Kale primer
explain their enthusiasm for this relative of
collards and Brussels sprouts, offer tips on
how to handle it and share some inspired
ideas for serving it.
“Kale is now in vogue,” says Savona, and he
couldn’t be happier. “It’s a versatile workhorse
that can stand alone or carry other flavors,
and deserves a place in the sun.”
MOVE OVER, SPINACH
Carey Savona won’t mind if you call him a
kalehead. Tracing his taste for this vegetable
back to his Italian upbringing, he was a fan
long before it acquired its current cachet as
a superfood. Last year when he came on
as executive chef of Heirloom Restaurant
in The Study at Yale, a boutique hotel in
New Haven, Conn., Savona started offering
kale as a side, simply braised in olive oil with
garlic and shallots.
“I thought it would be a hard sell,” he says,
“because people aren’t familiar with it. I
was wrong.” Kale has become the star of
his “Whatever’s Green” option, especially
through the fall and winter. Regulars request
it, and he now uses more kale than spinach.
Savona chalks up the positive response to a
health-conscious clientele and media buzz
about the benefits of consuming dark leafy
greens. This likely goes some of the way in
explaining why his customers crave kale, but
there’s no doubt he’s won them over with his
creative preparations.
BLACK CABBAGE
Dirk Flanigan, a James Beard
semifinalist for Best Chef, Great Lakes
2011, is executive chef for two Chicago
restaurants—The Gage, and its smaller
sister location Henri that opened next
door in summer 2010. Kale regularly
appears on the menus in both dining
rooms because Flanigan loves it, but
not just any variety. “Since trying Tuscan
kale, also known as black cabbage, in
the ’90s, I use it almost exclusively. It’s
wonderful, and nothing else tastes quite
the same.” To season, he recommends
toasted garlic, nuts of all kinds but
especially smoked almonds, oregano,
marjoram and horseradish.
A member of the brassica family, kale
is closer kin to broccoli, kohlrabi and
mustard than to similar-looking leafy
greens. Flowering kales, also called
ornamental kale or salad savoy, are edible
with sufficient cooking, especially when
small, but the green, purple, pink and
white curly leaves are used primarily as
garnish. There are many kale cultivars—
Redbor, Winterbor, Red Ursa, Dwarf
Blue, True Siberian, to name a few. The
three most popular with chefs and readily
available from farmers and suppliers are:
• Cavolo Nero is an heirloom
variety also known as Tuscan
(Toscano) kale, lacinato kale or
dinosaur (dino) kale. Recognizable by
long dark-green textured (savoyed)
leaves. Tender and sweet, it can be
used raw in salads and in minimally
cooked preparations. Excellent for
blanching and sautéing, and finely
shredded for stir-fry.
• red russiaN has flat, tooth-edged grey-green leaves with purple
veins and stems. Requires only light
cooking. Smaller, younger leaves are
excellent raw. Mild and sweet.
• GreeN Kale is the most common
type, with leaves that are either flat
and slightly dimpled or curly and
ruffled. Both have fibrous stalks and
require longer cooking time. Flavor is
bold, pungent and peppery. May also
be called Scotch or Scotch Curled.
He does a crostini with braised kale,
walnuts and bone marrow. His fazzoletti—
the name of this pasta means “face
towels”—is tossed with braised kale, goat
cheese and lemon zest. For a chunky
salad, he removes and pickles the stems
and combines them with chopped kale
leaves, apples, currents or cranberries,
and a sharp cheese such as aged
cheddar or pecorino.
Flanigan does a quick sauté with small
young leaves, busting the myth that kale
always requires long cooking, and slow-braises more mature plants in garlic
water to pair up with roasted game hen
or shrimp. But he also takes his kale to
extremes. As an accompaniment for a
spicy pork shoulder sandwich, Flanigan
throws whole leaves in the fryer. “The
result is very crispy, but lighter than a
potato chip. The trick is to wash leaves the
day before so they can dry overnight.”
Information supplied by Premier
Produce, Earthbound Farm Organic
and Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
To pair with pheasant—the breast
roasted and a sous vide thigh stuffed
with forcemeat made from the drumstick
and liver—he blanches the kale, purées
it with cream, a little extra virgin olive
oil and maybe some butter, and passes
the mixture through a chinois. “I do it as
a quenelle or put a smear on the plate
with the bird,” Flanigan says. “People are
mystified by the flavor. They recognize
cabbage and peppery notes, but they can’t
