Kale is the harvest of the month for October in New Hampshire. Originating from the Brassicaceae, or cabbage, family kale has many commonalities with the other vegetables in this family, such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. This leafy green is available in all types of varieties including curly, Lacinato, Redbor, Red Russian and purple kale. Although curly kale is the most common type of kale you can find, especially in grocery stores, many of the farmer’s at the seacoast markets offer many of the other varieties! Kale is in season in New Hampshire from the beginning of July to the end of November. And since many farmers are harvesting this vegetable around this time of year, now is the perfect time to stock up on this leafy green!
Kale has gained popularity over the past few years for becoming one of the most popular super foods. It is no longer just the garnish found of the side of your meal, and has become the center piece of many dishes. One cup of kale has 33 calories, 3 grams of protein, and 2.5 grams of fiber. Kale is also one of the most nutrient packed vegetables on the planet, containing in one cup 206% of vitamin A, 684% of vitamin K, 134% of vitamin C, 9% of vitamin B6, 26% of manganese, 9% of calcium, 10% of copper, 9% of potassium and 6% of magnesium of the daily recommended values. This leafy green is also loaded with the antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol which have been shown to have heart-protective, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.
Despite all the health benefits of this leafy green, I had always been wary of incorporating it into my diet since I had never really cared for this bitter green when I was younger. However, since it was the harvest of the month I thought I would give it another try. I was pleasantly surprised and actually really enjoyed how the kale tasted. I definitely plan on continuing to eat kale regularly in my diet and try out some more recipes! The recipe I made this week is listed below:
Mediterranean Kale Flatbread
(Makes 2 Flatbreads)
Ingredients:
- Splash of olive oil
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 TBS pine nuts
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 2 whole wheat flat breads
- 4 TBS garlic hummus
Directions:
- Rinse and de-rib kale bunches. Chop into small pieces.
- Peel and chop garlic cloves into fine pieces.
- Heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat. When oil begins to simmer add in kale until it become semi wilted.
- Add garlic and pine nuts, cooking over heat for another 3-4 minutes
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook until kale has completely wilted.
- Transfer kale mixture into a bowl and set aside.
- Add a spoonful of sun dried tomato oil into the same pan.
- Heat flatbread for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Take flatbread off heat, and spread an even layer of hummus over top.
- Add kale mixture over top.
- Cut flatbread into quarters and enjoy!