Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Deb Perelman blogs about “fearless cooking from a tiny kitchen in New York City” on Smitten Kitchen (smittenkitchen.com). And truly, we’re also smitten.

Perelman – sometimes with help of “occasional assistant photographer, majority-part dishwasher, cheering section and sometimes editor of grammar and spelling” husband, Alex – presents a fantastic variety of food. It’s the kind of food you may actually cook in your own kitchen – classic, homey food kicked up a notch, nothing overly fussy or pretentious. A sort of home-style cooking for the 21st century (think spinach and chick peas, not tuna casserole). Recent offerings included radicchio, apple and pear salad; tangy spiced brisket; baked kale chips; and almond macaroon torte with chocolate frosting.

The entries are well-written and succinct with a great focus on fantastic photography. And, something that made us fall even harder for Smitten Kitchen, the site is very well designed and well organized.

One of Perelman’s recipes to munch on while you browse the site:

Baked Kale Chips

Adapted from a bunch of inspiring places

1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale (I used Lacinato or “Dinosaur” Kale but I understand that the curlier stuff works, too, possibly even better)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

I didn’t know it would be a mixed marriage.

After all, we agree on most things. Same senses of humor, taste in music, politics.

There’s just this vegetable thing.

I love all of them. He doesn’t like many of them.

No Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. No sweet potatoes or cooked spinach. He prefers iceberg lettuce to my romaine, and takes to winter squash like a duck takes to mud.

After years of trying to win him over, after stir-frying and roasting and strewing bits of bacon on things, I’ve mostly accepted defeat. I make whatever vegetables are seasonal and local, and I make sure there’s always salad for him. I look away discreetly when iceberg sneaks into the vegetable drawer.

Then comes kale season. And the real battle begins.

IT THRIVES IN THE COLD

Most of the year, eating local is easy. Spring, summer and fall have bounties of vegetables. Even my non-vegetable husband can find a few things he likes. We’re both happy with asparagus in spring and zucchini in summer.

But from January to March, what we have is kale. Bags of it, piles of it, market tables covered with it.

To quote a famous New Yorker cartoon, my husband says kale is just leafy broccoli. And he says to heck with it.

No ruffled green kale, no wide leaves of black kale, not even red kale or purple kale.

Dane Fisher of Fisher Farms loves kale. (And isn’t his wife, Maria, the lucky girl?) He was a plant breeder before he became a farmer, and he now collects every edible kale he can find. He planted a dozen kinds this year. He usually has four to eight kinds at his stands at the Matthews and Charlotte, N.C., regional farmers markets.

Fisher says this has been a great year for kale.

See, kale loves cold weather. Usually, when leafy plants freeze, ice crystals rupture the cell walls, letting liquid leak. When the sun comes out and the plant warms up, it goes limp.

Kale has a natural waxy deposit that keeps its cells from absorbing too much water. Less water means the cells don’t rupture when it freezes. In fact, when kale gets cold, its sugar content increases, acting like a natural antifreeze.

With all the cold we’ve had, Fisher’s kale grew a little slower in January. But that’s good for kale lovers – it means it will be around even longer this year.

Hear that, honey? Why, we could have kale into April.

IT’S PACKED WITH NUTRIENTS

If you only have one vegetable to eat, kale is a good one. It’s packed with vitamins A, C and E, folate, calcium, lutein and iron. It’s high in fiber, and it has seven times more beta-carotene than broccoli.

Kale even has a phytochemical called sulforaphane that may help your body get rid of carcinogens faster.

None of this will do any good if you don’t eat it.

There are plenty of ways to do that.

You can saute kale with garlic and red pepper flakes. You can simmer it in soups with cannellini beans and diced potato. It goes great with pasta. You can even chop it up and cook it with cream, like spinach.

When the January freeze wiped out almost everything else, I stocked up on kale.

And I set about trying to find a way my husband would eat it.

I made roasted kale, touted by food Web sites as the way to convert kale-haters. He liked the sherry vinegar sauce. He didn’t like the kale.

I made kale soup and baked it into an Italian casserole called ribollita. He ate out that night.

I made crispy kale. He wasn’t fooled into thinking it was potato chips.

Finally, in the dish I least expected, I found success. I made a Tuscan salad of raw kale tossed with a garlicky lemon dressing.

He’ll never eat this one, I thought.

He tasted it. He pointed with his fork. Hey, he said. That’s pretty good. He even ate a few more bites.

How could anyone prefer raw kale to sweet, melting, roasted kale? He had a theory: Part of what he hates about most vegetables is the smell of them cooking. If it’s raw, he doesn’t have to smell it. That’s why he hates cooked cabbage, but likes coleslaw.

Maybe my husband won’t ever become a vegetable lover. But spring will be here soon.

And in the meantime, we’ll always have salad.

TUSCAN KALE SALAD

Based on a New York Times recipe. The original calls for lacinato kale, also known as black kale or dinosaur kale, but I made it with a mixture of lacinato and the sweeter Siberian kale.

1 large bunch kale

1 slice country-style bread or 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan Reggiano cheese, divided

About 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed

1/4 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Trim off the bottoms of the kale stems and discard. Pile up the kale leaves and slice them into ribbons about 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide. You should have about 5 or 6 cups kale. Place the kale in a large serving bowl and set aside.

Toast the bread lightly, then pulse in a food processor or rub on the large holes of a cheese grater to make coarse crumbs. If using fresh bread crumbs, spread out on a pan and toast lightly. Set aside.

Pound the garlic clove into paste in a mortar with a pestle or with the back of a large knife. Place the garlic in a small bowl. (If you’re using a mortar, you can just make the dressing there.) Add 1/4 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes and pepper and whisk to combine.

Pour over the kale and use tongs to toss well to thoroughly combine. Let stand at least 5 minutes and up to 15 or 20 minutes.

Add bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons cheese and a small drizzle of oil and toss again before serving.

Yield: About 4 servings.

BAKED KALE CHIPS

From allrecipes.com. This sounds like the strangest snack ever, but it’s really good ” if you like kale.

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 to 2 teaspoons seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, nonstick foil or a silicone baking mat.

Pull or cut the kale leaves away from the thick stems, discarding the stems and tearing the leaves into large pieces. Place in a mixing bowl and drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with salt. Toss well with your hands to combine.

Spread the leaves on the lined baking sheets. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges of the leaves are browned but not burned and the leaf pieces are crispy.

Yield: 6 servings.

Roasted Kale

Adapted from several recipes. This is close to the kale chips, but you don’t let it get as crispy. The sherry vinegar forms a slightly sweet sauce.

1 large bunch kale, any kind

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

About 1 tablespoon coarse or flaky sea salt or kosher salt

1 to 2 tablespoons sherry, balsamic or red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pull the kale leaves off the thick stems and discard the stems. Wash the leaves and spin or shake dry. Pile the leaves up and slice them into strips about 1 inch wide.

Place the kale in a large mixing or serving bowl. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt, then toss well to combine.

Spread the kale on a large baking sheet and place in the oven. Set the bowl aside. Roast the kale about 7 minutes, toss with tongs and return to the oven for several minutes. The leaves should be beginning to brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and return the kale to the bowl you mixed it in. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon more oil and the vinegar. Toss well with tongs and serve.

Yield: 2 to 3 servings.

KALE AND SAUSAGE STEW

Mediterranean cuisines from Portugal to Italy are full of versions of this adaptable soup. Potato and white beans are traditional, but you can just use one or the other. It’s also a two fer ” use the leftovers for Italian Ribollita (see recipe).

1 pound kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

About 1 pound Italian sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 medium russet or Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon smoked or sweet paprika, or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 cups chicken stock

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Pull the kale leaves from the stems, setting stems aside. Pile up the leaves and cut into strips. Cut the stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Place the oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and heat over medium-high. Add the Italian sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the potato and cook several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are starting to brown a little, about 5 minutes. Stir in the kale stems and cook 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika and kale leaves and cook about 1 minute. Return the sausage to the pan and add the stock and drained beans, stirring up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Check first, in case the stock is salty enough.)

Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, until everything is heated through.

Yield: 6 servings.

KALE STEW RIBOLLITA

Ribollita is Italian for “reboiled” and it’s a traditional way to use leftover bean and greens soups in Tuscany. It’s good enough to be worth making soup in advance just to use this way. We adapted this from www.cliffordawright.com.

Leftover kale soup, such as Kale and Sausage Stew

3/4 cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, sliced or crushed

Pinch dried thyme

8 slices country-style Italian bread, toasted

1 large onion, very thinly sliced

Place the stew or soup in a large, ovenproof casserole. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and thyme, then cook about 1 minute, until garlic turns a light gold. Discard the garlic and pour half the oil over the top of the stew.

Layer the bread over the top of the stew. Place the onion slices in an even layer over the bread. Pour the remaining oil over the onion.

Bake about 30 minutes, until bread and onion are golden. Serve, making sure each bowl has a generous chunk of bread pushed into the stew.

Yield: 6 servings.

I don’t know why we are programmed to eat certain vegetables for such short periods of time.

I’m not talking about specialty produce items such as asparagus, artichokes and cherries that have a short growing season.

No, I’m talking about those foods we only eat when the holidays are here. In fact, there’s a whole host of vegetables that goes largely unnoticed the rest of the year.

Vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, rutabagas and kohlrabi, just to name a few, are often served as part of the holiday spread. But at other times, you rarely see them.

Yes, broccoli and cauliflower have become more popular year round. After all, they are extremely healthful, and they are members of an elite group of vegetables that contain large quantities of vitamin C, soluble fiber and potent plant-based nutrients that fight a number of cancers. They also taste great when prepared properly. Unfortunately, most of these veggies are mishandled in the kitchen so cooks avoid them for the rest of the year.

Take Brussels sprouts, for example. People love or hate them, but you rarely see them on a dinner plate unless it is Thanksgiving.

I hated them as a kid, but love them now that I have a few really good recipes for making them.

Strands of red cabbage adorn every bag of pre-made tossed salad and slaw mix in my supermarket produce section. But other than that, it’s a veggie outcast.

When I lived in Germany, it was a rock star and could be found in almost every family restaurant where it was braised with apples or currants. I can still remember walking down the street around dinnertime and smelling the aroma of simmering cabbage.

Kohlrabi is a wonderful vegetable that no one knows how to prepare. You won’t find a lot of recipes for it either. A pale green orb that looks like a turnip, it can be peeled and eaten raw in salads, cooked in stir fries or boiled and mashed.

Poor turnips and rutabagas. Imagine spending your whole vegetable life encased in heavy wax and ignored. It’s too bad, because they can be mashed, stir fried, stewed or roasted.

Instead, they usually sit in produce bins like paperweights until discarded. What a waste.

PAN SEARED SHREDDED BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND APPLES

My brother Howie made this dish at Thanksgiving, and people loved it. Any firm, crisp apple will work in this recipe.

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 pints Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed and heads sliced 1/4 inch thick (See note)

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (Granny Smith or gala apples recommended)

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the butter begins to brown. Add the Brussels sprouts and apples.

Cook, stirring occasionally, over high heat 4 to 5 minutes until still sprouts are just tender to the bite. Add the honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 71 calories, 36 percent calories from fat, 3 grams total fat, .9 gram saturated fat, 3 milligrams cholesterol, 11 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 7 grams total sugars, 9 grams net carbs, 2 grams protein, 11 milligrams sodium.

(Note: You can slice the Brussels sprouts in a food processor fitted with a \-inch-thick slicing blade.)

Prep: 20 minutes • Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces orange marmalade

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

4 ounces medium miso paste

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each cut into 3-ounce pieces

1 pound kale, trimmed of thick ribs

Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together marmalade, miso and walnuts in a medium bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Put the kale leaves in the bottom of a broiler pan and season with salt and pepper. Lay the chicken on top of the greens; broil for 5 minutes. Remove and enjoy hot.

Per serving: 553 cal.; 63 g pro.; 43 g carb.; 13 g fat (2 sat., 3 monounsat., 8 polyunsat.); 137 mg chol.; 1,385 mg sod.; 4 g fiber; 21 g sugar; 23 percent calories from fat.

As I sprawl on the beach, the waters are pristine and blue; the sand white and hot. Green parrots fly over me squawking their unmistakable call, and distant sailboats cut across the horizon. It looks like a postcard tourists would expect to see.

But what they don’t expect is our unique ethnic makeup. I have friends and colleagues from all over including Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, South America and even Russia. As each new group discovers South Florida, it sets up a community that brings traditional foods and recipes to our shores.

We’ve become a culinary stew.

I’ve known Hilza since moving here over 20 years ago. She is a native of Brazil, and, although I hardly see her anymore, I still use her recipe for rolled greens. Requiring only five ingredients, it’s a traditional dish that celebrates good luck.

My Haitian friends taught me how to make the best Creole rice and beans in the world, always authentic and satisfying. I still laugh when I think back to the time when I was running a creative gourmet restaurant, but we would all line up for Joseph’s Creole rice and beans. He made it for the staff in a giant round pot that two people had to lift to the table when it was done cooking.

He would serve gargantuan amounts to each person and top each portion with chopped, ripe avocado and a half lime. That was Caribbean comfort food at its finest.

Chris is the Jamaican expert who could make escabeche out of anything. If you’ve never had this dish, it is the Jamaican version of ceviche. Although it’s usually made from fish, he would even make it from tofu.

And Hector, in my mind, will always be the Cuban master of plantains, black beans and yellow rice. I can survive on these Caribbean staples.

Here’s a simple recipe for Hilza’s Rolled Brazilian Greens that shows off greens better than any traditional slow-cooked recipe. You can use collard greens, chard or kale for this dish. Serve the greens with polenta, rice or couscous for a filling and fresh-tasting dinner. You can omit the chile peppers if you aren’t a fan of spicy foods.

HILZA’S ROLLED BRAZILIAN GREENS

1 bunch collard greens, well washed, heavy stems removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Salt, to taste

Stack the collard leaves and roll them tightly like a cigar from end to end. Slice the rolled greens crosswise about 1/4 inch thick to make strips.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add the greens, garlic and jalapenos; saute 6 to 8 minutes until tender but still crisp. Season with salt and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 83 calories, 79 percent calories from fat, 7 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, no cholesterol, 4 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, .4 gram total sugars, 2 grams net carbs, 1 gram protein, 8 milligrams sodium.

(Steve Petusevsky is a freelance writer in Coral Springs, Fla. If you have questions for him, write Vegetarian Today, Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293. Or send an e-mail with your full name, address and telephone number to dhartz@Sunsentinel.com with “Vegetarian Today” in the subject line. Personal replies are not possible.)

Rarely recognized as haute cuisine, collard greens are downright presidential these days, thanks to the White House vegetable garden. Michelle Obama’s recent harvest of a healthy crop of collards and other greens occasioned many photo ops and gave the first lady a chance to talk of the garden as an edible lesson “about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food.”

This is not the first time vegetables have sprung from White House grounds. The presidential precedent dates back to 1800 and John Adams, who started growing vegetables, not to teach a lesson but to save money. While it’s unknown what Adams grew, collards seem a good bet. They’re easy to grow and forgiving, with thick but elegant paddle-shaped leaves that can withstand extreme temperatures – even southern Florida’s summer heat.

When it comes to economy, collards deliver. They’re fresh, local and just a dollar a pound in markets now. Julius Caesar (for whom July was named) is said to have treated collard greens as medicine, eating them after banquets for nutrition and digestion.

Like its relatives, kale and broccoli, collard greens are rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants as well as vitamins. One cup of cooked collards delivers your full daily vitamin A, half your C and more than 800 percent of your vitamin K, as well as significant amounts of minerals including potassium and zinc.

Southern tradition calls for collards to be braised or boiled with pig parts, but we veg heads know better: Try them, shredded and raw, in that summer staple, coleslaw. Yet another president, Thomas Jefferson, would approve: He’s reputed to have preferred salads to all other foods.

With so much nutrition for so little money, a cool plate of raw collards might become your favorite, too. Eat up – one cup has but 11 calories. It’s the all-American thing to do.

BLACK BEAN AND COLLARD GREEN SALAD

Here, Hoppin’ John, the traditional Southern dish of black-eyed peas and collards, gets a lightened-up salsa-fied, South Florida makeover. It’s a sturdy salad perfect for a July Fourth buffet.

About 1 dozen collard leaves (for 1-1/2 cups shredded, packed)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin

2 cups diced ripe tomato (about 2 medium tomatoes)

1/3 cup chopped scallions (about 3 scallions)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Pinch of sea salt, or to taste

Dash of hot sauce, if desired

Rinse collard leaves well and blot dry. Discard thick center stems and stack leaves for easy cutting. Roll up leaves and use a knife to shred into skinny ribbons. (Or process rolled leaves with shredding blade of a food processor.)

Place lemon zest and juice, olive oil and cumin in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Add shredded collards, stir to combine and set aside while you dice tomatoes and chop scallions. Add them to the bowl and mix.

Add black beans and cilantro; toss gently. Season to taste. Salad may be served at this point or covered and chilled. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Per serving: 163.7 calories (50 percent from fat), 9.5 g fat (1.3 g saturated, 6.7 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 5.2 g protein, 16.2 g carbohydrates, 6.1 g fiber, 306.3 mg sodium.

(Ellen Kanner writes about vegetarian concerns. She blogs at www.edgyveggie1.blogspot.com. Email her at ekanner(AT)MiamiHerald.com)