Roasted Kale

My husband has been away for a couple of days for some job interviews in Maryland. The apartment is pretty lonely without him. For the past two nights, I hung out with my friend, Elissa, a total sweetheart whose face and smile never fail to brighten my day. Last night would have been another fun hang time… However, I felt like being alone and enjoying some time with myself, doing the things that I like. And that’s exactly what I did, sat around while catching up with my husband on the phone, napped on the couch, dragged my butt off the couch and worked out, called my family and chatted with them while I was walking to and from the gym, and started cooking dinner when I got home.  

I had a bunch of kale that I have been meaning to cook for a few days now, but never got around to. So I took care of that and decided to roast them with leeks, garlic, ginger, a generous amount of salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Pretty amazing!

Kale has a distinct, earthy green taste with a tinge of bitterness. The leaves are also sturdy which helps the kale maintain its substance so that you can still taste it when you add into whatever you are cooking. Unlike spinach, it doesn’t wilt into nothing when put in contact with heat. Biting into a kale leaf and savoring its wholesome flavor always takes me to a happy place. The sturdiness of kale leaves also makes it perfect for roasting. It just made sense to toss all the ingredients in one big pan and roast them altogether for a couple of minutes. After roasting, the leeks lent a delicious sweetness, the garlic added a depth of flavor, and the ginger bites were spicy-cool.

This roasted kale went perfectly well with some quinoa. I devoured these on my yoga mat in the middle of the kitchen floor. That’s how good this meal was, I couldn’t even make it to the dining table.

 

Guys, before I share the roasted kale recipe, I want to share a loose recipe of the quinoa dish that I had with the kale. First, I cooked some red quinoa. Then I stir-fried minced spring onions (white and green parts), diced carrots, diced kale stems, chopped shiitake mushrooms, some dill, and a little bit of salt. I then tossed this stir fry with the quinoa and served it as a bed for the roasted kale. Delicious!        

 

Roasted Kale

10.5 oz or 300 g kale, roughly chopped

2 leeks (use only the white and light green parts, see *notes*), rinsed and sliced in rounds
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, prepare the ingredients.  

Place the kale, leeks, ginger, and garlic in a large roasting pan. Pour in the olive oil and toss everything together using your hands. Add the salt and pepper and continue to mix everything using your hands.

Place the pan in the oven and roast for 8 minutes. Turn off the oven and remove the pan. Stir everything well and place the pan back in the oven for 2 more minutes.

Serve warm over a bed of quinoa!

*Notes*

Save the dark green tops of the leeks to use for making homemade stock.