Braised kale

I love bitter greens like collard, mustard greens, beet greens, and kale. This preparation for dinosaur kale (also known as black kale or cavolo nero) was introduced to me by my friend Cindy, which she in turn first enjoyed at AOC and Lucques, two exceptional restaurants by chef Suzanne Goin in Los Angeles.

This recipe is adapted from Ms. Goin and has been further adapted by my friend. It is amazing on its own or as a side. I know this is a blog about cooking for one, but you can’t go wrong doubling this recipe and keeping some extra kale on hand. You can do this for collard greens as well.

Braised Cavolo Nero
Total time: About 1 hour
Servings: 3 to 5 people

4 bunches dinosaur kale, stemmed and cleaned
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced lengthwise (or substitute two leeks)
2-3 dried chile de árbol
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided, more as needed

Blanch the kale in a large pot of salted, boiling water just until softened slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the kale and immediately place it in a bowl of ice water to cool. (This is essential to stopping the cooking process and maintaining the greenness of the kale.) Drain again and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan heated over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, and chile de árbol. Gently sautée for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and season with 1/4 TSP salt. Continue to cook until the onions are transparent and just beginning to color, an additional 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir the kale into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/4 TSP salt. As it cooks, the kale will turn a deep dark green, almost black color, and the texture will go from soft to almost a little crisp from caramelizing on the bottom of the pan. This is good and will enhance the flavor.

When all the water has evaporated, spread kale on a baking sheet and put in oven. Let it bake until the edges turn crispy. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Kale on cookie sheet, ready for final oven treatment

NOTE: I bought 12 huge bunches last Thanksgiving — mix of black and Russian kale. It cooked down to almost nothing, but served about 12 people.

Easy apple crisp

October makes me think of apple picking with my friends in the Boston area: cool crisp, sunny, Saturdays; running down rows of trees tasting apple variety after apple variety; and finishing off the day with fresh, hot cinnamon-spiced cider donuts.

Apple picking in Bolton, Mass.

I am looking for a like experience in the San Francisco area. Just so I have an excuse to make this old-fashioned apple crisp. It’s simple and easy. I substitute whole wheat flour and the Splenda blend (be sure to use right measurement per Splenda packaging) or organic pure cane sugar for the ingredients below. The most time-consuming bit is peeling and coring the apples, so this makes for a fun joint activity with friends.

I like to serve this with a dollop of freshly whipped (I do it by hand), lightly sweetened cream that has some fresh vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
Time: 45 minutes preparation, plus 1 hour cook time
Serves: 8-10 more or less

5 lbs. apples (tart apples like Cortland, Macouns are best)
1 orange – zest grated and 2 TBSP juice (about half an orange)
1 lemon – zest grated and 2 TBSP juice (about 1 whole lemon)
½ cup granulated sugar
2 TSP ground cinnamon
1 TSP nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

Topping:
1½ cup flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ tsp salt (kosher preferable)
1 cup oatmeal
½ lb. cold, unsalted butter, diced into ½-in. cubes (approximate)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the dish, usually 9×13 to fit all ingredients, and set aside.

Peel, core, and cut apples into wedges (8 to 12 per apple). Combine with zests, juices, sugar and spices. Pour into the baking dish.

For the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until crumbly and butter is the size of peas. Be careful not to overwork it. Scatter evenly over apples.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or so. Topping should be brown and apples are bubbly.

Sunchoke and potato soup

Sunchokes, otherwise known as Jerusalem artichokes, are my favorite new root vegetable. They are neither artichokes (though of the same Daisy family) nor from Jerusalem (actually they’re native to Eastern Unites States; “Jerusalem” could be a variation of the Italian word, girasole, meaning sunflower). It has a delicate flavor and a crisp texture, even when cooked. I usually start seeing them at the market in summer, which is perfect soup weather, given how cold San Francisco gets in the summer. For more on the sunchoke, check out this overview.

Below is my modified recipe along with my game plan to help you manage the soup successfully. Being soup, it’s best to make a huge vat and reheat during the week (I mean, why to all the work for one serving of soup?). The trickiest part is prepping the sunchokes, which are small, gnarly roots of a usually pale brown to white color. They’re as gnarly as ginger and range in size from a small knob to something the size of red bliss potatoes. Hint: get the biggest ones you can find and make sure they’re hard and firm.

Cream of Sunchoke and Potato Soup
Serves: 4 to 6

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients
1.25 lbs. sunchokes
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (3-4 in long)
1/4 cup olive oil (optional)
1/4 lb chopped bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (half a medium sized onion usually)
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot (half a carrot usually)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (half a stalk usually)
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp. pimentón (or paprika)
3 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (preferably low-sodium broth)
1/4 cup light cream (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gameplan
The directions offer you a step-by-step method for preparing the soup, assuming you do all the chopping before you start cooking. I prefer to do things simultaneously whenever possible to be more efficient. So, if you’re adept with the knife, consider this game plan.

- Peel potatoes and sunchokes, adding to bowl of cold water as you finish them, and set aside.
- Chop the bacon next and while it’s rendering, chop the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. They don’t have to be too finely chopped (remember, you’ll be pureeing them).
- While the mirapoix (onion, celery, and carrot combination, classic soup base) is cooking, cut sunchokes and potatoes into slices, starting with the sunchokes (they take longer to cook).
- While the soup is simmering in the final step, you can prepare the mushrooms for garnish.

Directions
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Peel potatoes and sunchokes and add to water bowl. Set aside. Fill another bowl with ice cold water. Working with the sunchokes first, chopped into thin slices. Add them to the ice water to preserve. Chop up the potatoes into thin slices as well and add to ice cold water.

Heat a large enameled, cast-iron casserole and add in chopped bacon. When the bacon is cooked, remove half and set aside. There should be enough bacon fat rendered to cook the vegetables. If there isn’t, add some olive oil (or if you prefer to use just olive oil, remove all the bacon and fat, heat up 1/4 cup olive oil and add the bacon back in with the vegetables).

Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and pimento or paprika and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the sunchokes and potatoes add them to the casserole along with the thyme and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the white wine and boil until almost evaporated. Add 4 cups of chicken stock to the casserole and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. [Sunchokes are a fairly crisp root vegetable. Even tender, it retains more of a bite than potatoes, which soften and almost melts in your mouth.]

Discard the herb sprigs. Optional: Add the light cream and bring to a simmer.

In a blender or food processor, puree the soup until smooth (in batches as necessary, with some of the liquid). Add it back to the casserole and bring to a simmer again. If the soup is too thick, add another half cup of stock or water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with preferred garnish (see below).

Tips
- A blender will give you a finer puree than a food processor. My Vitamix blender is da bomb!
- I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes because they have an innately creamy texture, hence I usually skip the cream.
- The soup can be made a day in advance. It can be served hot or cold.
- Garnish with remaining bacon bits, chopped chives, and a dollop of crème fraiche.
- Garnish with finely chopped cilantro/coriander and chili oil.
- Garnish with white truffle oil and small handful of pan-seared mushrooms, such oyster, chanterelles, or trumpet.