So many people have raved about Kale Chips. I have not tried them, but if you Google Kale Chips, many recipes come up and most are really rated high. What the heck? You might as well try one bunch this way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baked Kale Chips

I know there are people here who are tired of hearing me say this however it bears repeating one more time. Never buy the Kale in grocery stores because it tastes awful. Go to the farmers market when Kale is in season and buy from a person who has picked it very young. There is no comparison in the taste difference.

One idea is to make calzone with it. Make a rich tomato sauce, add cooked and finely sliced kale, add a lot of pecorino and use that to fill your calzone. Yum.

I hadn't tried kale until I saw a recipe in Australian Gourmet Traveller which looked good. It was delicious and DH loved it. Note: I halved it for two and we still had yummy leftovers.

Cavolo Con Le Uova

2 bunches curly kale, trimmed
4 large eggs
juice of 2 lemons
200g/7oz grated pecorino, plus extra to serve

Cook kale in lightly salted boiling water until tender (about 5-6 minutes). Drain well and return to pan on low heat. Meanwhile, beat eggs and lemon juice in a bowl to combine.
Pour egg mixture over kale. Add pecorino and stir until mixture starts to thicken (8-10 minnutes). Remove from heat, transer to serving bowl, scatter with extra pecorino and freshly ground pepper and serve warm.

Another good suggestion is to buy a bag of kale and, to balance the load, buy a bag of take out Chinese for the other hand.

When you get home, toss one bag out and consume the contents of the other.

Or doughnuts.
Or almost anything.

I love kale. Long cooked with bacon, onions, red pepper & garlic, added to stir fries, stewed, souped, raw...prepared in just about any way.

It can have a strong flavor at times, but as I like the flavor, that isn't a problem for me. The flavor does tend to get stronger, I think, the longer it's cooked, and some people object to eating it raw because it isn't the most tender green out there. The answer is to cook it more lightly. If it turns olive green, there is a strong (I'd almost call it gassy, if that makes sense?) flavor that develops.

Brussels sprouts are another strongly-flavored green that I have served to people who swore they hated them with success by cooking them (the sprouts, not the people) more lightly.

Finely shred your kale (discarding tough ribs)and quickly saute in fat/oil of your choice (butter isn't good for this because it burns too easily) until bright green. Add a bit of chicken broth while the pan is still quite hot (so it steams the kale a bit, and evaporates), some grated lemon zest, a small amount of lemon juice and a few capers. Season with salt to taste, and maybe some black, Szechwan, or red pepper.

Or, similarly using shredded kale, toast some chopped pecans or other nuts (again, in oil/fat of your choice)and onions. Add the kale and again, saute until bright green. Drizzle lightly with enough chicken broth to steam a bit, season with salt & pepper, za'atar, a favorite seasoned salt or spice/herb mix (Penzey's is great for these.)

Also, if you favor salads, try finely shredding the kale (raw) and mixing it in with your other raw greens the way cabbage is often mixed in with salad greens. Try just a little at first, to see if you can abide the flavor.

It really is a very healthy vegetable to acquire a taste for and pretty easy to grow in a veggie garden as well.

Tuscan white bean and kale soup, with or without sausage. If you google it there are tons of variations.

Confession. I have never made it but it's been on my "to try" list for a long time. We haven't planted our winter greens yet but I vow to do better, this year.-)

jude

"I know there are people here who are tired of hearing me say this however it bears repeating one more time. Never buy the Kale in grocery stores because it tastes awful. Go to the farmers market when Kale is in season and buy from a person who has picked it very young. There is no comparison in the taste difference."

Not everyone has access to freshly grown Kale.
There are no Farmers' Markets here.
Apparently Kale doesn't grow in this part of the country.
It's only available occasionally in the super markets.
It is very good cooked long and slow.
With potatoes and bacon.
Or ham.
All of it chopped very fine, or even ground up together.
And served live a very thick soup.

A really good 'cold weather' dish.

Rusty

Barb, it's true that it's a very healthy vegetable, but there are others that are just as healthy. Do you like broccoli? Swiss Chard?, Beet Greens? Collards? Have you tried all varieties of kale? I don't remember what they are all called, but there's some dark green kale, some red kale, and probably other varieties, too. I agree that young kale is best, if you can get it, but I'll eat it at almost any stage, as I'm a kale lover.

One of the tricks is to use an acid, such as lemon juice, which was mentioned earlier, or a vinegar of some kind. Pepper vinegar is a favorite southern tradition. The acid helps to reduce the bitterness. My favorite way to cook kale is to saute it, which Rachelellen already discussed.

I grow my own kale during the winter. I do occasionally buy it at Whole Foods if I'm really hankering for it, and don't have any in the garden at the time (and if I'm hungry when I go there, which I try never to do, cause then I walk out of there with way too many groceries and no money left in my bank account! lol)

If at all possible, try growing your own kale in a pot or something. Then you can pick it when it's young, in a cut and come again style of picking.

Sally

Any place you would use Spinach, you can use Kale. Try it in quiche, shredded and served with hot bacon dressing. In a Florentine stuffing for chicken breasts.

Steve

I quite agree with the folks who said, try it from the farmer's market, and if you still don't like it, forget about it! I like almost everything in season (I can't even believe how good pan-fried local zucchini is), but I still don't like cooked carrots or eggplant. I know there are a lot of magazine articles about trace nutrients and superfoods and whatever, but I'm of the opinion that if you eat a reasonably balanced diet, it's fine not to eat the things you don't like. I do like the kale chips, but I think I'd like anything covered in salt and vinegar.

Thank you, thank you for all the hints and recipes. I tried the chips when my daughter was here from California. We loved them, and that may be the way I mostly fix the kale--besides the soups. I wonder if I could grow it under lights in the winter. That way I would have available the tiny, tender leaves,which I think would be more tasty. Don't have available a Farmers Market during the winter months. I love rice vinegar. I wonder if I could fix it with that? Anyway, thanks loads. I remember fixing the collard greens,and DH advised me to not try that any more. He isn't here any more,so will try again. Barb

If you love rice vinegar...

Just off the top of my head, I would make a nice, light, Asian style dressing. Rice vinegar, soy, sugar, maybe some red pepper (or Japanese Shichimi pepper blend)and toasted sesame seeds mixed with a small amount of sesame oil (it's quite strong tasting) and maybe even a bit of hot mustard.

Do the thin julienne thing with the kale leaves, blanch to tenderize and cool. Toss these and a few other veggies of your choice (and maybe some leftover roasted meats or poached seafood) with the dressing and some Asian noodles of some type. You could even get away with a couple of packs of Top Ramen noodles, cooked and drained. Cut the noodles into short, fork easy lengths and think more of a salad than of a noodle dish, say half noodles and other veggies, half kale. I think I'm going to have to try this...