The only vegetable left in the potager is cavelo nero, or black kale, or Italian kale – I love it in stir fries or fried until crisp on toast with smoked salmon, or simply boiled in salty water and then smothered in garlicky butter. But this recipe, inspired by on by Sarah Raven, turns it into a-sort-of salsa verde. It’s lovely served on toasted baguette with a smear of goat’s cheese, but would also be good on a simply pan-fried piece of cod.
Ingredients
200g kale or cavelo nero, stripped of its woody stalks
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp capers, chopped
1 tbsp cornichons, chopped
1 tbsp black olives, chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 a shallot, chopped
A small bunch of garden herbs – parsley, mint, basil chives, whatever you have
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
to serve:
Fresh bread
Garlic
Soft goat’s cheese
Method
Add the two cloves of garlic and the kale to a pan of salted, boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes, just until the kale is tender. Drain and refresh under running water to stop the cooking. Squeeze the kale between your hands to remove as much water as possible. It looks rather unpromising at this point – but don’t worry.
Finely chop the kale and the garlic cloves and add them to a bowl with the capers, cornichons, olives, lemon zest and juice, shallot and herbs. Drizzle in the balsamic and olive oil and season to taste.
Toast slices of baguette or char slightly on a griddle pan, then rub the hot, crusty surface with a cut clove of garlic and trickle each piece of toast with a little olive oil. Smear on teaspoon or so of soft goat’s cheese (or cream cheese if you don’t like goat’s cheese) and spoon the kale mixture on top. Great for a light lunch or as a starter.
