Go Green(s): Collard Greens, Kale, and Dino Kale (Lacinato Kale)

Oh my goodness, I love cooking greens. Collard greens, beet greens, spinach. And kale. Especially kale. Especially dinosaur kale, otherwise known as lacinato kale. Mmm. Ahh. Ooh. So delicious.

And for some reason unbeknowist to me until just a moment ago, I go gaga for greens in the winter. My Good Book, otherwise known as the Field Guide to Produce, tells me that

"many of these greens are at their best in winter months, and are all high in vitamin A."

So that totally explains it. I fall for the greens in the winter because I, deep inside, recognize that they're more delicious during the months when the days are unacceptably short and the temperature unacceptably cold. And maybe my body has a thing (wink wink) for the A vitamin.

But back to the dino kale. I love dinosaur kale. It's so weird-looking: when you see it, the light bulb goes on and the "dino" part of the name makes crystal-clear sense. (Dino kale, if you've never seen it, is a dark, foresty, prehistoric green; it's tough as nails, long and skinny, and has a bubbly, fossil-like texture. I cook it until it's neither soft nor crunchy--that beautiful in-between veggie al dente spot--and it tastes like you're eating the earth. You know, like you're eating something that's close to the dirt and packed with things your body needs and loves and celebrates. Beets and other yummy, close-to-or-in-the-ground vegetables fall in a similar category for me.)

I'm sure my first encounter with dino kale occurred in a Whole Foods in Chicago, where I lived for two years right after college (I lived in Chicago, not the Whole Foods, although I bet I would have liked Chicago better if I lived in the latter). A friend of mine posted pictures of a delicious miso soup she had made on her blog. To the broth she had added collard greens that looked like ticker-tape from a jungle. I believe at this time I was vegan, so both the miso soup (vegan!) and the idea of adding greens to my diet (also vegan, and jam-packed with vitamins!) were instant winners.

I dabbled in collards first before moving on to traditional kale, mostly because I'd heard of collards before and wanted to take it slow and familiar. (Side note: I've never cooked my greens with bacon fat in the traditional Southern style. Recently I ordered greens from 2223 here in San Francisco, and freaked out a little when I felt the grease-coated greens sliding down my throat.) I liked the salad-y feel of cooked kale in my mouth, but otherwise found it bland and then started to resent having to wrangle it into a plastic produce bag at the store, showering myself and all shoppers within a five-foot radius with icy cold produce water from its folded and frilly leaves. Behold, then, the dino kale, wrapped neatly and patiently in bunches of verdant, pebbly green. Because I am that woman at the corner produce store (or at the Midwest Whole Foods) who digs deep for the freshest-smelling, brightest-colored veggies, my attraction to dino kale was almost magnetic. I loved how the leaves wasn't flat and texturally boring like collards, and I loved that it was sweeter and less poofy than traditional kale. Oh, and the name. I loved the name.

I'm a minimalist when it comes to cooking fresh veggies. Anything to make the core, earthy flavors shine. Here's what I do for dino kale.

Delicious Dino Kale



1 bunch of dino kale, washed, stemmed and cut into ribbon-like pieces
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pepper to taste
Vegetable stock or broth (optional)
Low-sodium tamari to taste

Add olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat. When pan starts to warm, add the kale ribbons in batches (kale will cook down, just be patient!). Stir, stir, stir to cook the kale down. When kale starts to get soft, add garlic. (Note: I'm a BIG fan of raw garlic, so I like to add my garlic a little later in the game so that it keeps that acrid heat that I find so wonderfully characteristic of raw garlic. Feel free to add the garlic with the olive oil at the beginning, before you pop the kale in, if you like your garlic more mellow.) Add pepper to greens to taste. Turn heat down to medium.

To prevent the greens from losing moisture and drying out or burning, add a bit of vegetable stock to keep the greens simmering (you can also just use water). Cook until greens are at your desired tenderness, adding tamari to taste about two to three minutes before you remove the greens from heat and serve.

Tonight I toasted some sesame seeds and added them to my greens as a garnish. It was really tasty--I'd recommend it.