Kale

Gracing winter plates with its crisp colours and tantalising textures, this sturdy brassica steals the show as a superfood superstar, says Clarissa Hyman with recipes by Linda Tubby

Kale is rich and earthy, with a hint of nutty sweetness, and a confirmed superfood packed with health-giving nutrients. There is, however, much variation: as agronomist Michael Michaud describes, they can be ‘smooth or blistered, deeply toothed or flamboyantly frilled’. Curly kale is particularly eye- catching both in the garden and on the plate. Green is the default hue, but some sport splashes of red or blue-blacks. Either way, you’ll be seeing a lot of it – kale is the new rocket.

All the kales are sturdy souls, resilient and hardy, able to defy winter frosts along with the rest of the brassica family. In fact, as the winter marches on, the texture becomes firmer and the flavour more full-on. In the kitchen garden, it is an early starter and late finisher, providing fresh greens from September through till March. As it grows well in cold, wet places it became famous as a staple of Highland crofters. JM Barrie was one of the so-called ‘Kailyard school’ of Scottish writers who wrote about rural life. At one time, part of a farm worker’s pay was in oatmeal: an old country recipe for kale brose uses cow heel or ox head, oatmeal and kale.

The great self-sufficiency guru John Seymour saw kale as a godsend to the smallholder: ‘Leave kale until you really need it: after the Brussels sprouts have rotted, the cabbage are finished, the slugs have had the rest of the celery and the ground is two-feet deep in snow and only your kale plants stand above it like ship-wrecked schooners.’ Even those who swear they don’t have green fingers have been known to successfully nurture a crop of kale. Apart from a few caterpillars (although a bit of netting should ensure un-nibbled leaves), there is little that can kill it.

Cut-and-come-again kale plants have long, graceful leaves growing from a central stalk. Hungry Gap is widely grown, and was named after the lean months of March and sometimes April when food was traditionally short. The gourmet choice, however, is Red Russian, a blend of silvery green with reddish-purple tinges and smooth, soft leaves with excellent flavour and texture. Pentland Brig and Cavolo Nero also have a fine taste, especially when the leaves are young. The latter looks as glamorous as its Italian name, with plumes of mysteriously dark leaves fanning out from the stem. It is used in the Tuscan classic bean soup ribollita and the hearty Portuguese caldo verde, and the curious thing is that it goes blacker when cooked, glistening with deep colour and a perfect balance of bitter and sweet elements. Redbor with crimson crinkly leaves is the best for making ‘seaweed’, is quick and easy to fry and retains its crispness even when cooked and served cold.

When it comes to cooking, the general rule is to stick to a short cooking time for crispness and colour, or long cooking to bring out the sweetness. A medium cooking time does not work. The last thing you want is leathery, mushy or bitter leaves – although a touch of the latter ensures this remains a grown-up taste. Remove the stem from all but the youngest leaves, and if the kale is to be part of a dish such as a tart, frittata or gratin, cool by dropping into cold water and squeeze out the water before chopping.

Boil or steam with butter and lemon or stir-fry with spices; most kales are strong enough to handle a good dose of chillies, cumin, coriander and ginger. Sauté in olive oil with a little wine vinegar and garlic or toss in a pan Ottolenghi-style with oyster sauce and crispy shallots. Or add to soups and slow braises with pulses, lentils and bacon or pork. Kale also has a great affinity with tomatoes, chestnuts and potatoes. It can also be sliced thinly for salads, served with avocado and pomegranate seeds. In the US, kale is known as collards or collard greens and is one of the great soul foods helping form the cuisine of the Southern states.

Twenty or so years ago, practically the only kale to be found would have been the curly green type; not only that, but most people would have deemed it fit only for cattle feed. Today, kale’s growing fashionability has led to a British breeder developing Flower Sprout, a frilly green leaf that combines the complex taste of Brussels sprouts, with the nutty taste of kale. Packed with vitamins, it is said to provide twice the amount of vitamin C of standard sprouts – which is maybe why it’s been called the ‘Brangelina of vegetables’. Kale has been making an appearance on both sides of the Atlantic in the form of popcorn, muffins and Greenola (like granola, but with kale in place of the grains), as well as in salads and bakes. Its profile went sky-high last year when Beyonce was photographed with a ‘KALE’ sweatshirt. Kale… Yale… geddit?

Bottom line: kale is good for you, and has a vibrant, fresh taste but even if you just eat your greens in the form of kale crisps – Michelle Obama is hooked on them – there’s no getting away from it. Kale is of the moment and a superfood superstar.