kale Archives - Sugar et al

Asian Kale Coconut Soup

6|09|2014

If I had pick and choose one thing that I enjoy doing the most on the blog, it has to be, pairing flavours. Combining the best of different culinary worlds. I like to call it ‘intuitive cooking’. The best thing about food is that there are no hard and fast rules. When your taste buds are exposed to a multitude of cuisines and flavours from years of cooking or eating, they become like feelers. That respond instinctively to taste, smell and textures. The food blogging community are an amazing lot who do this on a frequent basis. A creative network that take a fresh and fun approach to all things food. Who make dinners exciting and cooking inspiring. Who supply Google and other search engines with the most amazing database of recipes every day. A community that I am proud to be a part of.

Apparently the cold weather has decided not to leave us. Nor the rain or the strong winds. Together, they are a bad combination. It is Spring with little or no Spring-like changes yet. So soups are still part of our menu and my creative ventures. Actually, I don’t mind that. I could eat soup even on a hot, sunny day. Especially if it has a touch of Asian . Infusions that form the base for sweet, spicy, tangy flavours that are unique to Thai cuisine. I chose Kale because it is healthy and takes on flavours well.

The soup is mildly spicy, slightly sweet with a curry like kick from the green curry paste. Coconut milk gives it body and a creamy texture. I love kale chips and they hardly require any effort so I served it with kale chips and lightly sautéed mushrooms.

Asian Kale Coconut Soup
Serves 4

1 bunch curly kale, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Thai Green curry paste
1/2 cup vegetable stock/chicken stock
1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
salt, to season
1 tbsp grated palm sugar/ brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup button mushrooms, roughly chopped and lightly sautéed and seasoned, to serve

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.

In a bowl, toss half of the kale with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and season with salt. Place on a baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast, stirring once halfway through, until the kale is crispy, 26 to 28 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and onions and fry for a minute over medium heat. Add the green curry paste and fry till aromatic (about 1 minute). Stir in the remaining kale and sauté for a minute. Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the leaves soften. Remove from heat.
Working in batches, puree the soup in a processor until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and add salt, palm sugar/brown sugar and lemon juice and reheat over low heat. Ladle the warm soup into individual bowls. Top with crispy kale chips and sautéed mushrooms.

Pasta with Kale-Almond Pesto and Salmon

18|05|2014

A delicious pasta dish made with kale pesto sauce and served with salmon to make a great weeknight dinner.

t’s been a while since I shared a quick weeknight dinner recipe in this space. Weeknights haven’t changed, neither has there been a dearth of exploring new recipes or ingredients. But weeknights are all about quick cooking and quick eating. Tired feet, hungry stomachs, the evening chill and no natural light. There is little or no room for photography. And food that looks delicious and tastes better, deserves to be photographed and shared.

Having said that, there is always excitement around dinner. With little prep and planning, the stress is taken away from cooking a meal from scratch and a warm nutritious dinner is ready to be savoured without the guilt of consuming loads of calories.

Jars of homemade pesto have come to my rescue for years of cooking simple delicious meals. How convenient is it when dinner is a matter of opening a jar and stirring through its contents through a pot of freshly cooked pasta. To spruce up the dish are flakes of pan fried salmon, a generous shaving of parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. And that is all. Does that mean it lacks in flavour? By no means. The flavours are packed inside the jar of homemade pesto.

I’ve tried numerous variations of herbs in pesto. In fact, I feel there are no hard and fast rules when making pesto at home. The only factor that remains unchanged for me is the presence of herbs, nuts and olive oil. I add a mix of herbs from my garden as I go. Its all about building flavours and of course nutrition. Kale is great in a pesto. It turns to a coarse paste which coats the pasta really well. If you do not like heat, leave out the chillies in the pesto.

I am not a fan of rich sauces in my pasta so this recipe is great for a simple stir-through. Salmon can be replaced with any protein of your choice. I like the flavour of fresh pan fried salmon. You can skip this step and use canned salmon flakes instead. It would certainly make the recipe simpler and quicker. For a vegetarian version replace salmon with roasted pumpkin or sweet potato.

Pasta with Kale-Almond Pesto and Salmon
Serves 4

1 tbsp. olive oil
2 fillets of salmon, skin and bones removed
salt and pepper, for seasoning
375 g spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
1 cup kale-almond pesto
Shaved Parmesan, to serve
Freshly cracked pepper, to serve
Extra Virgin olive oil to serve

Kale-Almond Pesto
1/3 cup almonds
1 long red chilli
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
150 g kale leaves, stems removed and blanched
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley leaves
2 tbsp. oregano leaves
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and cracked pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Combine salmon, salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat the olive oil a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook salmon for 3-4 minutes on each side till cooked on the sides and still pink in the centre.or until cooked to your liking. Remove from heat and cool slightly. With a fork divide into flakes.

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving 60ml (1/4 cup) cooking liquid. Return pasta to pan.

Add the pesto and reserved cooking liquid to pasta and toss to combine. Add the salmon and stir through. Divide among bowls, top with shaved parmesan and cracked pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

To make the pesto: Place the almonds, chilli and garlic on a small baking tray and drizzle with oil. Roast for 8-10 minutes or almonds are golden brown.
Squeeze the garlic from their skins and deseed the chilli.
Place the almonds, chilli and garlic in a food processor with kale, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil. Process to a coarse paste. Stir through the grated parmesan. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

Spicy Kale, Sweet Potato And Broad Bean Quinoa Pilaf

13|05|2014

Quinoa. Everyone apparently wants to include it in their diet, it is increasingly visible in supermarkets and health stores. there are recipes doing the rounds all over the Internet, even in restaurant menus and it is categorised as a Superfood. Right? These are facts that I came to learn about Quinoa since it took the food industry by storm. But despite knowing this I was never convinced to buy quinoa or cook with it. I would come across packaged quinoa every time I would go past the health section of the grocery store, hold it in my hands…take a good look and then return it back on the shelf. Nothing about it appeared different from any other grain.

It was not until recently that I started including quinoa in my meals. I was looking for healthy alternatives to rice that would make a meal by itself without much fuss. More importantly it had to take up flavours well. Though I use couscous at times on account of the convenience of making it, I’ve never been a fan. I was surprised how easy it was to cook with quinoa and it would go with any kind of cuisine. It was easy to blend it into a dish whether Italian, Mexican or Indian.

But what is a Superfood? And why is Quinoa one? There is so much information on these topics in the Internet but in simple terms, Superfoods are those foods that offer multiple benefits for the body without a high amount of fat or calories accompanying them. Clearly, Quinoa offers many proven nutritional benefits while introducing very little calories and fat to the diet. It is a tiny grain that cooks up like rice and has a mild, nutty flavor and a light, fluffy texture. High in protein and fibres, it’s benefits have far outdone the benefits of any other grain available. The important thing is that you can incorporate it into your breakfast, lunch or supper as it is versatile.

In this recipe, I’ve gone with spices and it tastes delicious. I found this recipe on Taste magazine which is generally my go-to for simple recipes.It is easy to prepare and you can use your choice of vegetables. It took me about 20 minutes to make this. While the quinoa was cooking, my sweet potatoes were roasting in the oven while I prepped my broad beans. I’ve been generous on the turmeric as I like the curry kind of look for this dish. You could reduce it or leave it out if you want to.

This dish is healthy, vegan, gluten-free and packed with flavours. I am eating this for lunch often with a combination of different vegetables. Frozen vegetables are also easy to incorporate if you want to eat it as a quick, hassle free midweek dinner.

The other discovery I made about Quinoa- it is hard to overcook. So many reasons to bring Quinoa into your life.

Spicy Kale, Sweet Potato And Broad Bean Quinoa Pilaf (adapted with variation from Taste.com)
Serves 4

150g (1 cup) frozen broad beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large orange sweet potato, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground paprika
190 g (1 cup) quinoa, rinsed, drained
500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock (can be substituted with chicken stock if not vegan)
1 bunch kale, stems trimmed, shredded
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Lemon wedges, to serve

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the sweet potato on the lined tray and drizzle with half the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, cook the broad beans in a medium saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes or until heated through. Refresh under cold running water. Drain well. Peel broad beans and set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika; cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add quinoa and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid evaporates and quinoa is al dente. Stir through kale until just wilted. Add the sweet potatoes and broad beans and season with salt and pepper. Divide among serving bowls and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with lemon wedges.