Thursday 30 September 2010

kale pesto & kale and feta pie

My seasonal harvest is beginning to take shape, thanks to the capable and patient landscaper, 'Justin of all trades', Justin Pries. I will be planting vegies, herbs and fruit trees in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, here's a couple of kale recipes to keep you busy.

Health Benefits: Kale is a top food source for at least four glucosinolates, and once kale is eaten and digested, these glucosinolates can be converted by the body into cancer preventive compounds. Kale's glucosinolates and the ITCs made from them have well-documented cancer preventive properties, and in some cases, cancer treatment properties as well. At the top of the cancer-related research for kale are colon cancer and breast cancer, but risk of bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer have all been found to decrease in relationship to routine intake of kale.


Kale Pesto
Serves 6


Ingredients
1/2 bunch curly kale, leaves cut from stem and blanched
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 large peeled garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large lemon, zest and juice
100 g pine nuts, toasted
100 g pecorino cheese, grated
2 tblsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper, ground

Method
Blanch kale leaves in boiling water until just wilted, then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking and keep the leaves bright green. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add a little water or extra oil if you need the pesto to be thinner.

Kale and Feta Pie


Ingredients
Pastry
1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
100 g chilled salted organic butter, chopped
1 tblsp sesame seeds (optional)
2 tsp iced water

Pie
2 bunches kale, leaves cut from stems and blanched
1 bunch green onions (shallots), finely chopped
300 g good goat or cow feta, crumbled
8 organic eggs
1/2 preserved lemon skin, finely diced, or zest of 2 lemons
1/2 nutmeg pod, finely grated
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp white pepper, ground

Method
Pastry
Place the flour and butter into a food processor and process until crumbly. Add iced water until the pastry forms a ball. Do not over process. Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pie
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees. Blanch the kale, or silverbeet if you prefer, and run under a cold tap, wring out all the water tightly, and slice. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat well. Add all pie ingredients to a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Grease and flour a 23 cm spring form tin. I use a non-stick 20 cm x 7 cm deep old cake tin. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a floured bench to fit your tin. I go up the sides of my tin 5 cm with the pastry. Fill the tin with pie mix and bake for 40-50 minutes or until cooked through.

Useful Tip: I was recently doing my weekly shopping at The Green Shed markets and one of the growers passed me a large box full of kale - about 12 bunches - and disappeared. I have a domestic fridge at home, just like the rest of us, so I spent the morning cutting the kale off its stems, quickly blanching it in a large pot of boiling water and cooling under the tap. I then squeezed the water out of the kale, wringing it into a tight green ball, and froze it in takeaway containers. From a large box of greens, I ended up with four takeaway containers of kale in my freezer, which I have since made into kale pies. If you have excess greens in your garden, this could also work for you.