Kale!

I was a bit surprised to read all these articles about this “trending” vegetable in Paleo world; kale.

Being from the Netherlands, kale is a prominent product in all supermarkets in winter. For as long as I can remember, it has always been on the menu in just about every Dutch household and still is.

In Dutch we call it “boerenkool” or “farmer’s cabbage” and one of the most traditional dishes is kale and potatoes mashed together, meat gravy poured over it and served with either a sausage or big meatball. Find a recipe here. The trick was to form a small hole in the middle of your pile of boerenkool and let your mum pour the gravy in it. Ah, the childhood memories...

Honestly, I did think of this vegetable as a bit old fashioned, and since potatoes are not Paleo, I wouldn’t consider it at all anymore. But, to my delight, there’s more you can do with kale than just mash it up. My first experiment was kale crisps, and what a find!

All I did was mix the leaves with olive oil, some salt and chill powder, pop it in the oven on 180°C for 20 mins.

When you look at the nutrients, kale is a really good source of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C & sulforaphane (containing anti-cancer properties)

All in all, it’s a great vegetable that can be enjoyed steamed, stir-fried, baked or even in salads. Bring on the kale!

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale)