kale, revisited

Kale.  I love it.  This is not the first time I've sung it's praises on TLB.  I realize there are those of you who don't enjoy it and those who roll your eyes and those who think that I might even be faking how much I enjoy it.  But I'd venture to guess that you nay-sayers have never had kale prepared by someone who loves it.  We're not simply talking about old fashioned braised southern greens.  There are so many ways to prepare it, and I'm always reminded by the fall abundance in the farmers' markets just how much you can do with it.

Fried Kale with eggs

Heat two tablespoons olive oil and add two grated garlic cloves and one teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.  Saute for 30-60 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.  Do not let the garlic get brown because it will be in the pan for another 15 minutes and will have plenty of time to get yummy.  Add two heads of kale, chopped roughly, in small pieces.  Saute kale over medium heat- watching that it doesn't burn before it's fully cooked. It will go through a few different phases, softening and then starting to crisp up around the edges.  When it starts to get crispy, sprinkle it with the following 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese and 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs.  You could use store bought, but not only do the fresh taste better, in this recipe the chunkiness of the crumbs add a great additional texture.  Lightly toss around the bread crumbs and cheese with the kale.  You don't need to go crazy stirring here, just make sure that each bit of kale is graced by pine nuts, bread crumbs and cheese.

Continue to saute on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes or until the pine nuts begin to brown.  When the cheese has melted in, spread the kale around the pan, creating four divots in which you will be able to crack and fry an egg.   Cook the egg to your favorite consistency.  Salt and pepper the egg as desired.  You won't need a lot of extra salt on the kale itself because of the other seasonings.  So taste it first to make sure you don't overdo it. 

Although this picture is not great, it will give you an idea of how I served it.   Frying the eggs in the kale worked out so well.  It was last minute impulse decision, but the crispy kale pieces nestled into the eggs.  Yummmm...  We were all fighting over the crsipy bits in the pan when this was done.  I served it with Nigella's salami pasta.  But it would be also great alone, split this into two portions with some good bread on the side to dip into the yolk.