Keeping it simple is important.
This recipe uses ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens as condiments: mustard, balsamic vinegar, and tamarai/soy sauce. If you don't have these in your pantry already, I recommend picking them up next time you're at a market. All three are great for livening up your food.
So here we go: Illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to make my Balsamic Kale with Fresh Garlic. You've probably heard of the "Verbing for Dummies" series. I consider this my "Cooking for Sensible People Who Just Don't Feel Natural in the Kitchen (Yet)" series.
Balsamic Kale with Fresh Garlic
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients to gather:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch kale, stemmed and ripped or chopped
1 stem and leaves fresh garlic, roughly chopped, or 1-2 cloves crushed garlic and/or 1 shallot
2 tsp grainy mustard
1.5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp tamarai or soy sauce
pinch of salt
grind of pepper
Directions by Picture
Begin by gathering and setting out all of the ingredients you will need. If everything is out, you won't need to scramble looking for anything or have any surprise moments where you realize you are missing something.
Roughly chop garlic. If you are using garlic cloves rather than fresh garlic, experiment to see how finely or coarsely you like it chopped, or if you like it crushed.
Here is a close-up of fresh garlic, sliced. Fresh garlic is the same plant as the garlic you usually see in the store, but a young version. As you can see in the picture, the clove shapes are beginning to form in the bulb. If you can't find fresh garlic for this recipe, just use regular garlic cloves and/or shallots, a small variety of onion, to get the same flavor profile.
To prep the kale quickly and easily, I grab each stem by the base and strip the leaves up and off until it naturally breaks off. This gets rid of the toughest parts. Rip each leaf into smaller pieces and throw it into a colander.
Rinse under cool water. Don't worry about draining all the water off fully. When you throw it into the pan, it will sizzle and hiss, but the water will help it steam.
Again, get everything ready. Start heating up a large pan (one with a lid) with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat.
Add the garlic to the pan when the oil is hot. Test this by getting your finger wet and flicking some into the pan. If the water sizzles, then it's ready! The garlic should also have a nice little sizzle when it hits the pan. Stir constantly. Don't worry if the garlic starts to stick to the pan, the next step will take care of everything.
When you lift the lid off, have your measuring spoons, 2 tsp mustard, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp tamarai/soy sauce and pepper ready for dressing! Spoon, sprinkle and grind right over the kale and then mix well.
Trust your taste buds! (My number one rule in the kitchen.)
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