Thursday 15 March 2012

Kale and caramelized onion recipe

 
Warning: this is another super healthy post from Segur. This dish is delicious, I promise, but I realise I’ve posted two very green and healthy dishes sequentially, and for some of you that might be a little too much. So if you are looking for a sweet treat instead, perhaps try these blondies, or these muffins. But, if you fancy a hearty, simple earthy dish, with creamy and sweet elements, then this might just be for you.

So, a little background on this post - I’ve had a couple of kilograms of brown onions sitting in our kitchen for the last few weeks. I’ve been meaning to make caramelized onion chutney, to continue my preserving experiments, with my new preserving pan. But as is often the way, I seem to be continually distracted by other projects and activities. But I decided today was the day and the chutney, which I’ll post about in the next couple of days. Once it's finished simmering away, and slowly reducing on the stove.

As I was caramelizing onions anyway, I decided to put together a healthy lunch using some of the onions and a bunch of organic kale, which has been sitting in the fridge for a few days. I often steam kale, and toss it with soy, garlic and ginger. But today I thought I’d honour its Tuscan roots and go for a slightly richer dish. I added a couple of handfuls of chopped kale to oil in the frying pan and tossed it around a little. I then dropped in a couple of tablespoons of the caramelized onions and fried it off a little further, allowing the kale to soften and morph into an even brighter green. I added a little Turkish feta that was in the fridge, which finished the dish off with a rich creamy, slightly salty kick.

This is a really simple dish, and makes a fantastic midweek lunch. It would also be lovely served as a side dish, for dinner. You can also caramelize additional onions and they’ll keep in the fridge for at least a week. They are great on pizzas, or stirred into pasta. Here’s the recipe:

Recipe
(Serves one, scale up as required)
One onion (sliced)
Two large handfuls roughly chopped kale (any variety will do)
Dash of balsamic vinegar
30 grams feta, or any hard, crumbly cheese (a hard goat would also work)
Olive oil

Step One: Add the sliced onion to a pan, with a dash of oil. Move the onion around with a wooden spoon, allowing it to cook through and caramelize. After a few minutes add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the onion and fry it off a little more. You know the onion is caramelized when the colour has darkened. Set aside.

  

Step Two: Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan. Drop in the kale and toss. The colour will intensify quite quickly. When it does, stir through the onion, and toss again. Remove from heat, and crumble in the feta to serve. Enjoy!




2 comments:

Rainsong said...

Oh yum! Kale and leeks are all that are left in the winter garden this late in the season.

Debs ....Everett, Washington, USA
Linked to my Urban Farm blog.
http://musicofrain.wordpress.com/recipes/

Melanie said...

Ohhh you could do a version with caramelized leeks!