Best Aocs Black Kale Cavolo Nero Recipes

AOC'S LONG COOKED CAVOLO NERO (TUSCAN KALE)

Aoc's Long Cooked Cavolo Nero (Tuscan Kale) image

Suzanne Goin serves this delicious dish at her acclaimed LA restaurant, AOC. The kale is the kale is cooked slowly until it caramelizes for an incredibly rich color and depth of flavour. Cavolo Nero is also known as black kale, dinosaur kale or laciniato. Recipe was printed in the LA TImes.

Provided by blucoat

Categories Greens

Time 45m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

4 bunches cavolo nero or 4 bunches tuscan kale, stemmed and cleaned
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 sprig rosemary
1 dried arbol chile (this is a red chile, use cayenne pepper if you can't find the chile)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided, more as needed
2 tablespoons chicken broth (optional) or 2 tablespoons water (optional)

Steps:

Blanch the cavolo nero in a large pot of salted, boiling water just until softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the cavolo nero and immediately place it in a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain again and set aside.
In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan heated over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, rosemary and chile de árbol. Gently sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and season with one-fourth teaspoon salt. Continue to cook until the onions are transparent and just beginning to color, an additional 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir the cavolo nero into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 30 to 40 minutes. As it cooks, the cavolo nero will turn a deep dark green, almost black color, and the texture will go from soft to almost a little crisp from caramelizing on the bottom of the pan. This is good and will enhance the flavor. If the cavolo nero becomes too dry, add a little stock or water to moisten the bottom of the pan. Season with the remaining one-fourth teaspoon salt and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

POLENTA WITH WHITE BEANS & BLACK KALE

Polenta with White Beans & Black Kale image

This terrific dish brings into one bowl three essential Italian foods: polenta, cannellini, and the unique variety of kale called cavolo nero-one of my favorite vegetables. The customary green in Tuscan ribollita, cavolo nero has an earthy mouth-filling flavor, as if cabbage, broccoli, chickory, and spinach were all packed into one leaf. Fortunately, this delicious and healthful vegetable is now being grown and sold in this country under a variety of names, including lacinata, or dinosaur kale (for the texture of the leaves), and black kale (for their dark hue). In this recipe, cavolo nero is braised with bacon and cannellini and served atop hot polenta. But you can just braise it with bacon, following the same basic procedure, and serve it as a delicious side dish, or enjoy it in crusty bread as a great sandwich filling.

Yield serves 6

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

1/2 pound dried cannellini beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 cups cold water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 cup yellow polenta, medium grind
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lardoons
1 1/2 pounds cavolo nero (black kale), tough stems removed, leaves cut in 2-inch shreds
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 ounces finely shredded fontina from Valle d'Aosta (or Italian Fontal; see box, page 74)
A 3-quart pot for cooking the beans; a heavy-bottomed 3- or 4-quart saucepan with a cover for cooking the polenta; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or larger, with a cover

Steps:

To cook the beans: Drain the soaked beans and put them in the pot with fresh cold water covering them by an inch or so; add the bay leaves and olive oil. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to keep the liquid simmering steadily, and cook, partially covered, about 40 minutes or until the beans are just cooked through, but not mushy. Turn off the heat, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and let the beans cool for a while in the pot, absorbing some of the cooking liquid.
To cook the polenta: Pour the water and olive oil into the heavy pot, drop in the salt and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Pick up the polenta by handfuls and let it rain into the water through your fingers, whisking steadily with a sturdy wire whisk, until it is all incorporated. Return the polenta to a boil over medium heat, still whisking. When big bubbles start bursting, lower the heat to keep the polenta perking, and set the cover ajar on the pot. Stir frequently with the whisk or wooden spoon, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot as the cereal thickens. Cook for about 25 minutes or until the polenta is glossy and pulls away from the sides as you stir; for this dish it should be soft, not too firm. Turn off the heat and cover the pot to keep the polenta hot.
To cook the kale: Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the skillet, set it over medium heat, and scatter in the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, as the bacon sizzles and renders most of its fat, 4 or 5 minutes. Pile the shredded kale in the pan, sprinkle the salt over it, put on the cover, and cook, tossing the kale a couple of times, until the shreds have wilted, about 5 minutes.
Uncover the skillet, and stir in the cooked cannellini, along with about a cup (not all) of the bean cooking liquid and the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or more, until the kale is tender. Stir in more bean liquid as needed to keep the greens and beans from drying.
When the kale and beans are ready, stir half of the shredded fontina into the hot polenta. Spoon portions of polenta into warm shallow bowls, then top each with kale and beans and a sprinkling of fontina. Serve right away, while very hot.