Kale Crostini

I’m back at the community kitchens after a long break since mid November 2012. The first community kitchen which I attended in 2013 was the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club.

Kale-Crostini-11

Michelle prepared three recipes for this kitchen. The first recipe is Kale or Green Crostini. Michelle picked a kale recipe as kale is in season in winter, although we can get almost all year round in Vancouver.

Eating seasonal is the key to:

  • fresher and more nutrients
  • better flavour
  • better for the environment; i.e reduce carbon foot print for imported ones
  • usually cheaper
  • support local economy

Michelle recommended this website for eating seasonal: www.eattheseasons.com.

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf of ciabatta or baguette bread
  • good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half for rubbing onto the bread
  • 3 cloves of garlic for cooking with the kale
  • 1 bunch of kale, remove leaves from stems (discard stem) and tear into smaller pieces
  • half a lemon for juicing
  • salt and pepper to taste

Kale-Crostini-01

Source: this recipe is adapted from Jamieoliver.com


Instructions

Kale-Crostini-03Add three cloves of peeled garlic to a pan of salted water and bring to a boil, then add the greens.

Cook until tender, then drain well in a colander and allow to cool.

Squeeze out any excess water from the greens and pat dry using a kitchen towel.

Kale-Crostini-08Mush up the garlic with some salt.
Kale-Crostini-10Combine greens and garlic in a bowl.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Squeeze lemon juice into the greens and toss to mix well.

Kale-Crostini-05Slice baguette at an angle into one cm thick slices.

Bake in a 350F preheated oven for a few minutes. Turn over and bake a few more minutes until slightly golden brown.

While they’re still hot, rub them gently with the cut side of the garlic.

Brush with good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Kale-Crostini-11Top with the kale.

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