A nice side of greens is always present on our table, especially during the CSA season. This year our Curly Kale and Red Russian Kale have had such great yields. Most nights a quick garlic sauté or easy braise is our go-to, but it’s easy to spend a few more minutes and ingredients and make something out of the ordinary. This recipe calls for thinly sliced lemons in the dish- it sounds odd and if you’d prefer you can remove the lemons after cooking. The honey mellows an bitterness of the greens, adding a tablespoon of honey to a batch of greens is a great way to neutralize the bitterness. Perfect for anyone new to kale!
I always use a salad spinner to wash greens – even if I don’t need to spin them dry. Using the basket to lift the greens out of the water is the easiest way I’ve found to to totally submerge and drain them. Do you have a favorite way of washing them? Let us know in the comments.
If the lemon in this recipe appeals to you, but not the spiciness, just omit the crushed red pepper. We’ve had a great run on spring onions in the CSA Shares. During different weeks you can sub scallions or even minced onion for the onion tops.
Spicy Kale with Lemon
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Hot Pepper thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 Lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed, and slices quartered
1 Tablespoon honey
1 large bunch of Kale, stems and main ribs removed leaves coarsely chopped
½ cup onion tops, onions, or scallions, thinly sliced
sea salt
In a large skillet, heat oil and hot pepper slices or crushed red pepper, medium heat. Add the onion tops, lemon, and honey, stirring until lemon begins to break down (about 2 minutes). Stir in Kale and cook until wilted, another minute or two. Season with salt and serve warm or room temperature.
