Kale has always been my favorite green. I’ll eat it raw, cooked, steamed, roasted… pretty much however it’s presented to me. My favorite way to cook it myself though is very lightly – I want to be able to taste the deliciousness of the kale.
Here’s my method. I eyeball all the ingredients in this based on how much kale I’m cooking and to taste. Just play around with how much of each ingredient you want to add.
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head kale, washed and coarsely chopped
Stone-ground mustard
Soy sauce or Bragg’s
Rice vinegar
Coarse sea salt
Heat a lot of extra-virgin olive oil in the largest skillet you have. Don’t skimp on the oil since fat adds flavor. When the oil gets hot, throw in the sliced onion and saute until they’re translucent, then add the minced garlic. Cook for a minute or two, until fragrant.
Add all the kale, and cook until it wilts. This doesn’t take long, so don’t walk away. While you’re waiting, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and stone-ground mustard in a small bowl.
When the kale has wilted enough so that it’s more manageable in the skillet, drizzle the soy sauce mixture over the kale and toss to coat. Heat through, and serve. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
It’s so simple, and yet there’s so much flavor.
Anyone else have a favorite way to cook kale?
Ahimsa 
January 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I like to use a little wine (white or Sherry) and/or water and avoid all the unnecessary added fat calories (oil). Balsamic vinegar along with Bragg’s works for me. Sometimes I’ll add raisins or beans, rarely onion. Red pepper flakes (on the bottom) add a nice touch.
I also chop up the thick veins of some types of Kale like celery, and put that on the bottom of the wok first, when the sliced leaves.
A nutritional powerhouse, I probably have Kale twice or more a week when available (leftover stir-fried Kale goes into soups or even on top of tomatoes for a pizza with other ingredients on top of that).
FYI, Mark