Sometime recently kale and kale recipes suddenly started popping up all over the place.  I wasn’t sure what to make of it for awhile.

I have nothing against kale per se; I’m not anti-leafy greens or anti vegetables at all.  I think the fact that it resembles spinach is what put me off initially; like spinach it looks like one of those tough chewy greens that are just completely unappetizing to me.  Crazy health benefits aside, I was skeptical.

 

But then Jessica from Bake Me Away posted a recipe that actually looked halfway tasty, and in a halfhearted attempt to not so much jump on the bandwagon, but rather try out something new, I bought a bunch of kale and vowed to give her recipe a try.  Naturally I then forgot about it, and the kale went bad and crawled out of my vegetable bin.

And then I forgot about the whole kale thing until this week.  I’d bought some fancy chicken sausages from Trader Joe’s and was trying to come up with a way to put them into a coherent meal.  Remembering my vague interest in kale, I headed back to Bake Me Away to find the recipe…and I have had a revelation:

KALE IS TASTY.

It’s true – this braised kale recipe is fantastic, and I will happily eat it again; it may end up making consistent appearances in my meals, being a super-vegetable and all.  With an onion/garlic/olive oil undertone, the kale is tender and delicious and adds a hearty aspect to the noodles.  Even my equally skeptical boyfriend proclaimed this meal delicious, which makes it a win in my eyes.

For Slackers & noobs: This meal is about as easy as it gets.  If you can boil water and saute vegetables, you can make this.

To this recipe I added a side-dish of chicken sausage with red peppers and mushrooms, which I included in this recipe even though I ate it as more of a separate dish.  I’d considered adding the peppers and mushrooms in to braise with the kale, but I was concerned they’d get too mushy (any opinions, braising-experts?).  Maybe I’ll try that out next time – or maybe you should!

 

Braised Kale with Egg Noodles & Chicken Sausage

Adapted from Bake Me Away!

Serves ~4, 2 if you’re super hungry.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups egg noodles
• 1 bunch kale, ribs removed and sliced into strips
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small/medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
• 1 package Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe’s (or whatever kind of sausage you want)

Instructions:

1. Saute the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until translucent.
2. Add garlic to the onions and saute until onions have browned.
3. Add kale and the rest of the olive oil to the pan and cook until slightly wilted.
4. Cover and cook on low for ~20 minutes.
5. While kale is braising put the noodles on to cook using package directions, and saute the mushroom and peppers in the last tbsp of olive oil.
6. Slice sausage into wheels and add to the mushrooms and peppers about half way through the saute process.
7. When kale and noodles are finished, mix the two together with a squeeze of lemon.
8. Eat!
   

   nom nom nom