Oct
02

Lazy Ass Kale Chips

Kale Chips: there's really no way to make these look good, but they ARE good.

Kale chip recipes abound on the interwebs, and with proliferation usually comes overcomplication.

“Remove the stems”

“Pat the leaves dry”

“Put through a salad spinner”

Sure, whatever. You guys do realize that water evaporates under heat in an oven, right?

And that nobody who’s willing to eat a kale chip in the first place will begrudge a stem?

So let’s not make kale chips so complicated. After all, the more complicated the recipe, the less likely someone will be to ever make it.

And that’s a damn shame. Kale chips neatly preserve extra bounty from the farmer’s market and turn what can often be a tough ingredient into a remarkably light, sweet, and savory snack.

Besides, the fall harvest is the perfect time to get started on the all-kale diet.

All you need is salt, some kind of oil, and some kind of spice blend that you bought thinking how great it would be for grilled chicken before realizing that no amount of seasoning would make you want to eat more chicken breast.

My favorite kale chip spices:

Read more…

Jul
14

Ethiopian Beef Stir-Fry with Kale and Onions

OK. Yes. I know Ethiopian cuisine does not “stir fry”.

But in this humble chef’s opinion, the technique of heating some aromatics in a fat, and then adding some meat and veggies, shouldn’t be limited to just a few regional forms of cooking. Especially when the stir-fry can be such a quick and easy way to get your protein and fat while minimizing carbs, and allowing you to include a wide range of vegetation that benefits from high heat. Like kale, for example.

So if you have some beef and hard winter greens waiting to be cooked, give this very simple recipe a try. You can easily substitute the Ethiopian “berbere” spice for something else you have on hand — like even a Mexican beef seasoning packet left over from taco night. I think you’ll enjoy it no matter how you season the beef, but novelty is of course the spice of life.

Scale ingredient amounts up or down depending on needs. No need to follow the same ratio that I used, although tomato sauce should be minimized in order to control carbs.

Net Carbs: ~4g per bowl.

Ethiopian Ground Beef Stir-Fry with kale and onions

Print recipe
Ethiopian Ground Beef Stir-Fry with kale and onions
Portions 2
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Total time 25 minutes
Dietary Gluten Free, Ultra Low Carb
Meal type Lunch, Main Dish
Misc Serve Hot
Region African
By author Naomi Most
Butter. Beef. A touch of tomato and your favorite hard greens, accompanied by the iconic Ethiopian spice blend, berbere. This recipe serves 2 hungry nomads with about 3g of carbs per bowl.

Ingredients

  • 1/2lb Ground beef (Best quality you can get)
  • 1/4 cup Butter (Don't skimp on quality here either)
  • 3 cups Chopped Kale or collard greens
  • 1/2 cup Red onion, frenched or cubed
  • 1/4 cup Puréed eggplant (from can)
  • 3-4 tablespoons Berbere spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon Salt

Directions

Step 1
In a large saucepan (I use a nonstick wok, actually), melt the butter on low heat. When completely liquified, toss in the onions and sautée until translucent.
Step 2
Pour in eggplant (if using) and stir together well.
Step 3
Toss in the kale. Add a splash of water and then turn up the heat to medium. Stir to coat kale with butter and onions, then cover loosely to steam for about 8 minutes.
Step 4
In a separate medium sized bowl, mix the ground beef with the berbere powder (or alternative spices). Try to make sure the flavoring is evenly spread through the beef. Use less powder if you prefer a milder taste, and up to twice the written amount if you like your food hot and spicy.
Step 5
Remove the cover from the sautée pan. Kale should be fully wilted and cooked by now. Using your hands or a large spoon, break the beef into loose meatballs and toss them into the cooking kale and onion mixture.
Step 6
Cook beef for as long as desired, stirring regularly. When at desired doneness, remove from heat.
Step 7
Add the tomato sauce, stirring in to mix fully with the buttery, beefy sauce of the stir-fry.
Step 8
Ethiopian beef kale onion stir fry
Serve!

Special Ingredients

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