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King Kale
Fertile Fields Farm
At Fertile Fields Farm, kale is king. We love to grow it and it loves to grow here. Red Russian kale, a Siberian heirloom, is our favorite variety. The reddish-green leaves with purple veins often glimmer in the late afternoon sun.
Although it is known as a fall crop, we use kale all season long. We plant the seedlings in early March and add the small tasty leaves to our mesclun salad mix. We put the mid-sized leaves in our special cooking greens mix and sell the larger leaves as bunched kale through November or December. The delicate flavor and tenderness of kale is actually enhanced by fall frost.
We usually steam kale lightly, adding dried spices to the cooking water. Then we might add a touch of ghee (clarified butter). You can also try drizzling olive oil and lemon juice on top. Or try the recipe below.
Lori Schreier and James Warren have been running Fertile Fields Farm, their organic CSA and vegetable farm, for the past three years. It is located in Westmoreland, N.H., near the banks of the Connecticut River. Lori and Jim have a booth at the Brattleboro Farmers’ Market.
Kale Pesto
Adapted from: The Phytopia Cookbook, by Barbara Gollman and Kim Pierce (Phytopia, Inc., 1998)
Ingredients: ¾ pound kale, large stems removed; 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled; ¾ cup basil leaves; juice of one lemon; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; freshly ground pepper
1. Coarsely chop kale, leaving water on leaves from washing. Steam until soft. Let stand without cover 2-3 minutes to cool.
2. Drop garlic into a food processor with motor running. When finely minced, add the basil and cooked kale. Process until uniform.
3. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve as you would pesto. Drizzle with olive oil, if you’d like.
Serve on bruschetta, as a spread on wraps or quesadillas, or on pasta with chopped heated tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts.
Serves 4.