Zuppa Toscana, Italian Tuscan Sausage Soup

Yield: About 6 servings

This recipe comes recommended from garden member Brenda who found it on allrecipes.com
It is a good way to use some of the kale that is so abundant from the farm. Potatoes, onions and garlic will be coming your way soon!

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage
2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup chopped onion
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
1 quart water
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Layer the sausage links onto a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.
4. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
5. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken base or bouillon, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
6. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Crispy Kale

Kids and grown-ups love this recipe. When roasted, kale becomes crunchy and brittle, a texture seldom found in the greens world. With a little salt and pepper or seasoning of your choice, it makes an excellent appetizer, side dish, or snack.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Strip the leaves from the kale stems, roughly chop, wash, and drain. In a bowl, toss the kale leaves with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake until crispy, about 15 minutes, stirring part way through. It is done roasting when it is brittle, almost paper-like and no longer soft or bendable. Serve immediately.

Delightfully Raw Kale Salad

Yield: 3-4 servings
We enjoyed this salad at a potluck in New York, and it was so good that we wanted to share it with you! It came from Judy LaBelle, President of the Glynwood Center where Dan completed a year-long internship in organic CSA farming.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale leaves
8 paper thin slices of red onion
¼ c olive oil
¼ c balsamic vinegar (white, if possible)
Pine nuts, toasted (if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
Clean the kale leaves, remove the stems and cut in ¼ to ½ inch wide strips. Add the onion slices, olive oil and vinegar, and “massage” for a few seconds by hand. Let stand for at least 15 minutes and serve, topped with pine nuts if desired.

Kale Information

Kale with Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Sundried Tomatoes

This is my all-time favorite way to eat kale! The recipe was adapted from a Broccoli Rabe recipe in a Sicilian cooking class that I took, and it can be used with other greens such as escarole, dandelion, or even chard. I usually don't have pine nuts around, so I substitute almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or nothing at all.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed, and roughly chopped
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic
pinch of nutmeg
5 sundried tomatoes, soaked in hot water until soft and cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Bring enough water to cover the kale to boil in a pot. Add pinch of salt and kale. Cook until the kale is dark green and tender (a few minutes), drain.
2. In a medium pan, saute garlic in olive oil until golden, add nutmeg, kale, sundried tomatoes, and raisins.
3. Add nuts and season with salt and pepper.