, or until kale is very tender. Stir occasionally.

Add pasta and reserved sweet potatoes to the kale mixture. Remove thyme sprig, if used. Stir in ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in reserved pasta water until satisfied with the consistency. Make sure the dish is heated through and serve with the remaining cheese.

Dahl with Kale

Meatless Monday Menu – Dahl with Kale, Brown Basmati Rice
Farm Share Produce – Kale, Onion

Since this is the third time I’m sharing this recipe, it’s obviously a winner in our house and a great way to use greens. I’ve used spinach, chard, collards, and now kale in this dahl – works great every time.

Dahl with Greens
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/03/indian-dahl-with-spinach.html

NOTE: Kale is a bit heartier than greens like spinach or chard. I boiled it for 6 minutes, strained it and then added it to the dahl.