Garlic Bacon Kale Recipe (How to Cook Kale) (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook and eat kale? ›

A brief fling in the oven warms and wilts kale with very little effort. Cut it, spread it on a tray, and roast it in a very hot oven for about 5 minutes. Your roasted greens are then ready to be dressed as a salad with any of your favorite toppings.

Instead, after you've washed the leaves, leave them damp. The water that clings to the leaves will create steam when you toss them in the hot skillet. As the kale cooks, you'll cover the skillet for a few minutes; that steam will help wilt and break down the kale perfectly.

As a result, for those who prefer cooked kale, steaming it for a short duration may be the best way to preserve its nutrient levels. Kale is a nutrient-dense food that's high in several vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Each gives very different taste experiences. If you like a more mild and tender flavor, steam it. If you want crispy edges and browned notes, give the greens a quick saute.

Since kale is considered a cruciferous vegetable, its high fiber content may be hard on your stomach when consumed raw. Luckily, if you decide to cook kale first, you're not necessarily losing all nutritional value.

Massaging Kale – massaging kale with a little oil and/or lemon juice for just a few minutes makes it more tender and easier to chew. Plus, it adds an extra boost of flavor.

Additionally, overcooking kale can cause it to become mushy and lose its texture, making it less enjoyable to eat. Another reason why kale can taste bad when cooked is that it contains sulfur compounds that are released when it is cooked.

Kale's fibrous cell walls may prevent your body from absorbing nutrients, but cooking kale can reduce its antioxidant content. Nutrition experts say steaming kale is a good way to make it easier to digest while preserving most of the nutrients.

So, the benefits of eating either raw or cooked kale and spinach include improving your immune system, promoting healthy vision, and supporting healthy bones and muscles. They are also low in calories and high in fiber, making them a great addition to any balanced diet.

Cutting the stems crossways shortens the fibres, much as with a tough steak, making them perfectly edible and preventing waste. Cut this way, the stems can be cooked in the same way as the rest of the leaf: sauteed, boiled or steamed.

Why do we put kale in boiling water for one minute? ›

Blanching kale allows it to hold onto its color, as well as many of its nutrients. Kale that has been boiled too long appears wilted and gray. The nutrients leach into the water, which you can use to make a stock.

For whole leaves, rinse, then put them in a pan without shaking the water off, cover, then cook for up to 2 minutes, until wilted. Drain thoroughly. For chopped or shredded leaves, put in a pan of water 1cm deep with a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil and simmer for up to 5 minutes, until wilted.

Wash thoroughly in cold water and spin dry. Place the kale into the steamer basket. Place the basket over the simmering water. Cover with a lid and let steam until tender and cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Why You Should Soak Kale. Not only does soaking kale tenderize it, it also pulls double duty by cleaning it and improving the flavor at the same time. It produces the same results as massaging, with a fraction of the work.