Kale is not everyone’s favourite vegetable. But it’s one of the few that grows in England during our ‘hungry gap’ during April (when winter produce has harvested but summer produce is not yet ripe enough to pick). So here a few recipes to ‘disguise’ this unfairly unloved green veggie! Kale has many varieties including ‘cavolo nero’. Just one serving has more calcium than a small carton of semi-skimmed dairy milk (and is also better absorbed). This recipe for spiced chickpea kale salad (with vegan honey mustard) is from the book 15-Minute Vegan Meals.
Check medication before eating lots of green leafy veggies (due to vitamin K interaction). Keep recipes away from pets, due to unsafe ingredients (salt, onion, garlic, mushrooms). Read more on keeping people & pets safe in the kitchen.
Nourishing Beans & Greens Soup (Minimalist Baker) is a recipe to use up any greens including kale, but you could also sub with mustard greens, collards or chard. The high-protein soup includes tinned white beans (or butter beans).
This kale smoothie (Nora Cooks) tastes good! The kale taste is hidden (2 whole cups but it tastes like ‘mango ginger lemonade!’) Filling and nutritious, this smoothie is banana-free.
Super Green Linguine (So Vegan) is super-simple to make. All you need is curly kale, pine nuts, fresh basil and cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast. Serve the sauce with pasta, topped with olive oil and vegan Parmesan.
Cashew Buckwheat Curry with Garlic Kale (Full of Plants) cooks up buckwheat groats with coconut milk, then spices the curry with smoked paprika, turmeric, coriander and cumin.
One Pan Lentil Lasagne (So Vegan) uses a homemade kale pesto (made with garlic, lemon juice and cashews), to dress the dish, served with vegan cheese.