Trendy Kale

Garlicky Kale Panini with Olive Tapenade. 

I first met kale 2 Christmases ago in New York at a restaurant called Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria which is in Noho- New York lingo for north of Houston St these NewYorkers are so dam trendy its ridiculous!

Anyway back to the kale, it was squished into a freshly baked crusty roll and packed with roasted capsicums and a chutney of some sort. A food innovation by my mouth, I’d never had it before, but I loved its fibrous texture which unlike spinach kept its toughness after being cooked. It had a certain seaweed like flavour to it, which would usually turn me off but I just couldn’t get enough of the stuff.

Kale is at its most nutritious form when steamed but recently kale has made its way into the smoothie world, teamed with avocados and bananas for a mouthful of sweet creamy green, nothing like the kale I first tasted in NYC. So I thought I’d give you this easy recipe to play around with, it’s a fantastic lunch item and can pimp out any picnic under the sun!

For the tapenade I use anchovies. These small fishies add a much needed whack of salt . This means we don’t have to add nasty table salt. I love anchovies because they are natural ‘salters’, I use them in a  lot of my cooking!

Tip: Keep the kale stems and use them in stocks and soups for added health benefits and minimal waste.

Garlicky Kale Panini with Olive Tapenade.

4 branches of kale, leaves removed from stem.

1 Garlic Clove finely grated.

25g Butter

1 cup water

1 sprig of thyme

100g olives

50g Capers

2 anchovy fillets. (Seriously use these they make the dish!)

Basil

Parlsey

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Danish Fetta

4 Panini rolls

In a deep pan melt the butter and toss in the garlic to sizzle for 10 seconds. Add the Kale and toss like a salad to coat. Then add the water and cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile in a food processor blitz the capers, anchovies, herbs and olives whilst slowly adding the olive oil to make a slurry style sauce.

When the kale is done, drain off the excess liquid and set aside to cool in the fridge.

Heat up your rolls in the oven and assemble with the kale, tapenade and crumbed feta.

Dig In!