Kale - Fritters

Kale Fritters (for 2 as a main course)

Ingredients:

300-350g Kale, stripped from the stems
140g self raising flour
2tsp ground turmeric
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground cinnamon
4 free range eggs
5 spring onions (or 1 red/normal onion)
big handful of flat leaf parsley (or coriander)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 lg piece of ginger, peeled
zest of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

FOR THE YOGURT :
200g plain, full fat yogurt
half a clove of garlic
approximately 15 mint leaves (or a handful of dill, or both)
2-3tsp of extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Method:

Blanch the Kale in salted, boiling water for 3 minutes. Strain in a colander and squeeze all the excess moisture out. Place the kale on a board and chop roughly with a knife.
Combine the flour, turmeric, cumin & cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the eggs and mix well with a whisk until smooth. Slice up the spring onions and add to the bowl along with the chopped parsley (I forgot to add this in my video)!. Grate in the garlic, ginger & lemon zest. Season with salt & pepper. Add the kale & combine everything well. Taste for seasoning & add more if needed.

In a hot pan add 2ml of sunflower oil, when slightly smoking add x3 tablespoons of the mixture, it should sizzle. Leave for about a minute, then turn, they should be golden brown.

For the yogurt.
Put the yogurt in a bowl, add chopped herbs & crushed/grated garlic. Add the olive oil & season, check & adjust seasoning.

Kale - Malfatti

Kale & Malfatti for 3 (4 or 5 as a starter)

Ingredients:

300g Ricotta, strained in a sieve for at least 20 minutes
120g - 150g Semolina flour (00 flour or plain flour is also fine to use)
200g Kale, stripped from the stalk
50g grated parmesan + extra for on top
2 egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Half a grated nutmeg
salt & pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:
75g butter
20 sage leaves

Method:

Blanch the Kale in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain in a colander and squeeze all the excess moisture out, it is important for the kale to be as dry as possible. Place the kale on a board and chop up very finely with a knife.
Place the ricotta, semolina flour (120g to start with), grated parmesan, egg yolks, lemon zest, nutmeg & a generous pinch of salt & black pepper in a large bowl.

Mix everything together well & taste to check seasoning, add more salt if required. If the mixture is seeming too wet, add extra flour until you can easily form a ball, without it being too sticky.

Next make the brown butter sauce. Place the butter in a small non-stick pan on a medium heat, when the butter starts to bubble add the sage leaves, keep stirring & scraping the bottom of the pan until the butter is golden & smelling nutty & caramelised, do not burn, don’t blink, this is a fine line.
Bring a large pan of salted boiling water to the boil, turn down to a simmer & add the Malfatti. After a few minutes they will rise to the surface, at this point keep to a simmer for a further 3 minutes. They should cook for around 5/6 minutes in total.
Strain the Malfatti in a colander and plate up, allowing about 7 per person for a main course.
Spoon over the butter & sage, grate over some parmesan & extra nutmeg, Enjoy!

Kale - Miso Noodles

Kale & Miso Noodles for 2

Ingredients:

2 portions of Soba Noodles (or medium wheat/rice noodles)
8-10 large kale leaves, stripped from their stalks & shredded finely
2tbsp sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled & finely sliced
2 shallots, peeled & finely sliced
1 fresh green chilli, finely sliced
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp sunflower seeds
2 eggs, soft boiled & peeled (5.5 mins, or to your liking)

For the dressing:

1 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
3cm piece of ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed

Method

Cook noodles to the packet instructions & cool, in a large bowl add a small splash of sunflower oil to stop them sticking together.

Shred the Kale finely, put 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a frying hot pan, saute for 5-8 mins, until slightly softened & crispy around the edges. Turn the heat down to medium, add the shallots, garlic & chilli, cook for another 7 -8 minutes, until the garlic & shallots have softened, being careful they don’t catch.

While the kale is cooking make the dressing, put all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Add the kale to the noodles, add the dressing & mix well. Put half in each bowl, cut the eggs in half & place on top along with the seeds & extra chilli, if you wish. I recommend Laoganma crispy chilli flakes. Some kimchi would be another welcome addition.