My two new food obsessions. Kale salads and dishes with green lentils. Not necessarily together. I have been experimenting with some of Ottolengli’s lentil recipes.
Any favorite recipes?
I don’t mind kale but I don’t seem to love it as some people do - a little too much chewing having to go on!
But the other day I had a pasta salad that was suppose to be a “BLT” pasta salad - it was a corkscrew type pasta with real bacon, tomatoes, a ranch dressing and instead of lettuce, kale “bits” - I’ll call it bits because it was kale not finely chopped but small bite sized pieces. It probably had some other stuff in it too, but I enjoyed that.
You can soften kale and reduce any bitterness by “massaging” it after you cut it up. Start by chiffonade cuts, add lightly oil and vinegar then using hands manipulate in a massage like motion until softened. Makes a great salad that way.
I have tried this ^^^ but still find it tough/chewy. I like it in small doses but not as the star of the dish. 
Give
Give me sauteed collards instead of kale every day of the week and twice on Sunday!!!
Interesting, I thought they both taste the same. I haven’t been eating kale for a while and had to Google for the picture. I thinly slice them, both collard or kale with garlic.
This is my all-time favorite kale salad. The website is one of my favorites too and they show you how to massage the kale. It really does work–surprised me. http://www.cookusinterruptus.com/massaged-kale–salad-salad-with-apples-and-gorgonzola-4136-124.html
Lentils… I am probably a weird person, but I can eat a bowl of plain lentils cooked with just some salt and a drizzle of oil. Yummm…
Back in the dark ages when I was a vegetarian, one of my mainstay recipes was Brown rice, split peas and lentils from the Diet for a small planet cookbook. I had not thought of it for awhile but your post reminded me. I think the basic recipe was browning brown rice first in a small amount of olive oil, adding double the amount of water, plus whatever water was needed to cook the dried lentils and split peas. While that was cooking, I would saute some chopped onions and sliced fresh mushrooms, and whatever other veggie I wanted to add. Toss everything together and add low sodium soy sauce.
For Kale, we tend to like it cooked better but I’m going to try the massaging technique. This is my favorite Kale recipe. We like a little kick with our kale: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/sauteed-kale-recipe.html
This is how I make kale and lentils - once a week at least:
In a very large skillet, sauté 3 minced garlic cloves and one chopped onion in olive oil until softened. Add a few red pepper flakes. Add a finely chopped fresh tomato. Cook until tomato is liquified. Add two bunches of chopped lacinto kale (called dinosaur kale), and cook for about 15 minutes until soft. At this point, I sometimes add about a cup of broth and let it cook down. Add two cups of cooked lentils, and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.
Lacinto kale is not as tough as other types - it has pointy leaves and is a blue-black color. Also called Tuscan kale.
Bunsen, that’s the exact recipe that I often use for lentils since I discovered them a couple of years ago. At times I will make a stew of it by adding chicken thighs and onions.
Not tried any Ottolengli recipes yet.
Nothing new but I love Caldo Verde. I am not vegetarian so I make it with potato, kale and sausage. But you can use only potato kale and some authentic recipes use beans too.
I love Lentil Minestrone by Deborah Madison from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The mushroom soy makes it, and a Parm rind adds deep flavor if you have one you can cut from a wedge)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra virgin to finish
2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste (The Italian tomato paste in a tube is perfect here.)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 cup diced celery or celery root
1 cup French green lentils, rinsed
Aromatics: 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs
1 piece Parmesan rind (optional)
9 cups water or vegetable stock
Mushroom soy sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch greens—mustard, broccoli rabe, chard, or spinach (or Kale should work)
2 cups cooked small pasta
Thin shavings of Parmesan
Instructions
Heat the oil in a wide soup pot with the onion. Saute over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, parsley, celery, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes more.
Add the lentils, aromatics, Parmesan rind (if using) and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. If it needs more depth, add mushroom soy sauce to taste, starting with 1 tablespoon. (The soup may seem bland at this point, but the flavors will come together when the soup is finished.) Remove the aromatics.
Boil the greens in salted water until they’re tender and bright green, then chop them coarsely. (Or, add the chopped greens to the soup while the pasta is cooking.)
Just before serving, add the greens and the pasta to the soup and heat through. Serve with extra virgin olive oil drizzled into each bowl, a generous grind of pepper, and the Parmesan.
Just a PSA: if you have any family history of thyroid disease you should be careful about the amount of kale, specially raw kale, that you eat. It is goitrigenic in large quantities. (Juicers should specially aware of this)
I mix kale and collards sometimes, yum, but never just kale.
I’m trying a new lentil recipe tonight.
Green lentils with salsa verde with a mango salsa. I’ll let you know how it turns out.