5 Reasons to Eat More Kale
Is kale still cool? Our answer is: "Who cares?"
With a little bit of know-how, kale can be a delicious part of your "always buy" ingredient list—even if you've been a hater up 'til now. Consider this our attempt to wedge the door open to the ways that kale is worth including in your weekly rotation.
Before we begin, you might be wondering, "What’s the deal with all the different varieties of kale?" You’re likely to see two different varieties at the grocery store: curly kale—with leaves that resemble overgrown curly parsley—and lacinato kale, which has a nubby texture and darker green color. The latter is sometimes labeled "Tuscan kale," "cavolo nero" or "dinosaur kale."
Though many recipes snub curly kale in favor of lacinato because it’s slightly easier to find, HexClad Food Director Laura Rege says there’s not much of a difference between the two. “I have no problem using them interchangeably in recipes, be it a soup, a salad or a sauté,” she said. That said, Rege does prefer lacinato because of its slightly more tender texture and prettier appearance. (Hey, we eat with our eyes first, after all!)
Prepping kale is not as much of a beast as you might fear. Rege recommended forgoing the knife and instead using your hands to prep the leaves. Use your fingers to remove the rib (aka, the stalk), pulling the leaves right off. With curly kale, tear leaves into the size pieces you want. Lacinato leaves are slightly less unruly, making for easier slicing, said Rege. Stack the leaves lengthwise, then roll them into a tight bundle and slice with your santoku or chef’s knife.
As for why kale is king...
1. IT CAN WITHSTAND HEARTY SOUPS AND STEWS
While spinach is great stirred into a soup on the day you eat it, it goes limp when sitting in the fridge. Instead, opt for kale, which retains its bite after being cooked and refrigerated. Do as the Italians do and add it to your ribollita, or leftover bread soup, or go for something ultra-healthful like our Brothy Tuscan Cannellini Beans & Greens. Kale does well in any saucy dish, said Rege. “If I have some on hand, I’ll throw in a handful at the end of cooking pastas or something creamy to add an extra dose of greens.”
2. IT’S GOT STAYING POWER
No, we’re not talking about fiber. (Though it's got that, too!) We’re talking about the fact that kale can stand up to the crisper drawer longer than other greens like spinach or even Swiss chard. A fresh bunch of kale can last for up to a week, while prepped and washed leaves will survive in a salad spinner for about five days. Keep kale on hand to add to smoothies, omelets or quick sautés with garlic and lemon.
3. IT MAKES A "KALE-ER" CAESAR
Kale’s staying power makes it a natural pick for salads with heavy dressings like a hearty spin on a classic Caesar. If you want to simply dip your toe in the pool, Rege recommended mixing romaine and kale instead of going all kale. In fact, salad is Rege’s number one way to use kale. “I massage the dressing into the leaves to make them slightly more tender. It kind of breaks them down a bit.” (Do not, she says, attempt this massage method with regular lettuce.)
4. PESTO AND KALE = FRIENDS
One simple step transforms kale leaves into the base of a pesto recipe you’ll make on repeat: blanching. That’s right, a quick dip in boiling water renders the leaves both pliable and sweeter, perfect for whizzing in your food processor with garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Try it in our recipe for Creamy Kale and Ricotta Pasta.
5. HEALTH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA
Taste and versatility are reasons enough to choose kale, but of course, it's hard to ignore the cruciferous veggie's powerful dose of prebiotic fiber, iron and potassium. What’s more, kale provides more bioavailable calcium than milk.
As for any haters who insist they can’t be convinced (but are still reading 👋), Rege said to try the more tender baby kale. And if you can’t be won over that way, well, more for us. Kale, yeah!
